Director, Survey Research

Job Summary

The Director of Survey Research leads the survey research strategy and operations for Institutional Research, Assessment & Accreditation, with primary responsibility for design, administration, governance, analysis, and communication of centrally administered surveys that inform institutional planning, assessment, accreditation, and decision-making. The role conducts statistical analyses of survey and institutional data; presents findings to a variety of audiences, both verbally and in writing; assists with the collection, storage, governance, and reporting of student survey data; and partners across academic and administrative units to ensure surveys are methodologically sound, accessible, and aligned with institutional priorities. This position maintains high standards for data quality, security, and confidentiality and translates findings into actionable insights for senior leaders and stakeholders.

Essential Functions

• Set a multi-year survey research strategy and an annual survey calendar aligned with institutional priorities, assessment, and accreditation needs; coordinate communications with campus partners.
• Lead a survey liaison group (SLG) comprising representatives from each college or school to coordinate needs, timing, communications, and follow-up use of results.
• Lead end-to-end survey lifecycle management: intake and consultation, questionnaire design, testing and piloting, sampling, incentive planning and management, fielding, monitoring, closeout, and documentation.
• Administer and optimize the survey platform (e.g., Qualtrics), including templates and standards, complex logic, distribution, user guidance, and vendor coordination as needed.
• Maintain stewardship of survey data across collection, storage, governance, and reporting; continuously improve the survey data warehouse and ETL/data pipelines.
• Implement data quality and reproducible workflow standards (QA, version control, and metadata/codebooks) to ensure accuracy and auditability.
• Conduct statistical analyses of survey and institutional data (including multivariate techniques as appropriate) to assess trends, subgroup differences, and potential bias.
• Develop executive-ready deliverables-briefs, presentations, dashboards, and visualizations (e.g., Tableau or Power BI)-that translate findings into actionable recommendations.
• Support institution-level and external reporting and benchmarking as assigned (e.g., Factbook, IPEDS, Common Data Set, rankings, and external surveys), ensuring consistent definitions and appropriate interpretation of survey-derived metrics; partner with IT/data teams to integrate survey data and institutional systems (e.g., Banner) for sampling and analysis.

Required Qualifications

• Minimum of a Bachelor's Degree in relevant field (e.g., social science, statistics, higher education, public policy, psychology, sociology, economics, or a related discipline) or the equivalent combination of education and work experience. (Please review the Equivalency Chart for additional information.)
• Minimum of 5 years experience conducting quantitative research in an applied setting (e.g., institutional research, program evaluation, survey research, market research, customer/employee insights).
• Demonstrated knowledge of survey methods and measurement (question design, sampling, fielding modes, response rate improvement, data cleaning, and bias considerations).
• Strong data management and manipulation skills with careful attention to detail and data integrity.
• Experience working with relational databases and querying tools (SQL preferred).
• Experience with survey platforms (Qualtrics preferred) and the ability to manage complex survey logic, distribution, and reporting outputs.
• Proficiency with statistical software and/or programming tools for analysis (e.g., R, Python, SPSS, SAS, Stata) and with spreadsheet tools as needed.
• Proficiency with data visualization and dashboarding tools (e.g., Tableau, Power BI) and reporting automation.
• Excellent written and verbal communication skills, including the ability to communicate technical results to non-technical audiences.
• Strong project management skills, including prioritization, stakeholder consultation, and meeting deadlines in a dynamic environment.

Preferred Qualifications

• Master's degree or doctoral degree in a related field (quantitative discipline preferred).
• Experience in higher education institutional research, assessment, accreditation, or student success analytics.
• Familiarity with higher education reporting standards and data definitions (e.g., IPEDS, Common Data Set), as relevant to the role.
• Proficiency with multivariate statistical techniques and applied modeling approaches.
• Experience building or maintaining data pipelines/ETL workflows and/or working with data warehousing concepts.
• Experience analyzing open-ended survey responses (coding schemes, text analytics) and mixed-methods reporting.
• Familiarity with accessibility standards and inclusive research practices (e.g., accessible survey design, culturally responsive measurement).

Location

• University City - Philadelphia, PA

Additional Information
This position is classified as Exempt, grade N. Compensation for this grade ranges from $ 90,430.00 to $ 135,640.00 per year. Please note that the offered rate for this position typically aligns with the minimum to midrange of this grade, but it can vary based on the successful candidate's qualifications and experience, department budget, and an internal equity review.

Applicants are encouraged to explore the Professional Staff salary structure and Compensation Guidelines & Policies for more details on Drexel's compensation framework. For information about benefits, please review Drexel's Benefits Brochure.

Special Instructions to the Applicant
Please make sure you upload your CV/resume and cover letter when submitting your application.

A review of applicants will begin once a suitable candidate pool is identified.