Director of Data & Strategy (SY26-27)

In January 2024, Boston Public Schools launched its Long-Term Facilities Plan (LTFP), establishing a bold and necessary vision: every student deserves access to a high-quality learning environment, and every educator deserves a space that enables excellent teaching. This plan represents more than a facilities strategy; it is a commitment to equity and student outcomes, grounded in the understanding that the condition, design, and alignment of school buildings directly shape the quality of education students receive. By evaluating the district’s current infrastructure and identifying the physical spaces required to support high-quality academic programming, the LTFP lays the foundation for a stronger, more sustainable district for decades to come.

Delivering on this vision requires more than one-time planning; it demands a continuous, disciplined cycle of analysis and decision-making. At its core, the Long-Term Facilities Plan is driven by the ongoing integration of enrollment, academic, financial, facilities, and community engagement data, all examined through a clear and intentional equity lens. This continuous analysis ensures that the district is not only responding to current conditions, but proactively building a more equitable, efficient, and sustainable system that meets the needs of both current and future students.

To advance this work, the district is implementing an 18-month cycle of portfolio alignment, including school mergers, closures, and reconfigurations, alongside targeted renovations and new construction. These decisions are both necessary and complex. They are required to address long-standing inequities, respond to shifting enrollment patterns, and ensure that all students regardless of neighborhood or background have access to high-quality programs in well-resourced, appropriately sized facilities. At the same time, the district recognizes that these changes have a profound impact on school communities and must be implemented with transparency, care, and a deep commitment to student continuity and success.

At the center of this work is the Director of Strategy and Analysis, a critical leadership role within the Office of Capital Planning. This role exists to operationalize that continuous cycle of equity-centered analysis ensuring that data is not simply collected, but actively used to inform decisions that improve student outcomes. The Director integrates multiple data streams to surface patterns, identify inequities, and guide strategic investments that align the district’s physical footprint with its educational priorities.

The Director of Strategy and Analysis plays a pivotal role in shaping senior leadership decisions by developing rigorous analyses, frameworks, and planning tools that bring clarity to complex challenges. This includes transforming disparate and often complex data into clear, actionable insights that guide both long-term strategy and near-term implementation. With a strong sense of urgency and student-centeredness, the Director ensures that decisions are not only efficient and effective, but also explicitly designed to expand opportunity and improve experiences for students who have historically been underserved.

Equally important is the Director’s role in bridging strategy and execution. By partnering closely with central office teams, school leaders, and city agencies, the Director gathers critical insights about how capital projects, closures, mergers, and reconfigurations are experienced on the ground. These insights are fed back into the district’s continuous improvement cycle refining future analyses, strengthening planning assumptions, and ensuring that implementation becomes more responsive, inclusive, and effective over time. The role also includes establishing and monitoring key performance indicators to assess progress, measure impact, and hold the system accountable to equitable student outcomes.

Transparency and trust are essential to this work. The Director collaborates with Communications and other city partners to develop clear, compelling, and accessible public-facing materials that explain not only what decisions are being made, but why they are necessary and how they will benefit students. By maintaining and regularly updating public data related to the Long-Term Facilities Plan, the Director ensures that stakeholders including families, educators, and community members have access to accurate, user-friendly information. The role also includes supporting district leadership in community and public meetings, reinforcing a commitment to openness, accountability, and meaningful engagement.

The ideal candidate for this role is an exceptional strategic thinker and analytical leader who thrives in complex, high-stakes environments. They bring a high level of rigor, attention to detail, and organizational discipline, along with the ability to manage multiple priorities and deadlines. Just as importantly, they approach their work with a deep commitment to equity and student impact, consistently centering the needs of students particularly those who have been historically marginalized in every analysis and recommendation.

Ultimately, the Director of Strategy and Analysis is more than a technical expert; they are the driver of a continuous, equity-centered decision-making system that underpins the Long-Term Facilities Plan. By ensuring that every capital planning decision is informed by rigorous data, grounded in community context, and focused on improving the student experience, this role plays a vital part in building a stronger, more equitable Boston Public Schools for generations to come.

Responsibilities:

• Develop, use, and continuously improve upon tools, frameworks, and analyses that advance equitable decision-making and inform the implementation of the Long-Term Facilities Plan and ongoing improvement
• Drive data strategy and analytics by building and maintaining fact bases, models, frameworks, and decision-making tools; translate complex data into actionable insights to guide Capital Planning priorities and systemwide strategy
• Transform data and information into insights that inform high-level strategy and tactical decision-making around the future of BPS Schools
• Partner cross-functionally with district and City teams (Planning & Analysis, Finance, HR, Academics, Data and Accountability, Operations, and others) to align data, planning workflows, and building governance systems, ensuring coherent, high-quality planning and reporting
• Design and implement user-facing systems and infrastructure—including self-service tools, public-facing datasets, and project management systems—to improve transparency, accessibility, and operational efficiency
• Lead community-informed planning and engagement by translating complex data for stakeholders, incorporating feedback (including equity-focused tools), and strengthening understanding of decision-making processes
• Manage capital planning prioritization and execution by supporting leadership in sequencing projects, developing and tracking budgets, and ensuring resources align with strategic goals
• Build and sustain a data-driven culture by identifying and implementing new systems and structures, training staff, and ensuring high standards for data quality, usability, and continuous improvement
• Create and maintain a task management and project management system, as well as external databases, to update the public on capital projects
• Incorporate feedback from the community into decision-making processes including using the Racial Equity Planning Tool

Qualifications:

• Bachelor's degree or higher. A degree in a quantitative field such as Data Analytics, Statistics, Economics, Urban Planning/ Urban Studies, Computer Science, or a related field is preferred but not required.
• At least 5 years of experience analyzing qualitative and quantitative data.
• Experience leading an organization’s analytics function and/or directing high-impact critical analysis projects with implications for strategy and decision-making. Proven track record of applying superb critical thinking skills to drive decision-making and continuous improvement cycles.
• Experience with a wide range of analytical tasks, including but not limited to:
• • Analyses involving finance and budget;
  • Project evaluations such as developing and tracking key performance indicators and designing and measuring other productivity and efficiency metrics.
• Expert analytical skills and demonstrated ability to develop comprehensive data stories.
• Data visualization skills - experience with Tableau or Power BI.
• Strategic mindset with demonstrated experience in developing and implementing data frameworks and driving continuous improvement.
• Excellent communication skills with the ability to communicate complex information to a diverse audience.
• Ability to establish and sustain trust with colleagues where teams engage in honest dialogue and reflective discussions on student outcomes.
• Project management skills and demonstrated ability to interact with multiple internal/external stakeholder groups.
• Solicits and objectively considers input from appropriate sources and considers implications of actions on other areas, people, and processes when deciding.
• Adapts approaches that are appropriate for each situation. Accepts and adapts to new situations.
• Experience working in urban school districts is strongly preferred.

Terms: Managerial, D71.

The Boston Public Schools, in accordance with its nondiscrimination policies, does not discriminate in its programs, facilities, or employment or educational opportunities on the basis of race, color, age, criminal record (inquiries only), disability, homelessness, sex/gender, gender identity, religion, national origin, ancestry, sexual orientation, genetics or military status, and does not tolerate any form of retaliation, or bias-based intimidation, threat or harassment that demeans individuals’ dignity or interferes with their ability to learn or work.