Higher Education Strategy Associates (HESA)
Full-time, Permanent
Location: Toronto, ON

Please note that applications only submitted via LinkedIn “Easy Apply” will NOT be considered. See below for application instructions.

HESA is looking for an associate specializing in data analysis. This position, which reports to a research manager, plays a key role in developing research and consulting products for HESA’s clients. We are open to candidates who are early in their career or experienced candidates looking for a career change. You will work for a rapidly growing and influential consulting firm with a social purpose and an extensive portfolio of clients both within Canada and abroad.

Successful candidates are those who thrive while working with limited supervision, are flexible enough to manage multiple projects and deadlines, and have some pre-existing knowledge of the Canadian post-secondary education system. Key general competencies are:

• A high level of professionalism in conduct and communications
• An eagerness to learn and capacity to respond productively to feedback
• Strong capacity to operate in a team and independently
• A commitment to the values of equity, diversity and inclusion in the workplace
• Capacity to relate effectively with clients
• The ability to work in our Toronto office at least two days a week, and to travel within Canada up to 15% of the time

Required technical skills are:

• Advanced familiarity with Excel and one or more statistical software packages (e.g., R, SPSS, Stata)
• Demonstrated ability to conduct quantitative analysis (including descriptive analyses and statistical significance tests) of survey results and other data from post-secondary institutions and education systems
• Familiarity with survey software, e.g., QuestionPro, Qualtrics, or Zoho, including experience writing and testing surveys
• Advanced skills in using search engines, databases and statistical resources to identify and retrieve primary and secondary literature, statistics, financial and other data pertinent to higher education in Canada and internationally
• Ability to produce appealing, intuitive graphical representations of data
• Excellent English writing skills, and the capacity to summarize findings quickly, accurately, and concisely through reports and briefing notes that effectively combine prose and graphical elements

Other competencies that would be assets include:

• Experience developing and implementing automated processes for finding data (e.g., web-scraping) and analytics
• Ability to contribute to conducting qualitative interviews and focus group discussions
• Familiarity with analysing qualitative trends from written responses, including formally coding and analysing results
• Fluency in languages other than English
• Understanding of and ability to analyse institutional and government budgets
• Experience using data visualisation tools (e.g., Tableau)

Formal qualifications:

• A graduate degree in the social sciences is strongly preferred. We are open to exceptional candidates with graduate degrees in related disciplines, or with bachelor’s degrees and a strong track record of relevant experience.

Salary and Benefits:

• Salary of between $65,000 to $70,000 per year, commensurate with experience
• Access to twenty days of paid vacation (prorated from the start date)
• A competitive extended health and dental benefits package is offered
• Flexible start and end hours and opportunity to work from home up to three days in a typical week

Start Date: Fall 2024

About Us

HESA is a consulting firm based in Toronto that works with postsecondary institutions and related stakeholders to develop and evaluate strategies, programs, and policies with a view to improving the delivery of higher education. Our work spans a wide range of topics, from student loan policy to student recruitment to institutional strategy. For more about us, see our site: www.higheredstrategy.com.

HESA is committed to diversity and especially welcomes applications from racialized persons / persons of colour, women, Indigenous People, persons with disabilities, 2SLGBTQIA+ persons, and others who may contribute to our diverse team.

Application Process

Applications will be accepted until the position is filled. To apply, please submit a one-page cover letter and your CV to careers@higheredstrategy.com. Please indicate in the email subject line that you are applying for the Associate – Data Analysis position. Candidates selected for an interview will be required to complete a brief competency-testing assignment as part of the process.