Senior Policy Research Analyst

University of Louisiana, Lafayette • Lafayette, LA

175d

About The Position

The Kathleen Blanco Public Policy Center at the University of Louisiana at Lafayette is an independent, interdisciplinary research center and archive engaged in research across a range of topics in public policy, including education, poverty and economic opportunity, criminal justice reform, health and healthcare, the coast and environment, and governmental ethics. The Senior Policy Research Analyst will support the Research Scientist in designing and conducting research for the Causes and Consequences of Criminal and Delinquent Acts annual legislative research report and other ad hoc reports at the Blanco Public Policy Center.

Requirements

• Graduate degree with coursework or work experience in social science research and data and analytics OR a Bachelor’s degree with at least 2 years of work experience in social science research and data and analytics.
• Exceptional written and oral communication skills, advanced analytical skills, and strong computer software skills (including by not limited to Microsoft Office).
• Creativity in problem solving.
• Ability to work independently on assigned tasks and collaboratively in teams.
• Demonstrated experience conducting exploratory data analysis and statistical analyses of longitudinal or cross-sectional data using Stata statistical software.
• Demonstrated work experience or interest involving criminal justice.

Responsibilities

• Support LA FIRST research team by building a center of expertise in criminal justice and criminal justice reform in Louisiana using quantitative and qualitative research skills, including but not limited to interviews with practitioners and policymakers, building and maintaining a library of extant literature, and crafting expert literature reviews and presentations that can inform research focus and policy discussions.
• Participating in interagency working groups to support the direction and plan of work for LA FIRST research teams.
• Collaborating with agency stakeholders, LA FIRST Information Division staff, and LA FIRST Research Division staff to create and maintain research documentation for LA FIRST data and analytical files.
• Collaborating with Information Division staff to extract, organize, and clean analytical data files for research use.
• Carrying out research designs under the supervision of the Research Scientist, including exploratory data analysis, statistical analysis, and advanced analytics, to answer research questions.
• Work with the LA FIRST Director and Research team to develop and implement quality assurance and quality control processes and improve those over time to ensure high quality research and other work products at the Blanco Center.
• Translate research findings for broad and varied audiences using a variety of deliverables including but not limited to academic papers and presentations, policy briefs and papers, public presentations, webinars, video recordings, and data visualizations and dashboards.
• Participate in training, user agreements, and business processes established by the LA FIRST Information Division to protect individual data privacy and confidentiality.
• Participate in synchronous and asynchronous team management practices of LA FIRST.

What This Job Offers

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