Policy Research Specialist

Rice University • Houston, TX

1d • $60,000 - $65,000 • Onsite

About The Position

The Claudio X. González Center for the U.S. and Mexico at Rice University’s Baker Institute for Public Policy seeks a Policy Research Specialist to support rigorous, policy-relevant research on U.S.-Mexico issues. Reporting to the Center’s leadership and working closely with fellows, scholars, and research staff, the Policy Research Specialist will help design, execute, and communicate empirical research projects related to trade, migration, public security and the rule of law, economic development, governance, and related binational policy issues. In short, the successful candidate will be able to turn empirical research into clear, compelling policy insights.

Requirements

• Bachelor’s degree (In lieu of the education requirement, additional related experience beyond what is required may be substituted on an equivalent year-for-year basis.)
• Two years of professional research experience in policy research, quantitative analysis, or applied social science research (In lieu of the experience requirement, additional related education beyond what is required may be substituted on an equivalent year-for-year basis.)
• Demonstrated proficiency in at least one statistical or programming environment such as R, Python, Stata, or similar tools
• Experience managing, cleaning, and analyzing structured datasets
• Ability to accurately interpret quantitative findings and communicate them clearly in writing
• Excellent organizational skills and attention to detail
• Ability to manage multiple projects and deadlines in a fast-paced policy research environment

Nice To Haves

• Master’s degree in a relevant field
• Experience working with cross-national, economic, demographic, trade, governance, crime, or public opinion datasets
• Experience supporting publication-quality policy reports or academic research
• Knowledge of U.S.-Mexico relations, Mexican public policy, or Latin American political economy
• Spanish-language reading proficiency, with professional working proficiency preferred
• Familiarity with reproducible research practices, version control, and documentation standards

Responsibilities

• Support the design, planning, and implementation of Center research projects, with an emphasis on quantitative data analysis and mixed-method policy research
• Clean, merge, validate, document, and maintain datasets from public, administrative, survey, economic, legal, and institutional sources in the U.S. and Mexico through ETL (Extract, Transform, Load), data wrangling, and automated data pipelines
• Perform descriptive, inferential, and exploratory statistical analyses using appropriate analytical tools and research design principles
• Conduct data visualization projects for public and stakeholder audiences using tools such as Tableau, Power BI, ArcGIS, Canva, or similar platforms
• Produce charts, maps, dashboards, tables, briefs, memos, backgrounders, and other data products that support publications, presentations, grant reporting, and public-facing outputs
• Build and maintain reproducible research workflows, codebooks, methodological notes, and internal documentation
• Draft and edit analytical sections of issue briefs, reports, presentations, talking points, and other written products
• Conduct literature reviews and background research to contextualize empirical findings within relevant policy debates
• Present findings internally to Center leadership and contribute to external presentations as needed
• Collaborate with faculty, fellows, research scholars, students, and external partners on interdisciplinary projects
• Perform all other duties as assigned

Benefits

• Rice University HR | Benefits: https://knowledgecafe.rice.edu/benefits
• Rice Mission and Values: Mission and Values | Rice University https://www.rice.edu/mission-values

What This Job Offers

• Job Type: Full-time
• Career Level: Entry Level