Research and Policy Data Analyst, Penn Development Research Initiative - DevLab@Penn

University Overview

The University of Pennsylvania, the largest private employer in Philadelphia, is a world-renowned leader in education, research, and innovation. This historic, Ivy League school consistently ranks among the top 10 universities in the annual U.S. News & World Report survey. Penn has 12 highly-regarded schools that provide opportunities for undergraduate, graduate and continuing education, all influenced by Penn’s distinctive interdisciplinary approach to scholarship and learning. As an employer Penn has been ranked nationally on many occasions with the most recent award from Forbes who named Penn one of America’s Best Large Employers in 2023.

Penn offers a unique working environment within the city of Philadelphia. The University is situated on a beautiful urban campus, with easy access to a range of educational, cultural, and recreational activities. With its historical significance and landmarks, lively cultural offerings, and wide variety of atmospheres, Philadelphia is the perfect place to call home for work and play.

The University offers a competitive benefits package that includes excellent healthcare and tuition benefits for employees and their families, generous retirement benefits, a wide variety of professional development opportunities, supportive work and family benefits, a wealth of health and wellness programs and resources, and much more.

Posted Job Title

Research and Policy Data Analyst, Penn Development Research Initiative - DevLab@Penn

Job Profile Title

Data Analyst C

Job Description Summary

The Research and Policy Data Analyst will work on data-driven PDRI- DevLab@Penn (PDRI-DevLab) projects. The Research and Policy Data Analyst will be responsible for several distinct data-intensive tasks, including managing/merging data, build training datasets for machine learning models, coordinating data inputs from undergraduate fellows, conducting statistical analysis, producing visualizations and contributing to academic research and policy reports.

Job Description

PDRI-DevLab connects social scientists across various disciplines and areas of expertise at the University of Pennsylvania who work in international development with the community of development practitioners. PDRI-DevLab brings together researchers with advanced capabilities in international development research and evaluation, including machine learning and impact evaluation econometrics. PDRI-DevLab works directly with donors such as USAID, the World Bank, MCC and others on research opportunities, promotion of evaluable programming, surveys and impact evaluations themselves, and the translation of academic research for policy audiences. PDRI-DevLab also works with implementers, such as RTI, Social Impact, DAI, and others at both the project proposal stage and the implementation and monitoring/evaluation stage. This collaboration enhances development initiatives’ ability to conduct rigorous programming, collect monitoring and evaluation data, and conduct surveys and impact evaluations of development projects. 

The Research and Policy Data Analyst will be responsible for several distinct data-intensive tasks.  

• Collecting secondary data using a variety of data extraction tools (e.g., web-scraping, API usage, data mining).  

• Data management, including data cleaning and manipulation (e.g., merging, transforming, and labeling data) as well as training models and forecasting.  

• Data analysis tasks including regression and other econometric/statistical analysis, as well as validating the output of machine learning models.  

• Data visualization (e.g., creating figures, tables, maps and infographics for academic papers, policy briefs, as well as Lab newsletters and website).  

• Contributing to the production of reports for academic and policy audiences.  

Required qualifications: 

• Bachelor's Degree in Political Science, Economics, Public Policy, Data Science or related field with 2 years of experience, or equivalent combination of education and experience 

• Coursework and strong interest in social science.  

• The ideal candidate has strong data management experience, including experience with data management tasks such as cleaning, merging, and transformation 

• The ideal candidate can work in both R and Python 

• Experience with data management and the analysis of large datasets 

• Strong writing and communication skills 

• Evidence of ability to take the initiative in solving practical research problems, ability to work independently, and to adjust to rapidly changing needs of researchers 

Preferred qualifications: 

• Proficiency in both R and Python is not necessary, but a plus 

• Experience with automated scraping of data from websites 

• Knowledge of and experience with probability and statistics, research design, and causal inference 

• Experience with advanced computational social sciences tools such as machine learning and natural language processing 

This position is contingent upon funding.

Job Location - City, State

Philadelphia, Pennsylvania

Department / School

School of Arts and Sciences

Pay Range

$51,824.00 - $75,000.00 Annual Rate

Salary offers are made based on the candidate’s qualifications, experience, skills, and education as they directly relate to the requirements of the position, as well as internal and market factors and grade profile.

Affirmative Action Statement 
Penn adheres to a policy that prohibits discrimination on the basis of race, color, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, religion, creed, national or ethnic origin, citizenship status, age, disability, veteran status, or any other legally protected class.

Special Requirements 
Background check required after a conditional job offer is made. Consideration of the background check will be tailored to the requirements of the job.

University Benefits

• Health, Life, and Flexible Spending Accounts: Penn offers comprehensive medical, prescription, behavioral health, dental, vision, and life insurance benefits to protect you and your family’s health and welfare. You can also use flexible spending accounts to pay for eligible health care and dependent care expenses with pre-tax dollars.

• Tuition: Take advantage of Penn's exceptional tuition benefits. You, your spouse, and your dependent children can get tuition assistance here at Penn. Your dependent children are also eligible for tuition assistance at other institutions.

• Retirement: Penn offers generous retirement plans to help you save for your future. Penn’s Basic, Matching, and Supplemental retirement plans allow you to save for retirement on a pre-tax or Roth basis. Choose from a wide variety of investment options through TIAA and Vanguard.

• Time Away from Work: Penn provides you with a substantial amount of time away from work during the course of the year. This allows you to relax, take vacations, attend to personal affairs, recover from illness or injury, spend time with family—whatever your personal needs may be.

• Long-Term Care Insurance: In partnership with Genworth Financial, Penn offers faculty and staff (and your eligible family members) long-term care insurance to help you cover some of the costs of long-term care services received at home, in the community or in a nursing facility. If you apply when you’re newly hired, you won’t have to provide proof of good health or be subject to underwriting requirements. Eligible family members must always provide proof of good health and are subject to underwriting.

• Wellness and Work-life Resources: Penn is committed to supporting our faculty and staff as they balance the competing demands of work and personal life. That’s why we offer a wide variety of programs and resources to help you care for your health, your family, and your work-life balance.

• Professional and Personal Development: Penn provides an array of resources to help you advance yourself personally and professionally.

• University Resources: As a member of the Penn community, you have access to a wide range of University resources as well as cultural and recreational activities. Take advantage of the University’s libraries and athletic facilities, or visit our arboretum and art galleries. There’s always something going on at Penn, whether it’s a new exhibit at the Penn Museum, the latest music or theater presentation at the Annenberg Center, or the Penn Relays at Franklin Field to name just a few examples. As a member of the Penn community, you’re right in the middle of the excitement—and you and your family can enjoy many of these activities for free.

• Discounts and Special Services: From arts and entertainment to transportation and mortgages, you'll find great deals for University faculty and staff. Not only do Penn arts and cultural centers and museums offer free and discounted admission and memberships to faculty and staff. You can also enjoy substantial savings on other goods and services such as new cars from Ford and General Motors, cellular phone service plans, movie tickets, and admission to theme parks.

• Flexible Work Hours: Flexible work options offer creative approaches for completing work while promoting balance between work and personal commitments. These approaches involve use of non-traditional work hours, locations, and/or job structures.

• Penn Home Ownership Services: Penn offers a forgivable loan for eligible employees interested in buying a home or currently residing in West Philadelphia, which can be used for closing costs or home improvements.

• Adoption Assistance: Penn will reimburse eligible employees on qualified expenses in connection with the legal adoption of an eligible child, such as travel or court fees, for up to two adoptions in your household.

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To learn more, please visit: https://www.hr.upenn.edu/PennHR/benefits-pay