Lead Research Analyst

Department

UL Inclusive Economy Lab

About the Department

Founded in 2015, The University of Chicago Inclusive Economy Lab conducts rigorous research that expands economic opportunity for people harmed by discrimination, disinvestment, and segregation. One of five Urban Labs based at the Harris School of Public Policy, the Inclusive Economy Lab is led by Pritzker Director Marianne Bertrand, Chris P. Dialynas Distinguished Service Professor of Economics at the Booth School of Business.

Job Summary

This role performs a range of activities to support the statistical design and implementation of research analysis. Uses knowledge of statistics to communicate analyses for research proposals and draft reports detailing their results. Follows objectives and procedures for sampling, randomization, data collection, analysis, and quality control.

Responsibilities

• Leads data management and analysis for experimental and quasi-experimental evaluations.
• Cleans, merges, and matches data, and runs sampling and randomization across multiple projects.
• Generates clear data visualizations.
• Drafts memos, spreadsheets, and presentations targeting both policymakers and academic researchers.
• Reviews other analysts’ code as a part of the Lab’s quality assurance efforts.
• Works closely with Principals Investigators to ensure the rigor of the Lab’s research.
• Mentors junior analytic staff and manages interns.
• Contributes to new project scoping and research design.
• Analyzes data and prepares data tables, charts, and graphs for reports. Writes grant proposals for faculty throughout the unit.
• Helps develop and implements new innovative procedures in the areas of data collection, quality control, presentation of results, and statistical analysis.
• Performs other related work as needed.

Minimum Qualifications

Education:

Minimum requirements include a college or university degree in related field.

Work Experience:

Minimum requirements include knowledge and skills developed through 2-5 years of work experience in a related job discipline.

Certifications:

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Preferred Qualifications

Education:

• Bachelor's degree in economics, sociology, public policy or other relevant social/mathematical science field.
• Coursework in econometrics and/or mathematical statistics.
• Master's degree.

Experience:

• First generation college students and those with lived experience in communities experiencing poverty and disinvestment are encouraged to apply.
• A minimum of two years of relevant research experience; experience gained in school counts towards requirement.
• Working knowledge with large and complex datasets.
• Experience with data merging and cleaning strongly preferred.
• Experience with relational databases strongly preferred.
• Experience working on field experiments strongly preferred.

Technical Skills or Knowledge:

• Proficiency with one or more languages such as R, Stata, Python, or SAS.
• Familiarity with Git strongly preferred.
• Experience working with GIS and UNIX servers strongly preferred.

Preferred Competencies

• Work independently in a fast-paced environment.
• Strong time management skills with a proven ability to multitask and prioritize activities to successfully complete projects on tight deadlines with little supervision.
• Excellent written and verbal communication skills, with the ability to present data in a simple and straightforward way for non-technical audiences.
• Demonstrated ability to exercise sound judgement.
• Excellent organizational skills and attention to detail.
• Work both independently and as a team member.
• Work discretely with sensitive and confidential data.
• Engage thoughtfully with issues related to race, identity, and equity and work across differences. 
• Demonstrated experience working with communities that have experienced segregation and disinvestment.

Application Documents

• Resume/CV (required)
• Cover Letter (required)

When applying, the document(s) MUST be uploaded via the My Experience page, in the section titled Application Documents of the application.

Job Family

Research

Role Impact

Individual Contributor

Scheduled Weekly Hour