Data Strategist

Location: Strategy and Analytics
Classification: Professional/Technical
Reports To: Director, Data Strategy
Supervisory Responsibilities: No
Salary Grade: 427 – Professional/Technical Salary Schedule
Terms of Employment: 12-month (260 days)
FLSA Status: Exempt

Position Summary

The Data Strategist enhances the district’s capacity to use data as a strategic asset to support effective, student-centered decision-making. The role accomplishes this by independently developing data products, conducting analyses, and guiding data use across school and central office teams to ensure stakeholders have access to clear and actionable insights. The position works collaboratively with diverse partners to align data solutions to district priorities and strengthen sustainable, equitable data practices.

Essential Performance Responsibilities

Incumbents may perform any combination of the essential performance responsibilities listed below.

1. Actively participates in team, school, and district initiatives by fostering collaboration, shared problem-solving, and a culture of mutual respect. Contributes ideas, supports colleagues, and advances common goals.
2. Demonstrates commitment to continuous learning by seeking feedback, pursuing professional development opportunities, and applying new knowledge and skills to improve performance and service.
3. Provides high-quality, values-aligned service to internal and external stakeholders by responding with accuracy, efficiency, and empathy. Maintains a positive, solutions-oriented approach in all interactions.
4. Identifies opportunities for improvement by contributing ideas that enhance efficiency, service, or outcomes within established procedures. Demonstrates openness to new ideas and approaches.
5. Leads data projects and system-level workstreams that increase the district’s capacity to use data for strategic and student-centered decision-making.
6. Collaborates with stakeholders and system leaders to define requirements, establish deliverables, and ensure completion of high-quality data products aligned to district priorities.
7. Translates complex findings into clear, actionable insights for diverse audiences, bridging communication between technical teams and educational leaders.
8. Builds and maintains data pipelines; conducts cleaning, transformation, and preparation work using tools such as R, Python, and SQL; and implements effective data structures and governance practices.
9. Conducts descriptive, inferential, and causal analyses and produces dashboards, reports, memos, and presentations that support decision-making across academic and operational domains.
10. Participates in or helps facilitate cross-functional teams to strengthen systems and processes and contributes to a culture of continuous organizational learning through constructive feedback and peer collaboration.
11. Provides and receives coaching and feedback that contributes to a culture of continuous organizational learning.
12. Performs other duties related to the position, as assigned.

Knowledge

1. Organizational policies and procedures, role-specific guidelines, and the ability to learn and apply district standards.
2. Programming languages (e.g., R, Python, SQL) used to query, clean, transform, and manage datasets.
3. Effective data structures, pipelines, governance practices, and documentation standards.
4. Statistics, probability, causal inference, and cost-benefit analysis.
5. Analytical techniques such as regression modeling, machine learning, and quasi-experimental methods.
6. Data visualization strategies for communicating nuanced insights to diverse audiences.
7. Strategies for translating complex data findings into actionable insights.
8. Techniques for aligning technical and non-technical stakeholders around data purpose and interpretation.
9. Methods for identifying patterns, emerging needs, opportunities, and risks within assigned workstreams.
10. User-centered design and sustainable data product development.
11. Project management concepts for defining, organizing, and executing workstreams.
12. Effective practices for leading and participating in cross-functional teams.
13. Feedback, coaching, and continuous improvement strategies.

Skills

1. Strong oral and written communication appropriate to the responsibilities of the role.
2. Using common technology tools appropriate to the role, including email, productivity applications, digital communication platforms, and district and role-specific systems with the ability to learn new tools as needed.
3. Building, maintaining, and documenting data pipelines.
4. Managing and transforming large or complex datasets with accuracy and efficiency.
5. Performing descriptive, inferential, and causal analyses.
6. Developing dashboards, reports, and presentations that convey clear, actionable insights.
7. Communicating complex data findings in accessible, actionable ways.
8. Leading projects or workstreams independently.
9. Facilitating collaboration, supporting team processes, and contributing to system-level improvement work.
10. Giving and receiving feedback to improve work quality and team effectiveness.

Abilities

1. Build and maintain positive, productive, and culturally responsive relationships with students, staff, families, and community partners.
2. Provide timely, accurate, courteous, and empathetic service that reflects district core values.
3. Exercise sound judgment, maintain confidentiality, and navigate sensitive situations with professionalism, discretion, and integrity.
4. Work effectively under deadlines, interruptions, and changing or competing priorities.
5. Improve existing data systems, identify process enhancements, and ensure data quality.
6. Navigate evolving technical environments and adopt new tools.
7. Synthesize analytical findings into insights that support decision-making across academic and operational domains.
8. Tailor communication of complex conclusions for varied audiences.
9. Identify trends and opportunities that guide proactive decision-making at the project or program level.
10. Design accessible, user-centered data solutions.
11. Contribute to sustainable systems, processes, and team learning.

Minimum Qualifications

Any combination of training, experience, and/or education may be considered in meeting these position requirements.

Education

1. Bachelor’s degree in data science, statistics, economics, business administration, public policy, or a related quantitative field.

Experience

1. 2–6 years of work experience using data to drive change and decision-making.

2. Experience in a K–12 or public sector setting preferred.

Licenses, Certifications, and Other Requirements

Possession of a valid US driver’s license and availability of private transportation (mileage reimbursement provided)

Working Conditions

Physical Demands

1. Constantly (more than 5.6 hours or 69% of the day): Hearing, Sitting, Finger Dexterity

2. Frequently (Between 2.6 hours and 5.5 hours or 33% to 68% of the day): Repetitive Motion, Color Vision

3. Occasionally (Up to 2.5 hours or 32% of the day): Standing, Walking, Multi-limb Coordination

4. Rarely: (Less than 1 hour or 12% of the day): Balancing, Carrying/Lifting, Climbing, Crawling, Crouching/Kneeling, Pulling/Pushing

Work Type/Physical Demands

Sedentary work: Exerting up to 10 pounds of force occasionally and/or negligible amount of force frequently or constantly to lift, carry, push, pull or otherwise move objects, including the human body. Sedentary work involves sitting most of the time. Jobs are sedentary if walking and standing are required only occasionally, and all other sedentary criteria are met.

Mental and Psychological Demands

Moderate demands: The position involves moderate cognitive demands within a generally structured work environment. The role may require occasional management of emotionally challenging interactions or customer concerns. Work is sometimes performed under tight or competing deadlines. Exposure to public feedback or criticism is limited. The position occasionally requires sustained focus on complex tasks or problem‑solving activities.

Working Environment

Everyday risk and discomfort level: The environment involves everyday risks or discomforts that require normal safety precautions typical of such places as offices, meeting rooms, classrooms, libraries, or commercial vehicles, e.g., use of safe work practices with office equipment, avoidance of trips and falls, observance of fire regulations and traffic signals. The work area is adequately lighted, heated, and ventilated.

EEO Statement

Salem-Keizer Public School is an Equal Opportunity Employer and does not discriminate on the basis of race, color, religion, national origin, age, disability, or sex, including pregnancy, sexual orientation, and gender identity and other characteristics protected by law. Reasonable accommodations may be made to enable individuals with disabilities to perform essential duties.

Representative Duties

This job description is intended to accurately reflect the duties, responsibilities, and requirements of the position. It is not intended to be and should not be construed as an all-inclusive list of all the responsibilities, skills, or working conditions associated with the position. The district reserves the right to modify, add, or remove duties and assign other duties as necessary.

Revision Date(s):

07/16/2026 – Created