Administrative Specialist/Research Analyst

Commonwealth of Massachusetts•Boston, MA

About The Position

The Division of Local Mandates (DLM) within the Office of the State Auditor (OSA) seeks an Administrative Specialist/Research Analyst to conduct and review municipal cost certifications, conduct policy research, and help produce reports that inform state and local decision-making. This role is ideal for someone who is detail-oriented, analytical, and interested in public policy, municipal finance, and data-driven government oversight. For this entry-level position, the OSA/DLM is looking for candidates with strong communication and analytical skills, a strong desire for professional development, and the ability to maintain high standards even with repetitive, high-volume tasks.

Requirements

A degree and/or work experience related to data, research, economics, public administration, public policy, paralegal, statistics/mathematics, education, or a related field.
Respectful and effective communication, both orally and in writing.
A proven ability to work independently and as part of a team.

Nice To Haves

Experience gathering relevant information from trusted and accurate sources, analyzing data, and authoring meaningful and instructive reports for public release.
Experience reviewing survey or similar submissions for accuracy, or other quality control or operational compliance experience.
Experience with data visualization (Power BI, Tableau, R, or other).
Professional experience working with data sets.
Advanced education, training or experience in research methods and data analysis.
Other indicators of high potential for strong and immediate contributions.

Responsibilities

Collecting, verifying, and certifying election costs for all 351 municipalities (including certifying election costs for uniform polling hours and early voting, both in person and by mail), including but not limited to testing surveys; advancing communications; critically reviewing submissions for accuracy and compliance; identifying inconsistencies or missing information; applying rules; maintaining consistent standards across submissions; analyzing data; creating supporting materials; and maintaining records
Contributing to the work of analysts authoring municipal impact studies or issue briefs, and/or authoring these reports, including but not limited to formulating project scope and work plans; conducting research; collecting, analyzing and visualizing data; and drafting reports as assigned.
Assisting with research related to other division projects, including but not limited to drafting, reviewing, or editing related documents; collecting, analyzing and visualizing data; and/or digitizing and/or organizing files and other records.
Performing general departmental administrative tasks to support the division, including but not limited to data entry; attending, managing and scheduling meetings; creating transcripts or minutes; staffing group voicemail and email inboxes and relaying messages as necessary; scheduling appointments and conference calls; copy editing; photocopying and scanning; and document organization and filing.
Other duties as required by the Director related to the work of DLM.
Demonstrate our organizational core values: accountability, efficiency, transparency, continuous improvement and innovation, respect, collaboration, and creativity.
Develop and maintain a comprehensive understanding of OSA procedures and systems relevant to successful performance of job duties.
Manage workload effectively to meet deadlines while maintaining quality.
Regularly update supervisor(s) of progress on all assigned tasks.
Respond to emails and phone calls in a timely and professional manner.
Remain generally informed as to laws and administrative regulations which have a significant financial impact upon cities and towns.
Perform all other duties related to the work of DLM as required.