Program Data Specialist, Academic and Career Integration

Thank you for considering a career with the Research Foundation of The City University of New York (RFCUNY)! We are thrilled that you are interested in exploring opportunities to join our team. 

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Guided by CUNY's seven-year strategic plan, CUNY Lifting NY, the CUNY Office of Careers Industry Partnerships (OCIP)develops and implements partnerships, investments, strategies, and policies that are designed to increase the career success of degree and non-degree students alike.

OCIP is working with all undergraduate colleges to launch CUNY Beyond, a new transformational approach to integrating career connections into every aspect of an undergraduate's journey. CUNY is committed to ensuring that more students graduating with their degrees can quickly launch careers of their choosing with competitive salaries.

With career information, resources, and exposure throughout their college experience, students will be able to:

• Identify and explore careers aligned with interests early in their educational pathway

• Understand what it takes to successfully attain those careers

• Acquire the required skills, both critical and professional

• Demonstrate proficiency through applied experience

• Connect to the first role/promotion through proactive employer engagement

CUNY is seeking a data specialist who will serve as the strategic lead and technical expert for designing, structuring, and analyzing data that supports career exploration, integrated career/academic advisement, and career-connected learning.

The ideal candidate combines the ability to:

• Create and lead data strategy

• Forge long-lasting collaborations

• Translate complex program goals into practical databases and displays

• Analyze data and make conclusions that improve decision-making and student outcomes.

This is a newly created role, and this position will report to the Senior Advisor for Academic and Career Integration.

Responsibilities:
 

Create and Lead Data Strategy

• Lead development of a data strategy that aligns with career/academic integration goals and broader institutional objectives.

• Design frameworks for data collection, organization, and use that balance innovation with governance, compliance, and existing CUNY systems.

• Develop plans for data collection, housing, display, and analysis.

• Identify data assets, gaps, and opportunities to streamline tracking and measurement.

• Lead the development of processes to assess effectiveness and support continuous improvement.

• Serve as a subject matter expert and advisor on leveraging data to advance strategy, equity, and institutional priorities.

Forge Long-lasting Cross-Functional Collaborations

• Partner with stakeholders throughout CUNY to understand data needs, constraints, and opportunities.

• Serve as a thought partner with program teams to co-create solutions to help improve decision-making.

• Incorporate stakeholder feedback to refine data projects and tools.

• Provide guidance and resources to help non-technical staff interpret and use data effectively.

• Build relationships across teams to improve student support and outcomes.

• Train non-technical audiences on data displays, queries, and tools.

• Lead and facilitate working groups as needed.

• Build and manage databases to monitor key performance indicators.

• Create dashboards, visualizations, and reports that support program management and evidence-based decision-making.

• Evaluate and recommend tools and technologies to enhance dashboards and data displays.

• Build queries that enable program staff to access actionable insights.

• Design and maintain an efficient data architecture and integrations across platforms.

• Implement automated processes, quality checks, and monitoring to maintain data accuracy and consistency.

• Develop and advocate for creative solutions when standard tools or systems are unavailable or incompatible.

• Document workflows, data dictionaries, and integrations to maintain institutional knowledge and transparency.

• Ensure all systems comply with security, accessibility, and all other CUNY policies and best practices.
   

Analyze Data

• Translate complex data into clear insights for leadership, campus stakeholders, and funders.

• Identify trends and patterns in data that will inform program design, resource allocation, and continuous improvement.

• Analyze data to improve future data collection processes and displays.

• Use data to make actionable recommendations for policy and program decisions.
   

Other Duties

• Communicate clearly and tailor messages to diverse audiences.

• Lead or support special projects and other duties as assigned.

• Four+ years of proven experience in designing, managing, and analyzing program data systems.

• Two + years of experience with data management and reporting.

• Two + years of experience developing dashboards and using them for decision making.

• Demonstrated ability to independently lead data strategy and implementation projects from concept to completion.

• Ability to design for adaptability in environments where technology and processes are still evolving.

• Strong proficiency with data visualization and analytics tools (e.g., Power BI, Power Apps, Power Automate, Microsoft Suite, Airtable).

• Proven experience in identifying data trends and translating findings into actionable insights for non-technical stakeholders.

• Creative, resourceful, and comfortable operating in complex, evolving environments.

• Exceptional communication skills and relationship-building skills with program teams; demonstrated through clear, structured, and concise written and verbal presentations.

• Demonstrated ability to balance strategic thinking and hands-on execution.

• Commitment to continuous improvement.

• Other duties as assigned.

Preferred Qualifications:

• Experience in post-secondary education, workforce development, and/or social services.

• Familiarity with CUNY systems and data environments.

• Background in program management, continuous improvement, or policy design.

Work Environment and Physical Requirements:

• This position is based in a professional office environment and follows a hybrid work schedule: 70% in-person (7 days) and 30% remote (3 days) during each two-week payroll cycle.

• A laptop and other necessary equipment may be provided to support remote work.

• While performing these duties, the employee may be required to:

• Sit for extended periods

• Use a computer and other office equipment

• Occasionally lift or move items up to 20 pounds

• Reasonable accommodations will be provided to individuals with disabilities or other needs in accordance with RFCUNY policies and applicable laws.

• Ability to travel to other CUNY sites as needed.

This is a grant-funded position until December 31, 2026, with the possibility of extension.

Pay Range:

RFCUNY Benefits
RFCUNY Employee Benefits and Accruals

Equal Employment Opportunity Statement
The Research Foundation of the City University of New York is an Equal Opportunity/Affirmative Action/Americans with Disabilities Act/E-Verify Employer. It is the policy of the Research Foundation of CUNY to provide equal employment opportunities free of discrimination based on race, color, age, religion, sex, pregnancy, childbirth, national origin, disability, marital status, veteran status, sexual orientation, gender identity, genetic information, marital status, domestic violence victim status, arrest record, criminal conviction history, or any other protected characteristic under applicable law.