Director of Strategic Analytics and Performance Insights

The Pennsylvania State University
paid time off, sick time, remote work
United States, Pennsylvania, University Park
201 Old Main (Show on map)
Jun 12, 2025
APPLICATION INSTRUCTIONS: CURRENT PENN STATE EMPLOYEE (faculty, staff, technical service, or student), please login to Workday to complete the internal application process. Please do not apply here, apply internally through Workday. CURRENT PENN STATE STUDENT (not employed previously at the university) and seeking employment with Penn State, please login to Workday to complete the student application process. Please do not apply here, apply internally through Workday. If you are NOT a current employee or student, please click "Apply" and complete the application process for external applicants. Approval of remote and hybrid work is not guaranteed regardless of work location.For additional information on remote work at Penn State, seeNotice to Out of State Applicants. This position is funded for 1 year(s); continuation past 1 year(s) will be based on university need, performance, and/or availability of funding. POSITION SPECIFICS The Smeal College of Business is seeking a Director of Strategic Analytics and Performance Insights. This is a new leadership role within the College charged with designing, building, and maintaining a comprehensive, interactive dashboard of key performance indicators (KPIs) that provide timely, actionable insights to the College's executive leadership team. This role will work across all units of the College-academic departments, research centers, admissions, student services, advancement, finance, and career services-to identify and integrate data sources, define relevant metrics, and present data in a compelling, decision-supporting format using tools such as Power BI. By transforming raw data into strategic intelligence, the Director will play a critical role in enhancing the College's ability to make evidence-based decisions in areas such as enrollment, faculty productivity, student outcomes, financial performance, diversity and inclusion, corporate engagement, and global reach. The successful candidate should understand university data including but not limited to student, human resources, financial and local data environments typical to higher education Colleges. The selected candidate must understand data relationships and definitions and tools available to leverage and present information in an easily consumable format to identify past trends and forward projections. The individual should have experience in collaborating with leadership in higher education to identify appropriate key performance indicators and identify ways to use data visualization and weighting to demonstrate the overall performance of the College as well as underlying specific subject matters. This position will require identification of key stakeholders, leveraging expertise within the College and the University to facilitate a scalable solution that aligns with the greater University vision as well as identified needs within the Smeal College of Business; Coach and develop team members to enhance their performance and skills; Set long term vision, direction and priorities for the team based on leadership input; Develop capability and effective story telling of the team; and establish data governance within the College based on subject matter and within the context of an overall dashboard. Key Responsibilities: Strategic Dashboard Development Design, build, and maintain a dynamic performance dashboard that aggregates and visualizes key operational and strategic metrics across the College. Develop scalable architecture for the dashboard that enables drill-down and segmentation capabilities by department, program, time period, etc. Data Infrastructure and Integration Identify internal and external data sources needed to support key metrics, including student information systems, CRM platforms, financial databases, HR systems, survey tools, and rankings databases. Design and implement robust data pipelines and APIs to extract, clean, and integrate data from multiple sources into a unified model. Ensure data security, governance, and privacy protocols are upheld. Metric Definition and Governance Collaborate with senior leadership and functional leads to define a standardized set of performance metrics aligned with strategic priorities. Develop and document business rules for the computation and interpretation of each metric. Regularly review and update metrics to ensure continued relevance. Data Analysis and Decision Support Provide ad hoc analysis and scenario modeling to support strategic planning, resource allocation, accreditation reporting, and performance reviews. Serve as a trusted advisor to the executive team by interpreting data trends and recommending strategic actions based on insights. Training and Change Management Develop training materials and lead workshops to increase adoption and data literacy among college stakeholders. Foster a data-driven culture by promoting transparency, accessibility, and the value of evidence-based decision-making. The position requires a Master's Degree with 8+ years of relevant experience to include leading and creating dashboards and reports in higher education on multiple dimensions of subject matter. An equivalent combination of education and experience accepted. In addition, we are seeking someone with 5+ years in management roles particularly in data intelligence and/or higher education leadership. Familiarity with systems such as SQL, Peoplesoft, SAP, Workday and Salesforce are desired. Understanding AACSB accreditation and higher education performance metrics is also desirable. This position is a one-year limited term with possiblity of renewel. MINIMUM EDUCATION, WORK EXPERIENCE & REQUIRED CERTIFICATIONS Master's Degree 8+ years of relevant experience; or an equivalent combination of education and experience accepted Required Certifications: None BACKGROUND CHECKS/CLEARANCES Employment with the University will require successful completion of background check(s) in accordance with University policies. Penn State does not sponsor or take over sponsorship of a staff employment Visa. Applicants must be authorized to work in the U.S. SALARY & BENEFITS The salary range for this position, including all possible grades, is $109,300.00 - $164,000.00. Salary Structure - Information on Penn State's salary structure Penn State provides a competitive benefits package for full-time employees designed to support both personal and professional well-being. In addition to comprehensive medical, dental, and vision coverage, employees enjoy robust retirement plans and substantial paid time off which includes holidays, vacation and sick time. One of the standout benefits is the generous 75% tuition discount, available to employees as well as eligible spouses and children. For more detailed information, please visit our Benefits Page. CAMPUS SECURITY CRIME STATISTICS Pursuant to the Jeanne Clery Disclosure of Campus Security Policy and Campus Crime Statistics Act and the Pennsylvania Act of 1988, Penn State publishes a combined Annual Security and Annual Fire Safety Report (ASR). The ASR includes crime statistics and institutional policies concerning campus security, such as those concerning alcohol and drug use, crime prevention, the reporting of crimes, sexual assault, and other matters. The ASR is available for review here. EEO IS THE LAW Penn State is an equal opportunity employer and is committed to providing employment opportunities to all qualified applicants without regard to race, color, religion, age, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, national origin, disability or protected veteran status. If you are unable to use our online application process due to an impairment or disability, please contact 814-865-1473. The Pennsylvania State University is committed to and accountable for advancing equity, respect, and belonging in all its forms. We embrace individual uniqueness, as well as a culture of belonging that supports both broad and specific equity initiatives, leverages the educational and institutional benefits of inclusion in society, and provides opportunities for engagement intended to help all members of the community thrive. We value belonging as a core strength and an essential element of the university's teaching, research, and service mission. Federal Contractors Labor Law Poster PA State Labor Law Poster Penn State Policies Copyright Information Hotlines