Data Analyst, Office of Data and Accountability (S...

REPORTS TO: Director of Analytics

POSITION OVERVIEW:

The Analyst resides in the Office of Data and Accountability (ODA) within the Accountability Division of the Boston Public Schools, reporting to the Director of Analytics. The Analyst is responsible for overseeing larger data visualization projects, as well as completing ad-hoc and recurring analyses and data requests. The position requires strong project management and analytics skills, with an emphasis on user-centered design.

As a member of a highly collaborative group, and given the time-sensitive nature of many of these analyses, the Analyst can expect to rely on the experience of other analysts within the Office of Data and Accountability, and will be expected in turn to support the work of colleagues on related projects.

RESPONSIBILITIES:

Data dashboard enterprise solution implementation

• Dashboarding:
• Engage critical stakeholders throughout the BPS system in user-centered design processes by which live data reports will be developed to meet the strategic, tactical, and operational needs of school and central office users.
• Help convene users at various levels of the system to engage in user acceptance testing for the purposes of refining reports so they can be used for strategic, tactical, and operational purposes.
• Establish regular data reporting project management check-ins to review progress, review technical requirements, gather user feedback, troubleshoot, and prioritize resources.
• Governance:
• Identify power users in other BPS departments who will be developing dashboards
• Collaborate with the OIIT to develop common data sources for power users to utilize
• Identify or create shared resources for BPS power users
• Create governance process around building and publishing dashboards and reports all BPS power users

Strategic Plan Outcome Metrics Dashboard

• Develop and maintain public-facing Power BI dashboard, including the ability to disaggregate metrics by relevant student groups to monitor opportunity and achievement gaps
• Manage the collection of data for the BPS Strategic Plan outcome metrics dashboard across departments
• Collaborate with BPS departments to provide relevant data for recurring strategic plan updates and reports
• Support the project management team in developing resources for schools and departments to effectively use Strategic Plan metric data for progress monitoring purposes

Data Analysis

• In collaboration with the Director of Analytics, identify areas for new analyses that are aligned to the district’s strategic plan and provide actionable insights to leadership to inform policy recommendations.
• Fulfill data requests from internal and external members from the BPS community by extracting data from internal databases, including ad-hoc and recurring requests.
• Collaborate with analysts in ODA to develop common queries and code to increase efficiencies when filling data requests.
• Perform various analyses on student-level, school-level, and district-level data and provide relevant policy recommendations based on analyses.
• Generate reports for both technical and non-technical audiences based on results of analyses.
• Provide technical assistance to school and central staff regarding data needs, assessments, and analyses.
• Represent ODA at the school, region, and district team levels by providing direct services and support.
• Perform other duties in the Office of Data and Accountability as needed.

QUALIFICATIONS - REQUIRED:

• Bachelor’s degree
• Minimum of 2 years experience analyzing K–12 education data.
• Proficiency in at least one coding language, preferably SQL, Stata or R.
• Proficiency in data visualization in Excel and at least one data visualization software, preferably PowerBI
• Strong project management skills and demonstrated project management experience
• Very strong analytic and project management skills, as well as extremely strong attention to detail.
• Ability and demonstrated experience facilitating user centered design processes, gathering and responding to feedback from users over the course of a project.
• Enthusiasm for managing technical projects with a diverse team to completion.
• Commitment to the belief that all students can learn and to the mission of educational equity.
• Excellent time management skills, experience balancing competing priorities, and prioritizing resources.
• Demonstrated ability to work cross-functionally and think at a systems level
• Strong customer service focus
• The ability to explain complex analytical concepts to lay persons in clear and concise easy to understand terms.
• The ability to react to requests with both flexibility and firmness (and the ability to distinguish when to use which skill).
• Exceptional oral and written communication skills as demonstrated by the ability to communicate effectively and respectfully with principals, teachers, colleagues, and diverse community members
• Track record of success in a complex organization reflecting proactive problem solving.
• Current authorization to work in the United States
• An understanding of and commitment to gain greater understanding of what is necessary for an urban school system to enjoy continuous improvement in an increasingly complex and competitive environment.
• A deeply held and unyielding belief in the overarching mission of public education.

QUALIFICATIONS - PREFERRED:

• Master’s Degree in related field
• Knowledge of the Ed-Fi data standard
• Ability to communicate with diverse audiences and experience with Boston, its neighborhoods and schools.
• Familiarity with Boston and Boston Public Schools
• BPS values linguistic diversity and believes that candidates who speak another language bring added value to the classroom, school, and district culture and diversity. BPS is particularly interested in candidates who are fluent in one of BPS' official languages: Spanish, Creole (Cape Verdean), Creole (Haitian), Chinese, Vietnamese, Portuguese, & Somali.

TERMS: Managerial, C42. City of Boston Residency is Required.

The Boston Public Schools, in accordance with its nondiscrimination policies, does not discriminate in its programs, facilities, employment, or educational opportunities on the basis of race, color, age, criminal record (inquiries only), disability, homelessness, sex/gender, gender identity, religion, national origin, ancestry, sexual orientation, genetics or military status and does not tolerate any form of retaliation, or bias-based intimidation, threat or harassment that demeans individuals’ dignity or interferes with their ability to learn or work.