Research Assistant/Data Analyst - City of Boston

The Planning Department plans and guides inclusive growth in our city - creating opportunities for everyone to live, work, and connect. Through our future-focused, city-wide lens, we engage communities, implement new solutions, partner for greater impact, and track progress. In Boston, achieving citywide resilience means addressing racial equity along with the physical, environmental, and economic growth to ensure that opportunities are accessible to everyone in our City. Today, the Planning Department uses our citywide master plan, Imagine Boston 2030, as a framework to support equity by creating affordable housing, good jobs, and open space in every neighborhood, leveraging funding from large real estate development to support workforce development and training, supporting equitable procurement policies and requiring diversity criteria for developing publicly-owned land.

Under the direction of the Director of Research, provide data and research for the Planning Department, the City of Boston, and related organizations. Participate in research projects, presentations, and briefing notes on Boston’s economy, government, and population. Maintain databases and perform statistical analysis. The Research Assistant/Data Analyst collects, analyzes, and develops data on Boston’s economy, demographics, and commercial markets using statistical and graphical presentations and contributes to research reports, presentations, and briefing notes that may be included in City documents, published, or presented to Planning Department and City staff. The Research Assistant/Data Analyst must have a clear understanding of the US Census Bureau’s databases and data definitions, strong technical skills, and attention to detail.

Responsibilities and Technical Skills

• Help prepare presentations for the Planning Department and other City staff regarding Boston’s demographic and economic trends.
• Conduct research using the U.S. Census Bureau, Bureau of Labor Statistics, and other commercial and custom databases.
• Assess the shortcomings and integrity of data.
• Perform economic and statistical analysis using a variety of specialized software.
• Create and maintain databases using data from a variety of municipal, governmental, public, and private sources.
• Explore new data sources and analytic tools.
• Provide technical assistance to Research staff.
• Analyze data using GIS software, including ArcMap, and create maps using a variety of data sources.
• Proficiency in Microsoft Office, Google Collaborative Suites, and Adobe Acrobat.
• Advanced Excel skills are a must.
• Proficiency in statistical software, especially STATA, and R.

Communication

• Manage, organize, and interpret data for a non-technical audience.
• Create PowerPoint presentations to communicate research findings and information.
• Work collaboratively on projects with other research staff.
• Perform related work as required.

• Bachelor’s degree in economics, statistics, sociology, computer science, related field, or equivalent.
• Must have excellent analytical skills, be able to collaborate and work under the direction of senior staff, and work well independently.
• Experience with STATA, R, or other statistical software is required.
• Must have experience in assisting and executing various aspects of a research project, including data cleaning, data analysis, and visual presentation of data.
• Excellent oral and written communication and organizational skills.
• Proficiency with Microsoft applications and Google Suite.
• Ability to exercise good judgment and focus on detail as required by the job.

BOSTON RESIDENCY REQUIRED

Terms:
Union/Salary/Grade: EXM/($58,000-$81,000)
Hours per week: 35