About The American Council on Education (ACE): ACE is a dynamic and forward-thinking organization committed to advancing higher education through collaboration, innovation, and networking. We strive to create impactful events and meetings that bring together professionals, thought leaders, and stakeholders to exchange ideas and contribute to the growth and development of higher education.

Position Overview: The Chief Data Scientist, Carnegie Classifications & Senior Advisor to the President will have a comprehensive research portfolio supporting both the work of the Carnegie Classifications team and President Ted Mitchell, and will also support work of other divisions at ACE. This data strategist will perform research, analyze data, and interpret those data to a wider audience. This is a new role, responsible for a variety of special projects that ACE seeks to undertake. 

Essential Job Duties or Tasks

Carnegie Classifications: 

• Serve as a key decision-leader in determining the overall design and function of the Carnegie Classifications, including the 2024 Basic and Social and Economic Mobility classifications 
• Manage the Technical Review Panel for the classifications. This includes managing the development of white papers and working with the members of the panel closely. 
• Work on a variety of models both for the Basic Classification and for the Social and Economic Mobility Classification. 
• This person will be both a research strategist and executor. They will (a) identify topics for research, (b) analyze the data, (c) oversee the production of that analysis into formats that are understandable to a variety of audiences, and (d) help implement those research and policy choices in the new classifications. 
• Present research questions and data findings at select conferences and events, in order to promote and raise awareness about the new classifications. 
• Produce public-facing reports, blogs, white papers, methodology and guidance documents, and other materials. 
• Support the production of future versions of the Carnegie Classifications by identifying new sources of data, exploring new methodological approaches to organizational classification, and creating example classifications.
• Serve as close advisor to the Executive Director and Deputy Executive Director of the Carnegie Classifications project on a range of strategy, data, and policy questions. 
• Coordinate the work of external database administrators and other consultants.

President’s Office: 

• Serve as advisor to the President and Senior Vice Presidents on important issues of research. Prepare Ted and other senior leaders for events, presentations, and other engagements by thinking through the appropriate data to underpin the arguments ACE is advancing.
• Advance special projects including strategic communications, institutional and policy analyses for internal and external audiences, publishable research, and other analytical assignments that support the mission of ACE, the efficient and effective management of the organization, and the advancement of higher education system.
• Use strong facility with a higher education, economic, and demographic datasets and knowledge of applicable academic literature in education, economics, public administration, history, and science policy to perform research and analysis on schools, students, financing, organizational structures, trends, and policies for specific audiences.
• Help transform ACE into a more data-intensive organization and utilize the data and research to help inform ACE’s policy choices and programmatic approaches. For instance, use knowledge of the higher education landscape to help inform our approach to answering Strategic Priority 1: Affirming and Strengthening Trust in Higher Education. 
• Work with the Membership team on member engagement and consider research projects that can support our strong relationship with member institutions. 

Education/Experience/Specialized Knowledge and Competencies 

• Minimum of 10 years professional experience, preferably in roles of increasing responsibility. A deep understanding of higher education sectors nationally and regionally is a must.
• Must have a terminal degree in a research field, preferably related to higher education. 
• Must have the ability to analyze large data sets, then translate findings into key messages, accessible talking points, data visualizations, and presentations. 
• Must be an individual of high ethical standards who can effectively work with a diverse constituency and who possesses exceptional interpersonal skills necessary to manage a complex policy space. 
• Must have extremely strong written and oral communication and advocacy skills.
• Must have strong knowledge of social science research design, methodologies, and statistics

Working Conditions/Physical Effort:  

Office environment; hybrid schedule. Occasional travel required. This position is a requirement to be in the office at 1 Dupont Circle, Washington DC 20036 at least 3 days per week.

The American Council on Education is an Equal Opportunity/Affirmative Action employer. All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, color, religion, national origin, sex, age, marital status, personal appearance, sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, family responsibilities, political affiliation, disability, matriculation, familial status, genetic information, source of income, place of residence or business, status as a victim of an intra-family offense, credit information, protected veteran status, status as a victim or family member of a victim of domestic violence, a sexual offense, or stalking.

Application Process:

To be considered for the position, please submit a resume and cover letter during the application process.