(Hybrid) Data Analyst - WVU Institute for Community and Rural Health

West Virginia University•West Virginia, WV

4d•Hybrid

About The Position

The Data Analyst supports data management, research, program evaluation, and grant reporting across the Institute for Community and Rural Health at West Virginia University. Working with faculty, program managers, and community partners, the analyst manages data from collection through analysis, reporting, and archiving, ensuring that project data are accurate, secure, well documented, and usable for program improvement, research, and funding proposals. Projects may include rural health, Food is Medicine, healthcare access, workforce development, and local food systems. The role develops and maintains project data management plans, databases, electronic data collection forms, data dictionaries, codebooks, and standard operating procedures. It coordinates data submissions, integrates and reconciles data from multiple sources, conducts quality checks, prepares analysis-ready datasets, supports secure access and data sharing, and maintains documentation for monitoring, audits, staff transitions, and project closeout. The analyst conducts descriptive statistics, trend analyses, and comparisons of program participation, service delivery, costs, reach, and outcomes. In collaboration with faculty investigators and evaluation leads, the role supports study design, measure selection, and statistical analyses, and creates dashboards, visualizations, tables, and reports. The analyst tracks performance measures, interprets findings with project teams, and contributes methods, tables, and findings to manuscripts, presentations, and funding proposals. The position also works with faculty and program managers to establish data requirements, responsibilities, and reporting timelines, and trains staff, students, and partners on data tools, procedures, quality standards, and secure handling. The analyst follows applicable university requirements, approved research protocols, data-use agreements, and privacy and security procedures.

Requirements

Bachelor’s degree in statistics, data analytics, public health, epidemiology, economics, computer science, or a related field.
At least one year of experience collecting, managing, cleaning, analyzing, and reporting quantitative data.
At least one year of experience developing or maintaining databases, data documentation, and quality assurance procedures.
Proficiency in Excel and at least one analytical programming or statistical software package, such as R, Python, SAS, or Stata.
Understanding of descriptive statistics, data visualization, and secure data handling.
Ability to explain findings clearly to technical and nontechnical audiences.
Strong organizational skills, attention to detail, and ability to manage deadlines across multiple projects.
All qualifications must be met by the time of employment; equivalent combinations of related education and/or experience will be considered.

Nice To Haves

Master’s degree in a relevant field.
Experience with public health research, program evaluation, rural health, or grant-funded initiatives.
Experience with SQL, REDCap, Power BI, Tableau, or GIS.
Familiarity with relational databases, automated data processing, and version control.
Experience managing longitudinal or multisite datasets and working with sensitive health or participant information.
Experience supporting research manuscripts, funding proposals, or funder reports.

Responsibilities

Develop and maintain project data management plans covering collection, storage, access, quality assurance, sharing, retention, and archiving.
Build and maintain databases, electronic data collection forms, data dictionaries, codebooks, and standard operating procedures.
Establish consistent variable definitions, naming conventions, participant and site identifiers, and file organization across projects.
Coordinate data submissions from project teams and partners, including schedules, formats, secure transfers, and correction of incomplete records.
Integrate and reconcile data from surveys, program records, clinical partners, and public datasets, documenting sources and transformations.
Conduct routine quality checks for missing values, duplicate records, inconsistencies, and outliers, and document issues and their resolution.
Prepare and maintain analysis-ready datasets, track versions, preserve source data, and document reproducible processing steps.
Coordinate with authorized university teams on access permissions, secure storage, backups, and recovery procedures.
Prepare de-identified datasets and support authorized data sharing consistent with approved protocols and data-use agreements.
Maintain documentation for monitoring, audits, staff transitions, and project closeout.
Conduct descriptive statistics, trend analyses, and comparisons of program participation, service delivery, costs, reach, and outcomes.
Support study design, measure selection, and statistical analyses in collaboration with faculty investigators and evaluation leads.
Create dashboards, visualizations, tables, and concise reports for faculty, program managers, funders, and community partners.
Track performance measures and prepare accurate, timely data summaries for grant reporting and project reviews.
Interpret findings with project teams, explaining limitations and implications for program improvement.
Contribute analytical methods, tables, and findings to manuscripts, presentations, and funding proposals.
Work with faculty and program managers to establish data requirements, responsibilities, and reporting timelines.
Train staff, students, and partners on data collection tools, entry procedures, quality standards, and secure handling.
Follow applicable university requirements, approved research protocols, data-use agreements, and privacy and security procedures.