Policy Data Analyst

Recidiviz•Oakland, CA

5d•$97,000 - $97,000•Remote

About The Position

Recidiviz is thrilled to be hiring a Policy Data Analyst to join our team! We’re a small, fast-moving group that works with complex criminal justice data from our state partners and develops analyses and tools that target the drivers of incarceration. That’s where you come in. We’re looking for someone who has creativity and inquisitiveness to identify and solve open-ended problems, clarity to think through complex and variable data, flexibility to adjust in a rapidly evolving environment, and above all else, a collaborative, kind nature to add to our culture. Recidiviz’s policy team supports state DOC leaders that want to rewrite old policies or implement new ones, rooted in evidence and analytics, to improve outcomes, increase public safety and community health, and drive meaningful changes. We tailor data analysis, built on detailed DOC data, to answer questions like: What combination of criteria best select for probation clients who are safe to discharge? What static factors influence parole decisions today and how would that change if new, dynamic factors were added? How many people would X, Y, or Z adjustment to a policy affect and what can we say about the affected group? By translating concepts into concrete modeling, we help drive smarter and more ambitious change. This role collaborates across several teams to guide work that targets the drivers of incarceration. Our Policy Data Analysts work with diverse data – criminal justice data both raw and processed from across the country, reports and policy documents from government agencies, and much more – to develop the policy analyses that deepen our understanding of the criminal justice system and motivate policy change. Our Policy Data Analysts translate policy concepts into quantitative metrics, perform analyses, and play a key role in contextualizing and presenting their analyses to stakeholders, both internal and external. Travel of approximately one week per quarter may be required.

Requirements

Strong communication and collaboration skills, to help nurture a knowledgeable, data-oriented culture
Enthusiasm for working with internal and external partners from diverse backgrounds and worldviews, such as government staff, legislators, political consultants, researchers, journalists, technical staff, and practitioners in criminal justice reform
Sufficient math or statistical background to reason about analysis design, examine results closely, and prepare data and analyses that are usable for various applications
2 or more years of practical experience exploring, analyzing, and processing complex datasets
Professional work experience using SQL to work with large datasets, including high proficiency writing efficient queries for more complex data extraction and transformation tasks
High familiarity with Python, specifically Pandas package, for tasks such as statistical analysis and data visualization

Nice To Haves

Ability to discern when and how analysis is actionable for stakeholders; ability to “wear your public servant hat” while conducting analysis
Experience adapting quantitative methods that introduce intuitively meaningful metrics in ambiguous, unconstrained contexts
Experience balancing depth and speed when navigating short timelines and shifting priorities
Experience working with large datasets from the public sector, especially related to criminal justice
Familiarity with our data stack, which includes Google Cloud Platform, BigQuery, Looker, Jupyter notebooks, and Python/Pandas

Responsibilities

Leveraging criminal justice datasets to generate context-responsive insights that expand momentum for policy reform
Adapting analytical methods to evidence detailed policy concepts and quantify policy-design tradeoffs
Contextualizing and communicating key findings to internal and external stakeholders
Collaborating with our Data Science and Implementation Engineering teams to design and execute on targeted roadmaps that drive impact in the states where we work
Collaborating with our Product Management and State Engagement teams to bring analyses and data modeling into administrative and legislative policy processes

Benefits

Effective, extremely thoughtful colleagues, working together on a mission that matters
90% medical, dental, and vision insurance coverage for you and your dependents
Flexible time off, including 20 days of PTO, 3 days of paid volunteering time, and 13 paid holidays
12 weeks of paid parental leave
401(k) retirement plan with 5% company match and no vesting period
Complimentary One Medical membership (depending on location)
Partnership with Carrot to provide employees with inclusive fertility and family-forming benefits, as well as a small but growing number of hormonal health and gender-affirming care benefits
Monthly ClassPass credit for personal wellness
Free mental health support via Talkspace
Well-located offices in Oakland and Manhattan, with the flexibility to work remotely or go into either office as you choose
An annual company offsite each spring and other ad-hoc gatherings
All the exhilarating challenges and stretch opportunities of a tech startup, combined with the mission-driven heart of a nonprofit