Research Analyst - F-296

Research Analyst - F-296

Department: Institutional Research and Strategic Insights
Campus: Barrie
Classification: Support Staff
Posting Date: January 23, 2025
Hourly Pay Range: $42.56 (start rate) - $49.34 (4-year rate)
Hours per week: 37.5 hours per week
Status: Contract (Appendix D)
Effective Date: asap to August 31, 2026

This is a temporary replacement position for a bargaining unit employee. Terms and conditions of employment are as outlined in the Support Staff Collective Agreement.

Located in Barrie and reporting to the Director, Institutional Research and Strategic Insights, the incumbent is responsible for supporting a variety of institutional research, planning,



effectiveness and quality improvement initiatives by providing quantitative and qualitative analysis to internal/external clients/stakeholders, all levels of college administration, including the Senior Leadership Team, and the Board of Governors. The incumbent provides subject matter expertise and recommendations in the areas of research methodologies, project planning and survey design, as well as data and information collection including both primary and secondary research.

The Research Analyst also completes specific high-level research, develops and implements surveys, as well as focus groups, with a variety of stakeholders on behalf of the college. The incumbent will support various strategic institutional projects pertaining to student engagement, retention and success initiatives, college/organizational performance, and support college-wide projects. The deliverables that the Research Analyst completes and/or supports include, but are not limited to; program innovation strategy; feedback surveys; strategic and accountability reporting (Environmental Scan, Strategic Mandate Agreement, etc.); program reviews and assessments,



the implementation and reporting of internal/external reporting; student retention, progression and graduation reporting; and Key Performance Indicator analysis.

The Research Analyst uses specialized software and a variety of techniques to collect data as well as to complete advanced data analysis, providing interpretation of the analysis, including the professional communication of results through written reports, presentations and dashboards/data visualizations. The accuracy of both the analysis completed and the interpretations made, is critical to ensure effective and accurate decision-making across various departments of the college and by external clients. Specific duties include, but are not limited to:

• Leads, organizes, designs,



coordinates and delivers a wide range of corporate research activities and projects in support of institutional planning, effectiveness, assessment, evaluation and decision-making. The Research Analyst communicates and collaborates with internal and external stakeholders to understand and operationalize their research needs to develop work plans, as well as negotiate roles, timelines and approaches
• Applies an advanced knowledge of quantitative and qualitative research methodology to recommend the most appropriate approach in conducting complex institutional research studies
• Performs all phases of research, assessment and evaluation, including problem definition; study design; data and information collection; and dissemination/presentation of findings accurately and professionally. Projects may include analysing opportunities for new academic programs,



business opportunities; or services; evaluating the quality of existing programs and services; assessing student engagement and performance; as well as analysing data and writing reports for college-wide projects/accountability requirements and other projects to identify, promote and advise on areas of strategic opportunities that position Georgian and its students for success. Projects may include internal research and data projects (labour market projections, faculty needs research, etc). as well as external projects (economic impact study, community well-being study, commuter study, etc.)
• Provides guidance and subject matter expertise to other areas of the college by delivering research advice, insight, recommendations and direction for research initiatives
• Manages multiple research projects at any given time (research may involve hundreds of participants),



prioritizes tasks and adheres to schedules and deadlines. Coordinates research projects, documents process, applies project management principles and practices, and communicates and engages effectively with various stakeholders and clients to successfully complete projects in a timely manner
• Designing and developing interactive dashboards with appropriate and effective data visualizations
• Provides expert guidance to internal and external researchers with regards to Tri-Council Policy Statement: Ethical Conduct for Research Involving Humans achieved through course completion/certification
• Supports the Institutional Research Strategy, senior management, and college working groups and committees, with meaningful and actionable intelligence for decision-making using their highly developed research and analytical expertise.



