Specialist - Research-Fixed Term
Michigan State University

Job Info

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Job no: 850217
Work type: Faculty/Academic Staff
Major Administrative Unit / College: International Studies And Programs
Department: Global Innov In Dev, Engage And Schshp 10054470
Sub Area: FAS- Fac./Acad Staff
Salary: Salary Commensurate with Experience
Location: East Lansing
Categories: Information Technology, Research/Scientific, Fixed Term Academic Staff, Full Time (90-100%), Non-Union, Remote-Friendly
Working/Functional Title

Data Scientist

Position Summary

Michigan State University Global IDEAS of International Studies and Programs supports international engagement under the MSU strategic plan, communicates key data to university leadership and the public, and acts as a campus wide analytical resource. Global IDEAS values individual and group differences and encourage applicants who will contribute to a culture of inclusion on campus.

Global IDEAS manages MSU's International Data Portal. This portal currently provides visualizations of or MSU's Externally Funded International Projects, International Student Enrollment, Education Abroad, International Agreements Data and International Research Collaboration. The process used to display this data currently uses a laborious and incomplete method to access and display the data. Recent conversations with the data managers at MSU have shown a path forward that will allow for direct access and visualization of the data. This access will also allow the construction of personalized dashboards in Tableau for data analysis and display. In addition, there are many ways that MSU's international work can be analyzed and presented to decision-makers for more complete and thorough use of the data. Global IDEAS seeks a Data Scientist to lead this work and deepen and broaden the collaborations with decision-makers and other Data Scientists across MSU to provide timely analysis and insights.

Global IDEAS seeks a Data Scientist who is curious, creative, and can both see the big picture and work with attention to detail. The successful candidate will have strong interpersonal and communication skills to convey findings to a variety of audiences and positively influence university leadership. The Data Scientist will need to articulate complex issues to non-technical audience clearly and effectively. Daily activities may include development of data representations and visualizations, advising on predictive models and creating easy to understand reports and dashboards.

Primary responsibilities include:

Analysis and decision support for university international initiatives and projects

Consult with units or groups working through specialized data needs and analytics, working as a resource from the beginning to end of the project

Analyze, interpret, summarize, and present data and findings in a clear, comprehensive, and effective manner to all levels of the university community

Liaise with ISP Directors and leadership to determine data and analytic needs and provide solutions and provide targeted training of tools and platforms when necessary

Represent ISP on university wide committees

Keep apprised of trends and conversations about higher education

Conduct internal and external benchmarking analysis

Organize and prioritize a variety of projects in a timely manner, manage own work and priorities

Builds custom SQL to meet reporting requirements and ISP International Data Portal

Performs query tuning and root cause analysis to optimize performance and fix errors in existing database objects, ensure the quality of the ISP International Data Portal; works with ISP leaders to further enhance data access and presentation in International Data Portal

Develop SQL to create database tables, views, and stored procedures to support data storage and report development.

Develop and design reports and dashboards in Tableau.

Consult with and support ISP centers and units with strategic international data analyses and, on a priority basis, collaborate with other units on campus on evaluating and acquiring data tools and streamlining data reporting, use research findings to make recommendations to administrators to contribute to decision making for short- and long-term planning.

Equal Employment Opportunity Statement

All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, national origin, citizenship, age, disability or protected veteran status.

Required Degree

Doctorate -statistics, computational science or related

Minimum Requirements

Doctorate degree in statistics, computational science, a social science discipline, GIS, data analytics or related field including other degrees with a strong quantitative emphasis

Five or more years of experience in statistical consulting, research, data mining, data science, data management and analysis; or an equivalent combination of education and experience

Strong track record demonstrating success in collaborative research projects

Excellent communication skills including, presenting, editing, and writing as well as accuracy and attention to detail required

Three to five years of related experience in data analysis, SQL development, data warehousing and data visualization

Experience writing advanced SQL queries; expertise with Oracle PL/SQL, expertise with Tableau

Desired Qualifications

In depth knowledge of University administrative organization, policies, procedures, and practices for institutional research-oriented roles

Ability to use data retrieval and manipulation, and expertise in statistical tools such as SAS, SQL, STATA, R, D3, Python, and data visualization tools such as Tableau

Proven excellence in program management and project management

Experience building and leading teams across a wide variety of domains

Prior experience working in a university setting and with higher education related data (student, research, business support systems). An understanding of data warehouse technologies (Oracle preferred); familiarity with data integration processes using enterprise ETL tools (DataStage preferred) and the role of data stewardship

Experience creating data flow diagrams and data dictionaries. The ability to model and analyze data in statistical tools (SPSS, R, SAS, Python, or similar) combined with experience integrating large datasets from a variety of sources. Experience with ETL tools (DataStage, Informatica)

Ability to use data retrieval and manipulation, and expertise in statistical tools such as SAS, SQL, STATA, R, D3, Python, and data visualization tools such as Tableau

Experience in development and design of reports and dashboards in Tableau and ability to work closely with clients to build custom dashboards and provide support for data analysis to support ISP centers and other units in developing and streamlining data reporting; use research findings to make recommendations to administrators to contribute to decision making for short- and long-term planning

Required Application Materials

• CV,
• cover letter and
• sample of work

Remote Work Statement

MSU strives to provide a flexible work environment and this position has been designated as remote-friendly. Remote-friendly means some or all of the duties can be performed remotely as mutually agreed upon.

Website

https://globalideas.isp.msu.edu/

Department Statement

Our Mission

Global Innovations in Development, Engagement, and Scholarship (Global IDEAS) catalyzes interdisciplinary thought, research, and action to solve global/grand challenges in an international development context. We facilitate communities of practice; collaborate and engage with external partners and donors; enhance opportunities for faculty and staff to conduct research, education, and engagement; and provide proposal development and project management to support MSU's international objectives.

Our Vision

MSU faculty and staff:

•  are sought after by partners around the world for collaborative endeavors;

• have increased access to funding sources to support their engagement in international development projects;
  

• develop competitive and high-quality proposals for impactful projects; and

• are recognized as thought leaders in the international development space and help shape dialogue.

MSU Statement

Michigan State University has been advancing the common good with uncommon will for more than 160 years. One of the top research universities in the world, MSU pushes the boundaries of discovery and forges enduring partnerships to solve the most pressing global challenges while providing life-changing opportunities to a diverse and inclusive academic community through more than 200 programs of study in 17 degree-granting colleges.

Advertised: Mar 13, 2023 Eastern Daylight Time
Applications close: Apr 3, 2023 Eastern Daylight Time

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