Social Science Research Professional 1 - Multidisciplinary (Data Analyst)

Working with faculty and staff in the Department of Biology Teaching & Learning, the successful candidate for this Data and Research Support position will contribute to data projects focused on undergraduate education outcomes. This position manages and analyzes data from departmental surveys, knowledge assessments, and the university’s data warehouse to assess student outcomes. Work will be done remotely and in person on the Minneapolis campus.

The successful candidate will independently manage multiple competing short- and long-term projects and meet project deadlines. They will demonstrate excellent organizational, analytical, and problem-solving skills with meticulous attention to detail. They will demonstrate strong written and verbal communication skills appropriate for communicating with a variety of audiences. They will exercise precautions important to maintaining a confidential data environment. 

Essential and Other Functions:

• 25% Manage departmental surveys including recruitment, administration, and overall coordination 
• 20% Clean, organize, and store departmental data while keeping detailed records of data processing
• 20% Perform descriptive statistical data analysis on survey and knowledge assessment responses, student demographics, and student outcomes. Create charts, graphs, and tables for internal and external reports and presentations
• 20% Create and maintain standard assessment procedures and protocols for data collection, management, and analysis; ensure data security and confidentiality. Prepare research datasets and codebooks as directed by departmental staff and faculty. 
• 5% Supervise, mentor, and train undergraduate members of the Data and Research Support team; participate in the evaluation and hiring of new undergraduate team members
• 5% Work to promote Data and Research Support to the department and the wider college community
• 5% Work with the communications team to promote surveys to the student population

Required Qualifications:

• BA/BS or a combination of related education or work experience to equal four years
• Experience with the R programming language (e.g., dplyr, tidyr, & ggplot)
• Experience cleaning and wrangling large datasets
• Experience preparing charts, graphs, tables, and presentations 

Preferred Qualifications: 

• BA/BS in a science or social science field (computer science, statistics, psychology, sociology, biology, etc.) and/or one year of related work experience such as working with large data sets to measure outcomes
• Experience creating and managing databases
• Experience with survey software (e.g., Qualtrics) 
• Experience with Structured Query Language (SQL) or another relational database programming language 
• Experience building data dashboards (e.g., Tableau Dashboards) 
• Experience in a higher education environment working with faculty, staff, and/or students, especially in biology and/or educational psychology or related fields
• Experience with University of Minnesota reporting mechanisms (Reporting Center, Data Warehouse, PeopleSoft)

Application Process:

Priority Application review will begin after 9:00 am on Monday, April 7th, 2025, with Zoom interviews anticipated to be in mid-April. Application materials need to be submitted online in PDF format with the applicant’s last name in the PDF title; applications will not be considered until all of the following materials have been uploaded:

• Resume/CV
• Cover letter highlighting qualifications relevant to job requirements including an explanation of how the applicant meets the required (and desirable, if appropriate) qualifications of the position

About the Department

The University of Minnesota has a national reputation in biology teaching and educational research. To build on existing strengths, the Department of Biology Teaching and Learning was created in July 2014 as a partnership between the College of Biological Sciences and the College of Education and Human Development. The mission of our department is to discover, apply and share research-based strategies that transform biology education. With strengths in both biological and pedagogical research, the Department of Biology Teaching and Learning strives to be part of a tradition of excellence. Through our ongoing research, our department members contribute to the growing understanding of how students learn; through their teaching and outreach, we model the implementation of evidence-based educational research; and through our mentoring of graduate students and colleagues, we will help build a strong community of teaching scholars of national reputation.

Diversity Statement

The Department of Biology Teaching and Learning values Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion along all axes of identity (race, gender, orientation, disability, etc.).  We seek colleagues who share this value and can add to our expertise in these areas to join us and the work we are doing. The Department’s full DEI statement is available at: https://cbs.umn.edu/academics/departments/btl/about-btl/dei