Data Analyst, Labor Specialist

About the California Policy Lab
The California Policy Lab translates research insights into government impact. Through hands-on partnerships with government agencies, CPL performs rigorous research across issue silos and builds the data infrastructure necessary to improve programs and policies that millions of Californians rely on every day. CPL’s UCLA site is a dynamic and growing organization with nearly 20 full-time employees, half a dozen graduate student researchers, and numerous faculty affiliates.

CPL recognizes the value of having a diverse staff at all levels of the organization. We are looking for equity-minded applicants who represent and understand the diverse racial and ethnic, gender identity, sexual orientation, educational, socioeconomic, cultural, and disability backgrounds present in California. When you join our team, you can expect to be part of an inclusive and equity-focused community.

The Role
The California Policy Lab is seeking a Data Analyst with a background or interest in labor economics, data science, and experience analyzing individual-level data. The Labor Specialist will contribute to our organization’s proven track record of bridging the gap between academic researchers and government policymakers at the local level in Los Angeles, and at the state level in California. Among others, the role involves estimating equitable models designed to connect workforce services to those most in need. The California Policy Lab has compiled an unparalleled holding of administrative datasets with the goal of making actionable research a reality, and the Labor Specialist will have access to rarely available data to perform their project tasks.

The successful candidate will have exceptionally strong skills in data manipulation, as well as experience running, testing, and interpreting a variety of statistical models. In addition, we are looking for individuals with rigorous training in data science and experience building machine learning models. They will be passionate about using data to find innovative solutions to labor market problems facing California policymakers and workers. This position requires an individual who is able to work on research teams that run multiple projects concurrently. We seek highly organized individuals with superior written and verbal communications skills and excellent time management ability. The Labor Specialist will also be required to follow coding guidelines established by CPL and to contribute to the organization’s efforts to build richly detailed documentation of the data we use.

The Labor Specialist will report to CPL’s senior staff and will work collaboratively with CPL’s Faculty Director, other CPL staff, and our partner agencies.

Education and experience required
Applicants must have a bachelor’s degree in public policy, economics, statistics, or other relevant field or equivalent experience/training; master’s degree preferred. Applicants must also have at least one year of relevant research experience; experience gained in school counts toward requirement. In addition, two to three years of general professional post-baccalaureate experience is preferred.

Core Functions
A) Data Analysis and Modeling (40%)
• Clean, merge, and match data from large and complex administrative datasets.
• Work with others to write and execute on detailed analysis plans that specify research objectives.
• Perform exploratory analysis on new datasets and identify potential research questions or projects the data could support.
• Create or add to existing data documentation that supports CPL’s research projects.
• Write replicable code adhering to CPL’s coding guidelines.
• Estimate statistical models and summarize results for production-ready work products.

B) Data Science (30%)
• Contribute to the design and implementation of predictive models in a public setting, including the identification of prediction problems, feature generation, and machine-learning engineering

C) Presentation of Results (30%)
• Provide in-person progress reports to CPL Directors and research team members.
• Prepare results in creative and visually appealing ways for memos and presentations for both policymakers and academic researchers.

Required Skills
• Substantive knowledge of quantitative research methods and causal inference. (A, B)
• Mastery of data analysis and data management in SQL, Stata, SAS, Python, or R. (A, B, C)
• Substantive knowledge of and interest in labor economics. (A, B, C)
• Attention to detail and ability to organize and document workflow. (A, B, C)
• Strong initiative and a resourceful approach to problem-solving. (A, B, C)
• Superior verbal and written communication skills. (B, C)
• Ability to work independently and as part of a team. (A, B, C)
• Ability to multi-task with demanding timeframes. (A, B, C)
• Ability to work discreetly with sensitive and confidential data. (A, B, C)

Preferred Skills
• Experience working in an academic or think-tank environment. (A, B, C)
• Substantive knowledge or experience in at least one of our five core research areas – homelessness, criminal justice, poverty, education, or labor. (A, B)
• Project management experience. (A, B)
• Understanding of relational database concepts and experience with SQL. (A, B)
• Experience with business intelligence tools such as Tableau or PowerBI. (B, C)

To apply:
All applicants must apply online at UCLA Career Opportunities using requisition number 39023. Candidates who pass an initial resume review will be contacted for additional pre-interview screening.

These are the typical steps of our hiring process:
• Candidates under consideration will be asked to complete a skills assessment and/or a short screening interview via Zoom.
• Candidates who advance will be invited for Zoom interviews.
• At the end of the process, finalists will be asked to provide a list of at least two references we will contact for a phone screening.

Salary & Benefits
This is a full-time position. The hiring range for this position is $72,000 to $90,000 annually, depending on experience. For information on the comprehensive benefits package offered by the University visit: https://ucnet.universityofcalifornia.edu/compensation-and-benefits/index.html.

The University of California is an Equal Opportunity/Affirmative Action Employer. All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, national origin, disability, or protected veteran status. For more information about your rights as an applicant see: https://www.eeoc.gov/employees-job-applicants.

For the complete University of California nondiscrimination and affirmative action policy see: http://policy.ucop.edu/doc/4000376/NondiscrimAffirmAct.

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Data Analyst, Labor Specialist