Associate Director for Intelligence

Job Summary

UT Dallas seeks an Associate Director for Competitive Intelligence to establish and lead a new, institution-wide, proactive competitive intelligence (CI) function. Embedded within the integrated institutional research and effectiveness unit in the Office of Institutional Success and Decision Support (OISDS) and working alongside multiple partners across the university, this role will systematically monitor, analyze, and communicate information about competitors, markets, and external trends to support strategic decision‑making in a variety of mission‑critical areas, such as research development, academic program development, and enrollment management.

The role will deliver environmental scans tied to UT Dallas’s strategic pillars, synthesize emerging themes for the strategic vision, and produce actionable insights for executive leaders. The successful candidate will be a critical thinker who is intellectually curious, strategically insightful, and able to effectively convey information and insights to a wide range of audiences. This is a high‑visibility individual contributor role with the opportunity to shape and grow a modern CI capability at UT Dallas.

Bachelor’s degree in a related field; 5‑7 years related professional experience; or any equivalent combination of education and experience.

• 5+ years of progressively responsible experience in competitive/market intelligence, institutional research/analytics, strategy, consulting, or related fields.
• Demonstrated record of delivering high impact CI or strategy projects for executive stakeholders.
• Advanced degree preferred (e.g., MBA, MPP/MPA, MS in Analytics/Data Science, MS in Information/Library Science with research intelligence focus, or related).
• Higher education experience preferred (research universities strongly preferred).
• Relevant analytics/BI certifications (Tableau, Power BI) and/or research analytics credentials (InCites/Sci Val) a plus.
• Experience establishing a new CI function or maturing a nascent capability; familiarity with university governance and decision processes.

• Expertise in environmental scanning, competitor analysis, market sizing, SWOT/TOWS, scenario planning, and thematic synthesis for strategic planning.
• Advanced analytic and presentation skills; adept at translating evidence into clear recommendations and compelling executive narratives.
• Proficiency with qualitative and quantitative methods; ability to use or oversee tools such as:
  • BI/Visualization:
    Tableau, Power BI.
  • Statistical/analysis: R, Python, or equivalent.
  • Research intelligence:
    Clarivate InCites/Sci Val, Dimensions, Web of Science/Scopus; NIH RePORTER, NSF Award Search.
  • Market/labor analytics:
    Lightcast (Emsi/Burning Glass) or equivalent.
  • CI monitoring:
    Competitor monitoring platforms (e.g., Crayon, Alpha Sense) and ethical web research.
• Exceptional written and oral communication; facilitation skills; ability to build trust and social capital across diverse stakeholder groups.
• Strong organization and project management; manages multiple priorities and delivers on tight timelines.
• Mission‑driven and institutionally committed; takes visible pride in advancing UT Dallas’s objectives.
• Ability to work in a highly collaborative environment that requires prioritizing communication across the departmental and university hierarchy while executing directives with autonomy.

• Establish CI framework, ethics/compliance standards, and operating cadence for the University.
• Complete initial environmental scan aligned to UT Dallas’s strategic pillars; collaborate with OISDS colleagues to deliver thematic syntheses of the strategic plan data gathering.
• Conduct an inventory of internal and external data sources for the CI function to identify additional data needs and to support the prioritization of ongoing data integration projects in OISDS.
• Produce core CI deliverables (competitor dossiers, research funding landscape, program market scans) with documented decision impacts, as directed.
• Build strong stakeholder relationships; achieve high satisfaction in…