Associate Director, Research Discovery & Design

About EAB

At EAB, our mission is to make education smarter and our communities stronger. We work with more than 2,800 institutions to drive transformative change through data-driven insights and best-in-class capabilities. From kindergarten to college to career, EAB partners with leaders and practitioners to accelerate progress and drive results across enrollment, student success, institutional strategy, data analytics, and advancement. We work with each partner differently, tailoring our portfolio of research, technology, and marketing and enrollment solutions to meet the unique needs of every leadership team, as well as the students and employees they serve.

At EAB, we serve not only our partner institutions but each other—that's why we are always working to make sure our employees love their jobs and are invested in their communities. See how we've been recognized for this dedication to our employees by checking out our recent awards.

For more information, visit our Careers page.  

The Role in Brief

Associate Director, Research Discovery & Design

Focus Area: Dynamic Strategy

Associate Directors in our Research Discovery & Design division help develop research agendas and design research projects and services that address the major strategic, management, and operational issues facing education today. Our researchers conduct in-depth interviews with campus executives at diverse institutions and perform data and root-cause analyses to identify market-leading strategies and best practices in our pursuit to make education smarter.

As a member of our team, you will play an important role in innovating and producing syndicated research and high-value services for partner organizations, including on-site workshops, web-conferences, and publications. You will also be a valued expert to EAB partner organizations, advising them on strategy and best practice implementation.

This particular role will be positioned within our Dynamic Strategy area of inquiry, which focuses on the most complex and urgent challenges facing college and university presidents, boards of trustees, and chief strategy officers. The Dynamic Strategy team is responsible for EAB’s annual State of the Sector research, which scans the higher education landscape for the biggest challenges and opportunities worthy of our partners’ attention, as well as our support of institutional strategic planning and change management efforts. A successful candidate for this position will be equipped to engage in high-stakes executive conversations, get smart on a wide variety of topics and issues quickly, and demonstrate flexibility and speed of execution in the production of deliverables and services serving our executive audience.

This role is based in Washington D.C.; the opportunity is also open to candidates in other EAB offices (e.g., Richmond, VA) and is open to remote employment within the continental U.S.

Primary Responsibilities:

Associate Directors in Research Discovery & Design lead our strategic research projects from conception to completion, ranging from two to four months for smaller projects to approximately nine months for the largest, most complex projects.  Associate Directors provide intellectual leadership and analytical direction throughout all stages of the research process, working through extensive primary and secondary research, hypothesis generation and testing, rigorous analysis of findings, design and execution of implementation resources, and the final presentation of ideas. The position may require occasional travel (up to approximately 10%) for presenting research findings to our partners as well as facilitating strategy sessions. Direct and/or indirect staff management is also a key component of the position: Associate Directors are responsible for the professional development and coaching of junior-level team members.

Key Responsibilities of the Associate Director role include:

• Lead start-to-finish research projects, including strategic and root cause analysis, inductive and deductive reasoning, hypothesis generation
• Ability to formulate and defend original points of view
• Synthesis of complex ideas into actionable insights for our members
• Effective use of persuasive writing and graphics to communicate ideas and information
• Relationship management, both internal and external
• Project leadership and effectively managing towards deadlines
• Market-sizing, testing calls and product design analysis for new research investigation
• Collaborate with individual project leads, SMEs, and project teams to ensure that new deliverables are built in a way that is easy to execute and deliver to partners in interactive formats
• Coach junior-level researcher staff by developing critical skills, providing actionable feedback, and managing workloads
• Initial delivery of services and presentations to executive-level clients and leadership teams

Basic Qualifications:

• Bachelor’s degree, with an excellent academic record and 5+ years of post-graduate, professional experience; or 4+ years of post-graduate, professional experience and an advanced degree; or bachelor's degree and 4+ years of post-graduate, professional experience, including 2+ years of experience in EAB Research
• Experience with at least two of the following:
• Management or strategy consulting
• University/education strategic planning
• Conducting long-term research (at least 3 months in duration)
• Conducting primary and secondary research
• K12 or higher education experience

Ideal Qualifications:                       

• Advanced degree in the liberal arts, sciences, or professions (MA, PhD, JD)
• Majors and/or advanced degrees in economics, political science, data analytics, statistics or other quantitative fields preferred
• Experience working in a team environment, as well as independently and autonomously
• Proven ability to communicate effectively with senior executives in both oral and written formats
• Experience with solution-focused problem solving and thinking through problems creatively
• Experience working with clients in a consultative role
• Demonstrated experience in managing projects and meeting deadlines
• Commitment to valuing diversity, practicing inclusive behaviors, and contributing to an equitable working and continual learning environment in support of EAB’s DE&I Promise

If you’ve reached this section of the job description and are unsure of whether to apply, please do! At EAB, we welcome diversity of background and experience. We would encourage you to submit an application if this is a role you would be passionate about doing every day.

Compensation:                       

The anticipated starting salary (base) range for this role is $61,500 - $95,000 per year. Actual salary varies due to factors that may include but not be limited to relevant experience, skills, and location. At EAB, it is not typical for an individual to be hired at or near the top of the starting salary range for their role.

This hire will additionally be eligible for discretionary bonus or incentive compensation. Variable compensation may depend on various factors, such as individual and organizational performance. 

Benefits:                   

This opening is not eligible for visa sponsorship at this time; EAB will thus consider candidates who possess U.S. work authorization that does not require employment-based visa sponsorship now or in the future.

At EAB, we believe that to fulfill our mission to “make education smarter and our communities stronger” we need team members who bring a diversity of perspectives to the table and are committed to fostering a workplace where each team member is valued, respected and heard.

To that end, EAB is an Equal Opportunity Employer, and we make employment decisions on the basis of qualifications, merit and business need. We don’t discriminate on the basis of race, religion, color, sex, gender identity or expression, sexual orientation, age, non-disqualifying physical or mental disability, national origin, veteran status or any other basis covered by appropriate law.