Academic Research Analyst (Remote)

Institute for Human Studies•Arlington, VA

1d•Remote

About The Position

The Academic Research Analyst supports organizational decision-making by analyzing and interpreting data related to IHS programs, partnerships, research outputs, and institutional impact. Reporting to the Director of Academic Research, this role produces structured analyses and written reports that inform strategy, respond to internal and external requests, and support recurring organizational reporting. The Analyst works with both data and internal stakeholders to ensure analytical outputs are accurate, clearly communicated, and aligned with established measurement approaches.

Requirements

Bachelor’s degree in a relevant field (e.g., social science, economics, public policy, statistics, data analytics, or comparable discipline).
Demonstrated ability to conduct data analysis and produce clear written analytical outputs (professional, academic, or equivalent experience).
Strong written and verbal communication skills, including the ability to explain findings to non-technical audiences.
Ability to manage multiple requests, prioritize work, and meet deadlines in a high-demand environment.
Ability to evaluate information from multiple sources, reconcile inconsistencies, and document assumptions.
Proficiency in Excel; experience with CRM systems (Salesforce preferred).

Nice To Haves

Coursework or experience in statistics, quantitative methods, or program evaluation.
Experience working with nonprofit, academic, or research datasets and/or impact measurement.
Familiarity with SQL, Python, R, or similar tools used for analysis and reporting.
Familiarity with academic research environments and classical liberal ideas.

Responsibilities

Complete analytics projects submitted through established intake processes (e.g., Asana), including both rapid-turnaround requests and longer-term analyses.
Partner with internal teams (e.g., Programs, Solution Coalitions, Development, Communications/Marketing, and Leadership) and, as applicable, external partners to clarify questions, confirm definitions, and deliver decision-ready outputs.
Maintain clear documentation of assumptions, definitions, and methodologies used in recurring or high-use analyses.
Analyze data on IHS activities (e.g., funding programs, conferences, seminars, convenings) and related partner activity to support measurement of effectiveness and impact.
Provide recurring reporting metrics and ad hoc reporting support, including manual validation as needed to ensure outputs answer the intended question.
Support analysis of scholarly and research outputs across relevant disciplines (e.g., economics, political science, philosophy, law, history) as required for institutional reporting and impact narratives.
Extract, organize, and prepare datasets from CRM and other data systems for analysis and reporting.
Validate analytical datasets and outputs for accuracy and consistency; identify data limitations and caveats and communicate them clearly to stakeholders.
Coordinate with the appropriate data owner(s) when data issues affect reporting accuracy or analytical reliability.
Identify opportunities to improve analysis workflows (e.g., repeatable queries, templates, dashboards, or lightweight automation) in coordination with the Director of Business Intelligence.
Learn and apply additional analytical tools as needed (e.g., SQL, Python, R, Tableau or comparable tools, as well as artificial intelligence) to improve efficiency and analytical quality.