Manager of Data Integration and Optimization

Salary: $75,000.00 – $85,000.00 Annually

Location: Aurora, IL

Job Type: Full-Time Staff

Job Number: 202500184

College/School: Institutional Effectiveness& Decision Support

Department:
Institutional Effectiveness & Decision Support

Aurora University (AU) is committed to the transformative power of learning by creating a student-centered environment and an equity of experience and opportunity, to ensure that students, faculty, and staff of all backgrounds feel welcome and included. Our culture of collaboration, generosity, and belonging make it a special place for students, faculty, and staff.

AU is grounded in the transformative opportunity it provides to a diverse student body. As a private university with a public mission and a commitment to making a difference in peoples’ lives, AU has a long history of resilience and of providing access to an education that values innovation, focuses on continuous improvement, and has a positive impact on the communities we serve. We are proud of our service to and economic impact on the state of Illinois, where over 80% of our students stay to live and work, where 90% of our students come from, and where we foster strong community partnerships to develop the workforce in areas such as nursing, education, business, technology, and social work.

We are looking for passionate and purposeful individuals who represent the full diversity of Aurora and who demonstrate a sensitivity to and understanding of the diverse academic, socioeconomic, cultural, ability, identity, and ethnic backgrounds present in our community. When you join the team at AU, you can expect to be part of an inclusive, innovative, and equity-focused community that approaches higher education as a matter of social justice requiring broad collaboration among faculty, staff, students, and community partners.

At AU we believe that continuous learning is a fundamental part of working life, and our goal is for all colleagues on our campus to feel supported and equipped to realize their full potential. We actively support our community by providing all employees with opportunities to engage in professional development activities, as well as a range of tuition and employee benefits that can be found here.

Position Purpose:

The Office of Institutional Effectiveness and Decision Support (IE) strives to support a culture where institutional effectiveness is a driving force. It encourages measurement of achievements and outcomes in relation to Aurora University’s mission and strategic plan and draws upon the findings to make positive change.

Core IE responsibilities include coordination of internal and external reporting and analysis in support of institutional priorities, accreditation, and compliance. IE collaborates with the administration, faculty, and staff on data needs for institutional planning and decision-making, including operational, budgetary, strategic planning, and student measures.

Position Purpose: The Manager of Data Integration and Optimization advances Aurora University’s mission by guiding the development, integration, and effective use of institutional data and reporting systems. This role is central to strengthening the University’s data ecosystem in support of student success, equity-focused initiatives, accreditation, and strategic decision making. Serving as the Institutional Effectiveness and Decision Support lead for data pipelines and analytics technologies, the position partners across the institution to identify, implement, and sustain modern data solutions. As an individual contributor with broad institutional impact, this role acts as a trusted collaborator on data strategy, system integration, and analytics best practices.

Core Competencies:

1. Represents Aurora University in the most positive manner with prospective, former and current students, clients, suppliers and the community we serve. Interacts effectively with a diverse group of faculty, staff, students and other customers of our service, learns and uses operating practices of the department and Aurora University.
2. Upholds the Mission Statement: At Aurora University, our singular goal is to empower students to achieve lasting personal and professional success. We do this by being an inclusive community dedicated to the transformative power of learning. As a teaching-centered institution, we encourage undergraduate and graduate students to discover what it takes to build meaningful and purposeful lives.
3. Handles all information with tact and discretion and recognizes the confidential nature of university business.
4. Supports learning through performance of essential job functions and performing other duties and functions as necessary or as assigned, including voluntary participation in university committees, activities and events.

Essential Job Functions:

• Coordinate and monitor data pipelines from university systems and their integration into technology solutions and data warehouses
• Serve as an expert and campus resource for available data and its institutional lifecycle
• Evaluate and test institutional data systems for optimal performance, reliability, and alignment with evolving campus needs
• Build dashboards and data extracts to optimize data access and enable leadership, faculty, and staff to make timely, data-informed decisions
• Collaborate with ITS on implementing and managing the institution’s data lake, data warehouse, and technology solutions
• Translate institutional goals, operational needs, and student success priorities into technical specifications and scalable data solutions
• Develop, implement, and document new and existing student success technology integration strategies
• Monitor and maintain operations, resolve issues, develop new solutions, and automate processes for student success data
• Establish and uphold data quality and validation standards to promote consistency, accuracy, and institutional trust in reporting
• Support campus-wide data literacy and access initiatives
• Perform other duties as assigned.

Essential Job Requirements:

Education: Bachelor’s Degree in computer science, information systems/technology, engineering, or other related fields required.

Experience:
Required:
A minimum of two years of progressively responsible experience demonstrating proficiency in the following areas:

• Programming, systems development, and quantitative analytics – Design, implementation, or support of data lakes, data warehouses, and educational solutions products
• Writing PostgreSQL queries to customize dashboards, extend reporting tools, and support analytics, AI, or data extraction workflows
• Integrating and working across enterprise systems such as ERP, CRM, LMS, and other institutional technology environments
• Applying analytical reasoning and problem-solving skills to diagnose issues, follow established procedures, and implement effective solutions

Preferred:

• Practical experience with Ellucian Colleague, Colleague Insights, Edify, and/or Brightspace platforms
• Demonstrated proficiency in dashboard and data visualization tools to support datainformed decisions
• History of delivering training, documentation, and/or user support for data and reporting tools
• Professional background in institutional research or institutional effectiveness

Skills:

Skills:

• Strong proficiency with Microsoft Office, including Word, Excel, and PowerPoint
• Demonstrated ability to exercise sound judgment, manage competing priorities, and work effectively under deadlines
• High level of attention to detail while maintaining the ability to manage multiple projects simultaneously
• Excellent organizational and documentation skills
• Effective interpersonal and communication skills, with the ability to collaborate across diverse stakeholder groups
• Proven time management skills with the ability to meet project milestones and deliverables
• Ability to work independently while contributing as a collaborative partner across departments
• Capacity to engage constructively with divergent perspectives while maintaining positive and professional working relationships

Physical Requirements:

• Ability to work with a computer for long periods of the day
• Ability to communicate and interact via electronic mail, telephone, and in-person

Work Hours: Expected equivalent of 40 hours per week, but days/hours may vary as needed. Hybrid work schedule will be considered after orientation period if candidate can demonstrate ability to fulfill this role effectively off-site.

Special Requirements:

• Displays an interest in a career in Higher Education and/or Analytics
• Maintains departmental compliance by completing Human Subjects Research, FERPA, and Data Privacy and Security trainings

The anticipated pay rate for this position is $75,000-$85,000 per year. This compensation is subject to change at the sole discretion of the university, based on institutional needs.

The pay range referenced in the job posting is the budgeted amount the university reasonably expects to pay for this position. The final pay rate will not be below the lowest pay rate listed herein.

Benefit-eligible positions offer excellent benefits including health, dental, life, vision, long term disability, a 403(b) retirement plan through TIAA, and tuition remission.

Aurora University is an Equal Opportunity Employer.