Director, Institutional Research

Chancellor's Office Statement

Join our team at the California State University, Office of the Chancellor, and make a difference in providing access to higher education. We are currently seeking experienced candidates for the position of Director, Institutional Research. The CSU Chancellor's Office, located on the waterfront adjacent to the Aquarium of the Pacific in downtown Long Beach, is the headquarters for the nation's largest and most diverse system of higher education. The CSU Chancellor's Office offers a premium benefit package that includes outstanding vacation, health, and dental plans; a fee waiver education program; membership in the California Public Employees Retirement System (PERS); and 15 paid holidays a year.

Salary

The anticipated salary hiring range is up to $162,792 per year, commensurate with qualifications and experience.

Work Arrangements

Flexibility to telecommute two days a week, with three days on-site at the main headquarters in Long Beach, California.

Premium Benefits

Comprehensive Health, Dental, and Vision Benefits

Generous vacation plan

15 paid holidays a year

Tuition waiver education program (also applies to eligible family members)

Membership in the California Public Employees Retirement System (PERS)

More details here: Comprehensive Benefits Package

Classification

Administrator III

Position Information

The California State University, Office of the Chancellor, is seeking a Director, Institutional Research to provide leadership for systemwide institutional research, official reporting, and research and evaluative inquiry that inform CSU policy, planning, accountability, and resource decisions. The Director serves as a subject matter expert on higher education reporting requirements, research methods, student success indicators, and institutional effectiveness, ensuring that data and analyses used for decision-making are accurate, timely, methodologically sound, and clearly interpreted. In partnership with IR&A leadership and staff, Chancellor’s Office and campus stakeholders, the Director advances research and reporting that support CSU’s strategic goals and ensures that internally- and externally- facing data products are accurate, relevant, and fit for use.

Responsibilities

Under the general direction of the Interim AVC for Institutional Research and Analyses, the Director, Institutional Research will perform duties as outlined below:

Institutional Research, Reporting and Accountability

-Produce research and analyses that contextualize academic, student success, equity, affordability, workforce, and enrollment outcomes for planning, accountability, and leadership decision-making.

-Oversee annual, term-based, and ad-hoc official reporting cycles for federal, state, and Chancellor’s Office purposes.

-Manage preparation and submission of IPEDS surveys and related federal reporting, including edits, reconciliations, and documentation of assumptions and year-over-year changes.

-Maintains authoritative reporting definitions and cohort logic across reporting contexts, partners with technical teams to certify and operationalize those definitions.

-Oversee data validation and reconciliation routines for Enrollment Reporting System, including completeness checks for required elements, reasonableness tests, and year-over-year anomaly review, for priority data domains.

Evaluation and Measurement for Strategic Initiatives

-Lead or oversee evaluation designs for system initiatives and campus programs, including pre/post analyses, matched comparisons, and quasi-experimental approaches where feasible.

-Develop measurement plans that define outcomes, cohorts, comparison approaches, and reporting cadence for priority initiatives.

-Synthesize research findings to inform accountability, strategic planning, policy implementation, and institutional effectiveness.

-Oversee Memoranda of Understanding (MOUs), data-sharing agreements, and external research partnerships to ensure necessary appropriate use, privacy/security compliance, and alignment with CSU priorities; coordinate internal review, approvals, and fulfillment as needed.

IR&A Leadership

-Collaborate with the Director of Strategic Analytics to ensure dashboards, KPIs, and analytic tools are aligned with official reporting definitions.

-Ensure required enrollment reporting elements are captured in the enrollment reporting system, maintained through