Role 

As Director of Data Science, you will lead a team of data scientists to inform, influence, support, and execute data-driven strategy and research in order to improve the lives of the people in crisis. You will champion data-informed culture across the organization to maximize the organization’s impact within the mental health industry. You will be promoting the team’s mission and vision, setting appropriate data-driven goals and selecting research methods that ground decision making in evidence. You will grow the data team and support performance, learning, and provide mentorship to advance professional development. 

About Our Data

Since Crisis Text Line was founded in 2013, people in crisis have started over 6 million conversations with Crisis Counselors, and exchanged over 200 million text messages with them in the process. Our team of data scientists study this unparalleled dataset to better understand the language of mental health crisis and to inform operational decisions to serve our texters as Crisis Text Line scales over the next few years. 

Responsibilities

• Manage and mentor data team individual contributors and managers to help them advance in their careers and increase their proficiency with data and research, collaboration, and leadership skills;
• Grow our data team, working with our recruiters to hire extraordinary people from varied backgrounds;
• Develop and refine data team structures and processes to support our goals, including becoming an inclusive, diverse, and equitable organization;
• Guide development of data and research capabilities and tools by providing input on collection, storage, and analysis methods, while promoting data and research best practices
• Work closely with engineering, product, and other internal stakeholders to plan data strategy, scope out resource requirements, and craft timelines
• Liaise with affiliates to understand problems, manage expectations and resolve issues;
• Advise Senior Leadership Team on evidence-based decision making;
• Support your team and direct reports by setting clear team and individual goals, providing consistent and actionable feedback, and encouraging professional development;
• Actively support team learning on issues of data equity and ethics, and apply understanding through ongoing learning, reflecting and dialogue
• Advocate for the data team and surface points of friction and blockers to team effectiveness and work to remove or mitigate as possible

Qualifications

• 3+ years of relevant leadership experience in managing a team and setting strategy
• 5+ years of relevant data and/or research experience
• Strong people and project management skills
• Effective communication skills
• Hiring and talent development experience, including building a diverse team across levels and backgrounds
• Demonstrated analytical, strategic, and leadership capabilities with the ability to thrive in a fast-paced and constantly evolving environment
• Understanding and experience with best practices in critical data, scientific, and research domains including:
• Data collection, storage, and analysis
• Mixed research methods, including quantitative and qualitative
• Metric development, metric-based goals, and applications of data to inform decision-making
• Data governance, data equity, and ethics
• Data security, privacy, and confidentiality
• Machine Learning and Algorithms