Associate Director, Research Growth Strategy

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 Growth Strategy

The Research Growth Strategy (RGS) team is responsible for supporting strong contract value expansion of existing products and identifying and launching new products and services. The Associate Director in this role would focus on products and services and commercial enablement for EAB’s domestic higher ed institutions. This role may manage an analyst. 

This role may be based in Washington D.C. or open to remote employment within the continental United States. This position may require occasional travel (10-15%) to office and team in-days as well as to partner college and university campuses for marketing listening experiences.

This position is also listed as Associate Director, Research Product Development & Commercial Enablement for posting purposes; the official title of this hire is expected to be Associate Director, Research Growth Strategy to align with EAB business norms.

Primary Responsibilities:

Co-lead Research product strategy and innovation efforts, by:

• Working with RGS domestic higher ed colleagues to create new products and signature services that are market-responsive
• Testing potential new products and services with prospects and partners
• Supporting the go-to-market process for new products and services
• Liaising with internal Research teams to gain content knowledge
• Supporting training for and communication to product teams to encourage innovation at the initial product development stage
• Manage and coach junior-level researcher staff by developing critical skills, providing actionable feedback, and managing workloads

Serve as the collateral lead, through:

• Creating decks and supporting deliverables for new products and services
• Creating or supporting creation of 1-pagers and slides used by Partner Development, Account Management, and Partner Success to talk about Research offerings in a clear and compelling way
• Other one-off collateral support for Partner Development or other colleagues

Successful RGS Associate Director qualities include:

• An ability to navigate a highly matrixed organization
• An interest and ability to innovate and test new products (based on evidence and knowledge of partner priorities)
• An ability to move quickly but also set guardrails on processes
• A talent for creating visually-engaging partner-facing decks and collateral that are informative, clear, and persuasive
• An excellent writer who can write with clear, compelling language
• A project management extraordinaire; able to make and lead project plans, manage upward and downward on a team, and iterate on and improve a project as it develops
• An independently-driven leader who is also eager to work with and learn from a passionate team
• An open-minded individual with an innovative mindset

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 experience in EAB Research
  
  
• Proven analytic skills and ability to translate market findings into commercial strategy and product innovations

• Proven ability to create visually compelling and well-written external deliverables, especially with a commercial component
  
  
• Proven ability to build strong working relationships with colleagues and external partners

• Proven ability to manage staff and lead teams to deliver high-quality projects on time

• Exceptional project management, prioritization, and delegation skills, especially in a fast-paced environment

• Experience working with education executives, either at a college, university, K-12 school, or district, or as a consultant/advisor to education partners

• Ability to travel 10-15%

Ideal Qualifications

• MBA or advanced degree

• Management or strategy consulting experience

• Proven ability to successfully work in a matrixed organization

• Experience with solution-focused problem-solving and thinking through problems creatively

• Experience with new product or business development

• Experience working with clients in a consultative role

• Commitment to embracing a continual learning environment and contributing to a dynamic and welcoming culture of fairness, authenticity, and belonging in support of EAB’s mission, values, and aspiration.

If you’ve reached this section of the job description and are unsure of whether to apply, please do! At EAB, we welcome new perspectives and learn from each other’s unique experiences. 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 (base) range for this role is $70,500 - $95,000 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.

This hire will additionally be eligible for discretionary bonus or incentive compensation. Variable compensation may depend on various factors, such as individual and organizational performance.

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 

·       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.