Senior Director, EAB Research (Academic Innovation)

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

Senior Director, EAB Research (Academic Innovation)

EAB’s research programs offer strategic guidance at scale: we help executives make progress on their most pressing financial and mission-consequential issues. EAB research helps clients educate stakeholders on campus, make research-informed decisions, and speed the implementation of recommended practices. We work with presidents, provosts, CBOs, and senior-most executives on issues related to enrollment, student success and retention, and university operations.

As a Senior Director, you will oversee research studies for a specific terrain: Academic Innovation. You will manage a team of researchers to set and execute a compelling research, event, and service agenda for university provosts and deans. You will craft practical deliverables (e.g., self-audits, toolkits, executive briefings) and experiences (e.g., executive presentations, interactive workshops) that provide actionable advice and help partners translate that research into clear decisions and results on their campuses.

This person will work closely with Research leadership and other terrain teams, including contributing research and insights to cross-silo projects like EAB’s annual State of the Sector presentation. You will also work with other departments in EAB, including Research Commercial, Strategy, and Delivery teams. A successful candidate will have a demonstrated interest in academic affairs and related education issues as well as product strategy. This person will have the ability to thrive in a fast-paced commercial environment.

This role is based in Washington D.C. or open to exceptional candidates in Richmond, VA or who would be based remote within the continental United States. This position requires occasional travel (15-30%) to client campuses.

Primary Responsibilities

Research Leadership: You are the intellectual leader of research initiatives in the academic innovation terrain. You must ensure that EAB has a clear point of view on evergreen and emerging challenges, provide practical advice and implementation support to help provosts and deans - as well as broader university cabinets, including the CBO and president - make critical decisions in these areas. In consultation with Research leadership and internal partners, you set and execute compelling research agendas that address real-world strategic and operational problems, balancing client needs with business priorities and terrain capacity and skillsets. You manage complex research projects from conception to completion, conducting root cause analyses of client problems, trend and/or data analyses, and extensive qualitative research interviews with university executives and thought leaders. You synthesize insights from across these sources to create a compelling point of view on the research topic and deliverables (e.g., executive presentation, diagnostic tools, case studies) that help clients educate stakeholders, make decisions, and implement best practices. You continually use market feedback from partner and client-facing teams to ensure research is actionable and cutting-edge for clients. You collaborate with other research leaders in related terrains (e.g., Dynamic Strategy; Administration, Finance, and Operations; Professional and Adult Education) and products to get feedback, align differing points of view, and share best practices, emerging trends, and elevate the insights and quality of research on other teams.

Terrain Expertise: Develop and maintain terrain mastery over primary issue areas for academic innovation, which may include academic program launch and review, academic efficiency and resource allocation, faculty roles and affairs, research enterprise growth, and graduate and doctoral education. You will serve as a trusted subject matter expert in these areas, providing tailored advice and presentations for clients. You will build a network of relationships with provosts and deans at client universities. You are expected to continuously monitor relevant news, trends, and innovations within the terrain, and encouraged to expand the terrain expertise based on market feedback and opportunity assessment(s).

Product Strategy: You collaborate with Research leadership (including Research Growth Strategy) to set and execute 6- and 12- month terrain roadmaps. Partner with Research Marketing, Sales, Account Management, and Partner Success to train internal staff and develop compelling commercial and service strategies to drive clear partner outcomes and revenue growth for the business. Identify opportunities to innovate and grow the product through new services and value drivers for clients.

Team and Talent Management: You will manage research project teams (2-4 staff), providing tailored coaching to develop individual staff. You will be responsible for ensuring that terrain projects are completed on time and consistent with EAB’s quality standards. You also will be an individual contributor, leading and delivering on a set of your own research and product projects. Activities may include: sourcing research leads, scheduling and leading qualitative research interviews, conducting data analyses, creating presentation slides, authoring blog posts and research reports, and more.

Basic Qualifications

• Bachelor’s degree, with an excellent academic record
• 8-10+ years of post-Bachelor’s work experience
• In-depth understanding of education industry and the specific role that provosts and deans play in strategy, decision making, and operations
• Superior verbal, written, facilitation, and presentation skills: able to create compelling narratives through written deliverables, data visualization, graphics, and slides.
• Excellent relationship building and collaboration skills
• Experience with at least three of the following:
• Academic program strategy or administration
• Corporate partnerships or executive education
• Management or strategy consulting
• Product strategy, market positioning, or brand management
• People/team management
• 2-year or 4-year education
• Long-term or primary and secondary research
  

Ideal Qualifications

• Advanced degree
• Background in quantitative data analyses, especially using national data sources like IPEDS
• Experience working with client executives, either at a college or university, or as a consultant or advisor
• Demonstrated ability to distill market and terrain insights, drawing on client interactions
• Experience producing written content and deliverables for an executive-level audience (e.g., blogs, briefings, presentations)
• Commitment to valuing diversity, practicing inclusive behaviors, and contributing to an equitable working and continual learning environment in support of EAB’s DE&I Promise
  
  

If you’ve reached this section of the job description and are unsure of whether to apply, please do! At EAB, we welcome diversity of background and experience. We would encourage you to submit an application if this is a role you would be passionate about doing every day.

Compensation

The anticipated starting salary range for this role is $100,000 - $135,000 per year. Actual salary varies due to factors that may include but not be limited to relevant experience, skills, and location. At EAB, it is not typical for an individual to be hired at or near the top of the starting salary range for their role.

Benefits

Consistent with our belief that our employees are our most valuable resource, EAB offers a competitive and inclusive benefits package. Our benefits currently include:

• Medical, dental, and vision insurance plans; dependents and domestic partners eligible
• 20+ days of PTO annually, in addition to paid firm and floating holidays
• Daytime leave policy for community service and flextime for fitness activities (up to 10 hours per month each)
• 401(k) retirement savings plan with annual discretionary company matching contribution
• Health savings account, healthcare and dependent care flexible spending account, and pre-tax commuter plans
• Employee assistance program with counseling services and resources available to all employees and immediate family
• Wellness programs including gym discounts, incentives to promote healthy living, and family access to the leading app for sleep, meditation, and relaxation
• Gender affirming care coverage
• Fertility treatment coverage and adoption or surrogacy assistance
• Paid parental leave with phase back to work program for birthing and non-birthing parents
• Access to milk shipping service to support nursing employees during business travel
• Discounted pet health insurance coverage for dog and cat family members
• Company-provided life, AD&D, and disability insurance
• Financial wellness resources and membership in a robust employee discount program
• Access to employee resource groups, merit-based advancement, and dynamic professional growth opportunities
  
  

Benefits kick in day one; learn more at eab.com/careers/benefits .

This opening is not eligible for visa sponsorship at this time; EAB will thus consider candidates who possess U.S. work authorization that does not require employment-based visa sponsorship now or in the future.

At EAB, we believe that to fulfill our mission to “make education smarter and our communities stronger” we need team members who bring a diversity of perspectives to the table and are committed to fostering a workplace where each team member is valued, respected and heard.

To that end, EAB is an Equal Opportunity Employer, and we make employment decisions on the basis of qualifications, merit and business need. We don’t discriminate on the basis of race, religion, color, sex, gender identity or expression, sexual orientation, age, non-disqualifying physical or mental disability, national origin, veteran status or any other basis covered by appropriate law.