Deakin, Australian Capital Territory 2600, Australia

Full-time Contract Mid-level Senior

Posted 25 Aug 2026

Description About Universities Australia

Universities Australia (UA) is the national peak body collectively representing Australia’s 38 comprehensive universities. Its key role is to assist in securing, through policy development and political advocacy, a policy, regulatory, and funding environment that supports the maintenance of a world class university system.

UA also promotes the role of university education and research in underpinning national economic, social, and cultural wellbeing. The organisation seeks to ensure that relevant policy discussion is as well informed as possible through the development and prosecution of whole-of-sector policy positions.

It provides representation to relevant committees, advisory groups and working parties, pursues and implements agreements with international bodies that facilitate member engagement and builds and executes issue specific campaigns.

Universities Australia assists its members by serving as a hub for the exchange of information, ideas and learning across the sector.

Role overview

Universities Australia is building a stronger, more strategic approach to how data and evidence shape national higher education policy. This role exists to turn complex data into clear insight, strengthen sector-wide decision-making, and lead the development of Universities Australia’s organisation-wide data strategy.

This position will help shape national higher education policy by delivering rigorous analytics on university funding, student outcomes, research performance, economic contribution and workforce needs.





This is a high-impact role for someone who wants to sit at the intersection of data, policy, economic analysis and executive decision-making — with visibility across the university sector and influence at the highest levels.

Reporting to the Senior Director: Policy Futures and Reform, and working closely with the Executive and Leadership Group, you will:

Lead the design and implementation of UA’s data strategy, aligning data capability with organisational priorities

Act as a trusted advisor to senior leaders, translating complex analysis into clear, decision-ready insights

Shape how data is used across advocacy, public communications, and policy development

Build stronger data governance, literacy, and analytical capability across the organisation

Engage with senior stakeholders across government, universities, and the research community

You will be the person people come to when the question is: “What does the data really tell us — and what should we do about it?”

Key responsibilities

Strategic data leadership

Design and deliver a whole-of-organisation data strategy, including:

Identifying data gaps and quality issues

Strengthening governance, security and analytical practices

Lifting organisational data literacy and capability





Advise the Executive and Board on data-driven insights relevant to national higher education reform

Analysis, insight and storytelling

Analyse large, complex datasets to support economic and policy analysis

Track and interpret major Australian and international data releases

Develop compelling data visualisations, dashboards and briefings

Translate technical findings into clear narratives for non-technical audiences

Policy and sector engagement

Contribute evidence and analysis to policy submissions, thought pieces, Board papers and sector briefings

Support working groups as a subject-matter expert

Collaborate across Strategy & Policy, Corporate, and Public Affairs teams to ensure data strengthens advocacy and communications

Capabilities and experience

Technical and analytical capability

Advanced data analysis skills

Experience working with large datasets and analytics tools such as Power BI, Tableau or similar

Strong analytical judgement — you know which data matters and why

Strategic and communication skills

Ability to synthesise complex information into policy-relevant insights

Confidence explaining data to senior leaders and non-technical audiences

Strong written capability across briefs, submissions and executive papers

Ways of working

High degree of ownership and accountability

Collaborative worker who builds trust and works constructively across teams

Comfortable working across multiple priorities in a fast-moving policy setting

Curious, adaptable, and motivated by impact rather than routine reporting

Qualifications

Tertiary qualifications in a relevant field (e.g. data science, econo

📌 Data and Economic Strategist (Canberra)
🏢 Universities Australia
📍 Canberra