Research Assistant (Work, Education & Labor Division)

The Urban Institute is a research-to-impact institution focused on improving lives and strengthening communities. The Work, Education and Labor Division is seeking a junior quantitative and/or qualitative researcher to support various education and workforce projects, emphasizing data management and analysis.

Responsibilities

• Write computer programs that clean, merge, and efficiently store education datasets
• Standardize variable definitions to create panel datasets
• Write computer programs that analyze datasets for a variety of research projects, ranging from blogs to major reports
• Conduct background research (including literature reviews) and contribute to original data collection efforts (e.g., collecting information on states’ education policies)
• Support qualitative site visits and observations

Skills

• Possess a bachelor's degree in economics, public policy, mathematics, statistics, or related disciplines, and possess 0-2 years of experience
• Exhibit analytical skills with demonstrated interest in education policy, superior attention to detail, excellent organizational skills, and strong skills in mathematics, statistics as well as oral and written communication
• Be a self-motivated individual with the ability to prioritize workload and to work both independently and as part of a team
• Demonstrate prior research experience—including experience working with federal survey data, other large data sets, or detailed state-level policy data
• Display course/college experience using statistical packages such as Stata (preferred) or R to analyze datasets and research methods or econometrics
• Have the ability to download, clean, and do basic analysis of large datasets
• Have experience with qualitative data collection and analysis of survey and site visit findings
• Be able to coordinate logistics with external partners with professionalism
• Possess subject/content specific knowledge of education and/or workforce systems to build from; this could be in K12, higher ed, apprenticeships or other types of career pathways work
• Display course/college experience using statistical packages such as Stata (preferred) or R to analyze datasets and research methods or econometrics

Benefits

• Generous paid time off, including nine federal holidays
• Medical (including prescription), dental and vision insurance
• Transit benefits
• 403(b) retirement plan participation immediately after you’re hired and a generous employer contribution after six months of service and 500 hours, with immediate vesting
• Access to a health advocate
• Personal finance coaching
• Employee Assistance Program
• Educational assistance for undergraduate and graduate degree programs

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