Sr Institutional Researcher

The University of New Mexico Health Sciences Center Office for Diversity, Equity & Inclusion (HSC DEI) is seeking an experienced, collaborative, and mission-driven individual to serve as a Senior Institutional Researcher to lead program evaluation efforts for a portfolio of statewide K-20+ educational and career pathway initiatives. This position plays a critical role in assessing and documenting the impact and outcomes of the HSC DEI programs which support underrepresented and under-resourced students in preparing for and entering health professions programs and careers across New Mexico.
Since 1973, the HSC Office for Diversity, Equity & Inclusion and its partners have developed and implemented a series of highly integrated K-20 programs across New Mexico that prepare students for academic success and readiness to enter and graduate from higher education and health professions programs. These long-standing programs have strengthened the University's impact on the diversity of New Mexico's health professions workforce and contribute to addressing educational and health equity across the state.

The Senior Institutional Researcher will lead evaluation practices that support continuous program improvement, strategic planning, grant writing, and dissemination through data analysis, reports, presentations, and publications. This role requires an individual who can balance rigorous research and evaluation methods with the practical needs of education and workforce pathway programs, and who is comfortable working collaboratively with educators, program staff, students, and community partners across the state.
This position is term through June 30, 2027, and will be extended year to year dependent on funding.

Position Summary:
The Senior Institutional Researcher collects, develops, analyzes, communicates, and consults on a wide range of program and institutional data to support informed decision-making, program improvement, strategic planning, policy development, and institutional self-assessment. The position performs applied research, designs and executes evaluation studies, develops data systems, and communicates findings to both technical and non-technical audiences. The position may also provide functional leadership, training, and guidance to staff and students involved in evaluation and data management activities.

Key Responsibilities

The Senior Institutional Researcher will:

• Lead the design and implementation of evaluation plans across multiple K-20 educational and career pathway programs.
• Develop and maintain longitudinal data systems to track student and program outcomes over time.
• Design data collection protocols including surveys, focus groups, interviews, and program assessment tools.
• Conduct quantitative and qualitative data analysis and interpret findings for program improvement and reporting.
• Prepare reports, presentations, dashboards, and publications for internal and external audiences.
• Translate complex data into clear, actionable information for educators, program staff, administrators, and community partners.
• Support grant writing, grant reporting, and program evaluation sections of proposals.
• Work collaboratively with program staff and community partners to develop logic models, evaluation frameworks, and outcome measures.
• Represent the department on university and community committees and task forces, as assigned.
• Provide guidance and technical support to staff and students involved in evaluation and data collection.
• Support continuous quality improvement and strategic planning through evaluation findings.
• Occasional travel within New Mexico may be required to meet with program partners and community organizations.

Ideal Candidate

The ideal candidate will be a collaborative evaluator who is committed to educational equity and community-engaged work, and who can balance rigorous research methods with the practical needs of education and workforce pathway programs serving communities across New Mexico. Successful candidates will be adaptable, organized, collaborative, and interested in using data to improve educational programs and student outcomes.

See the Position Description for additional information.

Bachelor's degree; at least 5 years of experience directly related to the duties and responsibilities specified.

Completed degree(s) from an accredited institution that are above the minimum education requirement may be substituted for experience on a year for year basis.

Preferred Knowledge, Skills, and Experience

• Experience with program evaluation, institutional research, or applied research in education, higher education, public health, or workforce development programs.
• Experience with mixed-methods research and evaluation (quantitative and qualitative).
• Experience with longitudinal participant tracking and outcomes evaluation.
• Experience working with K-12, higher education, or career pathway programs.
• Experience with community-based participatory research or community-engaged evaluation.
• Experience with grant writing, grant reporting, and program evaluation for funded programs.
• Demonstrated ability to produce reports, presentations, and academic publications.
• Project management experience and ability to manage multiple projects simultaneously.
• Experience working with diverse, rural, tribal, or underrepresented student populations.
• Experience with data management and analysis software such as RedCap, Tableau, ArcGIS, SmartSheet, SPSS, SAS, R, or similar.
• Experience with National Student Clearinghouse data.
• Experience developing logic models, theory of change models, or program evaluation frameworks.

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Positions posted with a Staff Type of Regular or Term are eligible for the Veteran Preference Program. See the Veteran Preference Program webpage for additional details.

The University of New Mexico is committed to hiring and retaining a diverse workforce. We are an Equal Opportunity Employer, making decisions without regard to race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, national origin, age, veteran status, disability, or any other protected class.

The University of New Mexico requires all regular staff positions successfully pass a pre-employment background check. This may include, but is not limited to, a criminal history background check, New Mexico Department of Health fingerprint screening, New Mexico Children, Youth, and Families Department fingerprint screening, verification of education credentials, and/or verification of prior employment. For more information about background checks, visit https://policy.unm.edu/university-policies/3000/3280.html. Refer to https://policy.unm.edu/university-policies/3000/3200.html for a definition of Regular Staff.