Projects and studies may include student retention, progression and success; academic pathways and learning modalities; student/learner analytics and engagement; labour market analysis and projections; college service and program assessments; as well as analysis pertaining to specific student population analysis (Indigenous students; International students; mature learners, part-time students, etc.)
• Designs survey research projects, develops and implements survey instruments, and analyses data for a wide range of activities and initiatives including new academic program development opportunities; academic program renewal; student retention and success; organizational effectiveness, etc. The project may also require the incumbent to conduct competitive peer analysis, complete literature reviews as well as investigate labour market, industry and sector trends




• Identifies appropriate analysis to perform and acquires required data from various databases in a variety of formats. The incumbent creates, maintains and manages various data sets, including downloads and extracts from external databases (OCAS, Lightcast Analyst, government Open Data, etc.) as well as data from internal sources The incumbent joins different datasets using aggregate and computational functions to transform data for complex analysis ensuring that data has been cleaned, verified and validated as well as organized it into the most appropriate format to meet the research needs
• Utilizes specialized software (Cognos, Power BI, R, Power BI, etc.) to access,



format and analyse raw data as well as use appropriate data visualization techniques to disseminate and present the findings and recommendations in a user-friendly manner with effective data visualizations
• Uses descriptive statistics, such as frequencies, cross tabs, percentages as well as more advanced statistical analysis, such as correlation, t-tests and regression to produce reports for clients using statistical software (i.e. SPSS, SAS, R, etc.). The incumbent critically reviews output and identifies cause of any discrepancies and resolves as necessary
• Contributes to the knowledge base of the IR department with regards to external information (i.e. political, social, demographic, economic data and trends); new analytical software and tools; relevant communications, recent releases (i.e. population projections, census data, labour market information, etc.) to support college working groups and committees, senior management and the Board of Governors with actionable intelligence for planning and decision-making purposes
• Effectively communicates research findings through written reports and presentations maintaining objectivity and professionalism

Qualifications:
• Successfully completed a 4-year Honours Degree in Social Sciences (i.e. Psychology, Sociology, etc.) or in related field of study with courses focusing on research methodology, survey research, statistical analysis and/or database analysis and management
• A minimum of 5 years direct experience in a research capacity/environment (i.e. research methodology, survey/questionnaire design, focus group facilitation, statistical analysis, and report writing)
• Direct experience with both quantitative and qualitative research methods and analysis
• High proficiency with MS Office suite (Word, Excel, PowerPoint, Outlook, Power BI, etc.) to conduct complex analysis, prepare documents, create presentations and prepare reports and dashboards for dissemination to key constituents
• Proven experience with creating meaningful and interactive dashboards using Power BI, Tableau, etc.
• Experience with drawing inferences, determining correlation/causality and evaluating impacts and outcomes.
• Experience working in a networked environment and using specialized software (Cognos, Power BI, NVivo, SPSS, etc.) would be considered an asset
• Proven ability in data extractions, and database management.
• Experience in postsecondary environment would be considered an asset
• Experience with eXplorance Blue software would be considered an asset

Georgian College supports diversity, equity and a workplace free from harassment and discrimination and is committed to an inclusive, barrier-free environment. We invite applications from all qualified candidates and actively encourage applications from members of groups with historical and/or current barriers to equity, including, but not limited to persons of Indigenous ancestry, racialized persons, persons with disabilities, women and members of the 2SLGBTQ+ community. If you are contacted to participate in the interview, please advise the coordinator of any accommodations needed with respect to any materials or processes used to ensure you have access to a fair and equitable process.

Alternate formats will be provided upon request throughout the recruitment and selection process.

Georgian College has introduced Flex Work for some positions. This position is currently eligible for Hybrid Work. Flex Work agreements will be determined between the employee and manager when employment commences and may change in accordance with the Flex Work guidelines. All employees are required to permanently reside in the province of Ontario.

Applications for this position must be received by 11:59 p.m. January 29, 2025. While we thank all applicants, only those contacted for an interview will be acknowledged.

The original job offer can be found in Kit Job:
https://www.kitjob.ca/job/90400756/research-analyst-f-296-barrie/?utm_source=html