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Improvement Analytics Specialist

WestEd is a nonpartisan, nonprofit agency that conducts and applies research, develops evidence-based solutions, and provides services and resources in the realms of education, human development, and related fields, with the end goal of improving outcomes and ensuring equity for individuals from infancy through adulthood. WestEd has more than a dozen offices nationwide, from Massachusetts, Georgia, and Washington, DC, to Arizona and California, with headquarters in San Francisco.
Throughout WestEd’s over 50-year history we have maintained a strong commitment to staff diversity. Individuals of different ethnicities, races, abilities, gender identities, and sexual orientations, as well as from different cultural, linguistic, and socioeconomic backgrounds, work at all levels of the organization. We value the range of perspectives provided by this diverse workforce and the ways in which those perspectives enrich and inform our agency and the work we do. Read more about WestEd’s Commitment to Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion.
Our mission is to improve learning, healthy development, and equity in schools and communities. With headquarters in San Francisco, WestEd has more than 700 employees who work in 46 states and DC, with a significant number of staff working virtually.
WestEd’s work, which generates approximately $170 million in annual revenues, is focused in the following areas: 1) training and technical assistance; 2) research and evaluation; and 3) policy advisory. Our core values include research-based approaches to serving the needs of our clients, ensuring excellence and integrity in all our work, equity, and striving for impact. To view our 2020 Year in Review from our CEO, Glen Harvey, please visit here.
Program Profile:
The Improvement Analytics Specialist will join WestEd’s Improvement Science Team, which currently has 16 members. Our work focuses on complex, collaborative projects that develop the capacity of partners to transform systems in ways that improve educational outcomes for historically underserved communities. Our work covers a variety of educational spaces, from early grade literacy to middle school math and teacher preparation. Team members are lifelong learners with a commitment to advancing educational equity and we strive to “walk the walk” of improvement by applying improvement principles and methods to the way we operate as a team. New team members should share our passion for improvement and see it as their vocation.
The Improvement Science Team is housed within WestEd’s Division 3, which employs around 260 people.
 Brief Position Description:
WestEd is seeking to fill the position of Senior Improvement Analytics Specialist to develop the capacity of partners to transform systems in ways that improve educational outcomes and advance equity. Our growing team integrates quality improvement methods, content expertise, and practitioner knowledge to guide educators in the design and management of more effective and just systems. The ideal candidate will have extensive experience using data and coaching others to use data to support equity-focused transformation of educational systems.
 Position Description:
The Improvement Analytics Specialist will support educational organizations in identifying, developing, and using data to inform their on-going systemic improvement efforts. The Improvement Analytics Specialist will join the improvement science team, working closely with WestEd improvement specialists, partner organizations, and network affiliates to investigate problems of practice, to leverage extant data or develop measures useful for on-the-ground improvement efforts, and to support the building of a data infrastructure to provide the right data to the right users at the right time.
We seek candidates with cultural competency and a passion for fostering racial justice and equity through data work. Central to this work is experience integrating the identification, collection, analysis, and use of data into efforts to advance educational equity in K-12 systems.
The ideal candidate will have at a minimum of 2 years of experience providing data and analytics support to educators working to improve educational systems. This support may include guiding teams to develop inquiry questions; connecting data and analyses to inquiry; identifying and developing measures or sets of measures to inform improvement efforts; conducting analyses of quantitative data to address inquiry questions; collecting, analyzing, and representing data in ways that are useful for practitioners; working closely with educators to make sense of and use data to inform next steps; and applying an equity lens to these activities. The candidate's experience may also include using and supporting others to use qualitative research methods. Depending on background experiences, projects may span topics including K-12 student achievement, chronic absenteeism, special education, career technical education, college access and completion, teacher preparation, and school and district strategic planning.
Familiarity with quality improvement methodologies (e.g., the Model for Improvement, Lean Six Sigma, Total Quality Management) and associated theory (e.g., Deming’s System of Profound Knowledge, Carnegie’s Six Principles, systems theory, organizational psychology, institutional theory) is strongly preferred.
Responsibilities may include:
  • Providing analytics support for quality improvement projects, including:
  1. Coaching improvement teams to identify measures that will support their work;
  2. Leading teams to use data in ways that are sensitive to and that address equity concerns;
  3. Co-developing a family of measures with improvement teams for an improvement project, or a set of Key Performance Indicators for an educational system;
  4. Supporting the development of an analytics infrastructure that enables continuous improvement;
  5. Developing data visualizations that inform quality improvement efforts; and
  6. Designing and conducting qualitative data collection and analysis.
  • Developing, evaluating, and refining training materials for measurement and analytics for improvement;
  • Facilitating internal and external improvement trainings;
  • Developing and delivering presentations to diverse audiences;
  • Production of written materials including training materials, blog posts, project reports, and research-based articles;
  • Managing lines of work, including developing timelines and meeting deadlines;
  • Directing the work of research associates, assistants, and outside contractors assigned to particular parts of projects for which the position is responsible;
  • Participating in the development of proposals for new work, taking responsibility for writing the research design and analysis plans for both the quantitative and qualitative sections of the overall narrative;
  • Communicating and collaborating with diverse, multi-functional teams, and developing productive and positive relationships both internally and with external partners.
Qualifications:
  • Master’s degree or Doctoral degree in education, psychology, statistics, or related field, plus at least 2 years of experience supporting improvement efforts in an educational context.
  • Programming expertise in at least one major statistical package (e.g. Stata, SAS, SPSS, R).
  • Experience developing, maintaining, and utilizing K-12 district data systems.
  • Experience coaching individuals or teams in data use.
  • Experience incorporating the perspectives of people from diverse racial, ethnic, and socioeconomic backgrounds in the consideration of impacts and outcomes of a decision-making process.
  • Excellent ability to write and communicate clearly.
  • Ability to pursue work and goals with tenacity, flexibility, and persistence in the face of complex, uncertain, or shifting circumstances.
  • Experience developing and managing timelines, deadlines, and deliverables for projects.
  • Demonstrated ability to learn on-the-job, give and receive constructive feedback, and grow into new roles and responsibilities as the work demands.
  • Ability to manage multiple tasks and meet deadlines in a fast-paced environment.
  • Commitment to advancing equity in education.
  • Understanding the concepts of institutional and structural racism and bias and their impact on underserved and underrepresented communities in education.
  • Ability to work on a flexible schedule and travel, as needed.
SALARY AND BENEFITS: Salary for this role is classified as Level H and salary is competitive and commensurate with experience. WestEd offers a very generous benefits package including medical, dental, and vision coverage, as well as Life, AD&D and Disability insurance. We also offer various retirement plan options and Flexible Spending Accounts for medical, childcare, and commuter expenses. WestEd offers generous paid holidays and paid time off (PTO), among other benefits.
TRAVEL (up to 20%): In a post-COVID world, travel is assumed to be about 20% for the purpose of client visits and presentations in the field. Most meetings are currently done virtually, but travel for some projects is happening and is likely to increase over time.