Associate Director, Research and Strategic Advisory Services (Academic Strategy)

Job Description

Job Description

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 and Strategic Advisory Services

Focus Area: Higher Education Academic Strategy

Associate Directors on our Strategic Advisory Services team (within the Research Discovery & Design division) help 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 executive roundtables, on-campus workshops, webinars, 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 Academic Strategy pillar, which focuses on urgent challenges facing today’s academic leaders such as program portfolio management, curricular and co-curricular innovations, instructional efficiency and cost management, sponsored research, and faculty affairs (recruitment, workloads, rewards and recognition). The Academic Strategy team primarily supports provosts and academic deans, providing a combination of thought leadership, strategy guidance, tactical best practices, and hands-on implementation support.  

A successful candidate for this position will:

• Bring strong professional judgment and clear communication skills, with the ability to translate complex findings into accessible insights for campus leaders
• Thrive in collaborative, fast-moving environments - taking initiative, following through on details, and adjusting quickly as priorities evolve
• Combine analytical rigor with intellectual curiosity and agility, getting up to speed on key issues quickly and taking ownership over sub-terrains
• Be willing to draw on a range of sources and deploy various methods to generate actionable advice for campus leaders that is both strategic and tactical in nature
• Have experience beyond academic research and publications to include consulting, client-responsive projects, or advisory work that translates insights into strategy and action

This hire may be based in Washington D.C. or Richmond, VA; this position is also open to remote employment in the continental U.S. The position may require occasional travel (up to approximately 10%) for presenting research findings to our partners as well as facilitating strategy sessions.

This role is listed as Associate Director, Research and Strategic Advisory Services for posting purposes; the official and internal title of this hire is expected to be Associate Director, Research Discovery & Design to align with EAB business norms. This position is also posted at Director level; candidates are being considered at both levels for the current opening.  

Primary Responsibilities:

• Design and lead 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 .
• 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
• Synthesize complex ideas into actionable insights for executive audiences
• Use persuasive writing, storytelling, and graphics to communicate ideas and information
• Manage relationships with internal and external stakeholders
• Conduct market-sizing, testing calls, and product design analysis for new research and product enhancements
• Collaborate with individual project leads, subject matter experts, and delivery teams to ensure that deliverables are designed for scalable execution and interactive partner engagement
• Manage and coach junior-level researcher staff by developing critical skills, providing actionable feedback, and managing workloads
• Deliver initial 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 exper