Special Assistant & Research Analyst

HR&A Advisors • New York, NY

15h • $75,000 - $85,000 • Hybrid

About The Position

HR&A Advisors, Inc. (HR&A) is an employee-owned company advising public, private, non-profit, and philanthropic clients on how to increase opportunity and advance quality of life in cities.
We believe in creating vital places, building equitable and resilient communities, and improving people’s lives.
From Brooklyn to London, Medellin to Hong Kong, we have guided hundreds of clients in transforming real estate and economic development concepts, and public infrastructure, first into actionable plans and then into job-producing, community-strengthening assets.
Our clients include real estate owners and investors, hospitals and universities, cultural institutions and philanthropies, community development organizations, and governments.
HR&A has offices in Atlanta, Dallas, Los Angeles, New York, Raleigh, Washington D.C. and the Bay Area. We come from diverse backgrounds, have a breadth of lived experience, and share a passion for cities. We are former city officials, executive directors, planners, lawyers, architects, and economists.
HR&A's Inclusive Cities practice leverages our deep understanding of government, knowledge of local and private economic forces, and analytical rigor to promote social and economic justice. Our practice area centers racial equity and economic justice in economic development, policy, and planning. We help our clients identify who will benefit from economic development initiatives and show them how to design and execute more equitable projects, neighborhoods, and cities. By engaging communities and grassroots organizations in meaningful, non-extractive ways, we build new trust and durable partnerships. We launch new programs and community-driven projects to increase awareness and participation in our civic discourse, which is essential to shifting traditional economic development paradigms. Our team emboldens visionary public servants with the tools they need to embed equity into their policy and practice. We serve as a bridge between ideas and implementation, truly changing systems from workforce development to criminal legal system reform, so that lives are changed for the better.
HR&A is seeking a full-time Special Assistant & Research Analyst to support the Inclusive Cities practice leadership in our New York office. This is a hybrid role where you will dedicate approximately 70% of your time to high-level executive and operational support, coordinating across multiple projects within the Inclusive Cities practice, providing administrative support including calendaring, and taking on special projects for the practice. The remaining 30% of your time will involve research support for the practice, where you'll contribute to policy analysis, data synthesis, and report development that advances our equity-focused work.

Requirements

• 2-4 years of work, with demonstrated research, writing, or analytical capabilities
• Experience working with executives in a fast-paced, dynamic professional environment, ideally in professional services, public sector, or mission-driven organizations
• Ability to forecast and prioritize needs based on strategic understanding of the work, not just logistics
• Must-have ability to follow through on tasks or projects, perform quality assurance/quality control (QA/QC), and advance them on behalf of Inclusive Cities leadership
• Outstanding organizational and time management skills, including the ability to multitask across administrative and research responsibilities
• Excellent written and verbal communication skills, with ability to write clearly and synthesize complex information
• Strong research and analytical skills, including the ability to interpret data and distill complex policy information into clear, concise formats
• Interest in and commitment to racial equity, economic justice, and community-centered development
• Bachelor's degree in public policy, business administration, political science, economics, urban planning, or a related field is preferred, or equivalent experience

Nice To Haves

• Experience in policy research, community development, or social justice organizations is a plus

Responsibilities

• Proactive management and coordination of practice leadership calendars, including preparing and updating weekly schedules, forecasting scheduling conflicts and working quickly to resolve them, and responding to last-minute meeting requests with context-aware prioritization
• Manage complex travel planning and detailed itineraries, including booking flights and hotel arrangements for client meetings, site visits, and community engagement events, and handling last-minute or urgent travel requests
• Provide wide-ranging administrative support, including entering weekly timesheets, expense reporting and filing, and systems or technology support
• Manage and assist with special projects and event coordination as assigned, including internal team meetings, client convenings, and community engagement sessions
• Prepare leaders for meetings by organizing briefing materials, background research, and relevant context on attendees and topics
• Conduct research on key policy areas relevant to the Inclusive Cities practice, including economic development policy, racial equity frameworks, community benefit agreements, workforce development, and criminal legal system reform
• Collect, analyze, and synthesize data to support policy briefs, client reports, and internal knowledge-building
• Assist in drafting research memos, literature reviews, and background sections of reports
• Monitor news, academic research, legislative developments, and best practices relevant to equitable economic development and the practice's project portfolio
• Maintain organized research databases and resource libraries for the practice team
• Support cross-practice collaboration on research-related projects
• Perform other duties as assigned

Benefits

• We offer competitive compensation packages, based on qualifications and experience.
• We are an employee-owned company, meaning you will have the opportunity to benefit from the firm’s growth over time through participation in our Employee Stock Ownership Plan.
• Each year, the firm will contribute funds to this long-term wealth-building account and may make contributions to other retirement accounts.
• We also provide a comprehensive benefits package that goes well beyond coverage of 90-95% of healthcare premiums, including dental and vision coverage.

What This Job Offers

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