Contracted E2C Data and Policy Analyst

Commonwealth of Massachusetts•Boston, MA

6d•Hybrid

About The Position

The Education Secretariat is committed to equity and valuing the unique and diverse characteristics and experiences of every member of its workforce. We encourage an authentic workplace where colleagues show up as their full selves, where collaboration, innovation, and connections are key to realizing our mission that all children, youth, and families thrive socially, academically, and economically. We seek teammates who are committed to promoting a diverse and inclusive work environment, where everyone is valued and engaged. We encourage you to apply and identify your strengths in these areas. The Massachusetts Education-to-Career (E2C) Research and Data Hub was established in 2021 through a federal grant awarded to the Department of Elementary and Secondary Education (DESE). The E2C Hub expands access to actionable education and workforce data for educators, policymakers, researchers, students, and families across the Commonwealth. By connecting data across early education, K–12, higher education, and workforce systems, the E2C Hub supports better decision-making, modernizes data infrastructure, improves data quality, and advances collaborative research that informs policy and practice. The EEC Education to Career (E2C) Data and Policy Analyst reports to the EEC Senior Director of Data Analytics, with strategic oversight from the EEC Deputy Commissioner for Policy, Strategy, and Research. The position also maintains a dotted-line reporting relationship with E2C Hub leadership to support cross-agency collaboration. The analyst will serve as EEC's primary representative to the statewide E2C Hub, as they work to strengthen cross-agency data partnerships, improve data access and governance, support integrated early childhood data initiatives, and conduct analyses that inform policy and operational decision-making. This is a grant-funded contract position through June 30, 2027, with the possibility of an extension. EEC is currently allowing staff a mix of remote and in-person work. The Analyst will be required to be present at the EEC central office at 50 Milk Street, as well as other meeting locations in the Boston area and around the state as needed. Please note that pursuant to Massachusetts general law, contracted employees are not paid for the eleven scheduled holidays, do not receive any paid, vacation, personal leave benefits, or contribute to the state retirement system or social security. As a state contracted employee, you must participate in direct deposit and contribute towards the Commonwealth of Massachusetts state alternate retirement plan, ("OBRA Plan").

Requirements

Applicants must have at least two years of full-time, or equivalent part-time, professional educational experience in a specific or related content area, educational program or service.

Nice To Haves

Strong quantitative analysis skills and experience with analytics software.
Experience working with SQL and large inter-relational databases strongly preferred.
Demonstrated skills to provide superior service to a client or customer organization, e.g. active listening, developing relationships, structuring problems and creating solutions collaboratively.
Demonstrated ability to work productively and collegially with individuals and teams.
Experience working with a range of diverse stakeholders and tailoring approaches and communication to successfully meet project goals and timelines.
Experience successfully moving forward work on multiple tasks simultaneously and communicating clearly about progress.
Excellent written and oral communication skills.
Strong ability to understand, analyze, and communicate complex information quickly, especially related to databases, data analysis, data security, data governance, and technology systems.
Experience in the education sector.
Knowledge of current state and national landscape of early education data.
Advanced degree or relevant experience in database management, data-driven research, or educational research.

Responsibilities

Serve as EEC's primary representative to the E2C Research and Data Hub by: Representing EEC in key E2C meetings, working groups, and initiatives, and serving as the agency's primary liaison to the E2C Hub.
Building strong working relationships with EEC staff and E2C partners across participating agencies.
Developing expertise in EEC data systems, business processes, privacy requirements, reporting tools, organizational priorities, and key stakeholders.
Collaborating with EEC colleagues and E2C analysts across agencies to improve the quality, completeness, and availability of EEC data within the E2C Hub.
Coordinating with internal and external stakeholders to identify and document high-priority data and research use cases, with a particular emphasis on advancing equity.
Helping develop communications for the early education and care field to explain the goals and benefits of the E2C initiative and encourage stakeholder engagement.
Performing regular analytics, leveraging data from the E2C Hub, as well as EEC’s major data systems (including licensing and child care financial assistance), to inform EEC and cross-agency strategy, policy, and operations and support EEC research priorities.
Designing, developing, and implementing visualizations, interactive dashboards, self-service visualization tools, and infographics to communicate key insights.
Supporting collection and analysis of data from key EEC grant programs including and not necessarily limited to the Commonwealth Preschool Partnership Initiative (CPPI) and Early Childhood Mental Health (ECMH) programs to inform program operations and policy.
Leading and implementing the agency’s external data request process, responding to external data requestors, tracking request statuses, and delegating requests to EEC colleagues, as needed.
Developing and updating key collateral, including data dictionaries, data use guides, and other reference material to support state staff, researchers, and the public in leveraging EEC data.
Partnering with the Senior Director of Data Analytics and team on special projects and other responsibilities related to EEC's data strategy.
Reviewing, further developing, and documenting EEC policies and practices related to data collection, data sharing, and research, and identifying opportunities for alignment with E2C Hub governance.
Supporting work on key E2C early childhood-focused projects including the Early Childhood Integrated Data System (ECIDS) and efforts to merge key early childhood and K-12 data to better understand longitudinal experiences and outcomes from the early education into the public school system, including: Working with E2C leadership and the chair of the ECIDS board to prepare for ECIDS board meetings, coordinate next steps, and help with follow up tasks.
Providing general ECIDS project management and coordination support to E2C leadership and the ECIDS board, as needed.
Collaborating with EEC colleagues to ensure that the agency submits timely, accurate data for inclusion in ECIDS.
Leading efforts to integrate early childhood and PK–12 data to support longitudinal analysis and improve understanding of children's transitions into public school, including performing analyses that link early childhood and PK-12 data.
Coordinating ongoing efforts to further modernize data sharing and improve data quality across agencies.