Director of Data Leadership

PRIMARY PURPOSE OF YOUR ROLE

The Director of Data Leadership, forging a path for this newly created position, scopes and drives work toward two primary purposes. First, the Director collaborates deeply in and with communities to help them better utilize available and requestable state education-to-workforce data. Second, the Director convenes and facilitates one or more cross-sector education-to-workforce task forces (at the outset) and ongoing communities of practice (at a later time) in order to identify and address gaps in our statewide integrated education-to-workforce data systems. The ultimate goal of the Director's work is more equitable education and employment experiences and outcomes for Minnesotans impacted by poverty, racism, or other marginalization.

ROLE ACCOUNTABILITIES

The Director is responsible for driving systemic change through these primary activities:

1. (50%) Provide technical assistance to communities to do the following: access state data, add their own data into the mix, make meaning of multiple data sets, identify gaps in outcomes and opportunities, and use data to better understand the root causes of those gaps, with the goal of improving systems to produce better and more equitable education-to-workforce experiences and outcomes. Create products and services to standardize this work. Bring feedback from community members to data holders and decision-makers. Align with equity principles, offering additional support to communities with less technical expertise and/or fewer resources to support the use of data and technology. Listen to and learn from our community partners.
2. (20%) Create and convene one or more cross-sector working groups to inform this work and to create a priority list of improvements and upgrades to Minnesota’s existing integrated education-to-workforce data infrastructure, to be presented to funders and/or elected officials.
3. (10%) Be a connector for our organization and this work, ensuring that we are leveraging available networks (examples: state agency partners, elected officials, funders, the business community, etc.) and making connections with the leaders and champions of related areas of work.
4. (10%) Be the public face of our organization and this work in a variety of local, regional, state, and national settings, and proactively connect, collaborate, and learn with peers leading related best-practice work.
5. (10%) Tend to your field learning, skill development, and planning and reflection needs in order to maximize your positive impact.

DESIRED PREVIOUS PROFESSIONAL EXPERIENCES

• Minimum ten years prior experience, preferably serving as a manager, director, or senior team member in a successful organization in the education, public, and/or nonprofit sectors
• Bachelor’s Degree, with advanced degree preferred
• Extensive experience in Google Suite and Microsoft Suite, including Power BI
• Extensive experience with longitudinal, state-wide data sets and systems
• Extensive experience working in and with communities impacted by poverty and/or racism, and supporting them toward upward economic mobility and increased levels of self-determination
• Engagement with a broad network of professional peers working in cradle-to-career or education-to-workforce spaces
• Experience with critical organizational functions including strategic planning, fiscal management, program management, project management, and public relations
• Key competencies include: ensure accountability, be action oriented, drive engagement, drive results, build networks, instill trust, employ a strong customer focus, leverage interpersonal savvy, leverage organizational savvy, leverage tech savvy, manage ambiguity, and manage complexity.