Research Analyst

CUNY Institute for State and Local Governance (ISLG): About Us

The CUNY Institute for State and Local Governance has a mission to improve the financing, delivery, and measurement of critical public services through research, technical assistance, and education. We lead projects aimed at reforming the criminal legal system, measuring urban inequality, expanding the reach of social service providers, and more. Each project has a dedicated team of research and policy experts who collaborate closely with internal and external organizations. Our staff have the opportunity to work with colleagues and supervisors across projects and with different types of expertise. We are seeking new team members with enthusiasm to shape the future of state and local policy.

Our Goals for Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion

We strive to foster an office environment and an approach to work that welcomes and respects different perspectives, backgrounds, and life experiences. We are working towards our goal of recruiting and retaining staff and board members who are diverse in terms of race, national origin, sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, age, religion, veteran status, socioeconomic status, disability, and justice system involvement.

Who we are Looking for

We are hiring a Research Analyst to work on multiple projects, with key responsibilities in supporting the collection, management, and/or analysis of quantitative and qualitative data, and providing administrative support as needed. This is an excellent opportunity for a civic-minded professional interested in a public policy environment. ISLG’s research projects span government policymaking in New York City and nationally, and cover a number of areas including criminal justice, racial equity, infrastructure and transportation, government operations, and finance. Broadly, our criminal legal research projects involve assessing implementation of reform efforts, tracking progress and impacts related to criminal legal system reform through performance metrics, project development, and grants management.

Although the exact mix of projects may evolve over time, the Research Analyst is expected to contribute to two projects upon joining CUNY ISLG:

Campaign Finance Board (CFB) Fellowship Program: CFB is a nonpartisan, independent city agency that empowers New Yorkers to make a greater impact on their elections. CFB’s mission is to make New York City (NYC) democracy more open, transparent and equitable, by reducing barriers to participation, providing access to the information and resources New Yorkers need to vote or run for office, and amplifying the power of small‐dollar contributions to reduce the influence of money in politics. Accordingly, CFB and CUNY ISLG are implementing a two‐year Civic Engagement Fellowship for Fellows and host organizations in the Bronx, with a goal of increasing voter registration, voter participation, and other forms of civic engagement. CUNY ISLG will manage the Fellowship and provide training and technical assistance to host CBOs and Fellows to bolster their work toward these goals. The research team on the project will track the implementation and performance of both host CBOs and Fellows as well as the impact of their work.

Restorative Justice Initiatives: CUNY ISLG currently manages two restorative justice initiatives in NYC: a) the Community-Based Restorative Justice (CBRJ) initiative of the Mayor’s Office of Criminal Justice, and b) Project Restore of the Brooklyn District Attorney’s Office. The CBRJ initiative funds 16 CBOs to offer community-based restorative justice programming, training and technical assistance, and fellowships. Project Restore similarly seeks to interrupt cycles of violence before they escalate by providing trauma-informed, community-led interventions rooted in restorative justice and public health principles. It will fund CBOs in Brooklyn to support the positive development of young people most at risk of involvement in gun violence, reduce their involvement in gang-related and retaliatory violence, and improve community safety. CUNY ISLG will offer TTA focused on operational, strategic, and programmatic capacity as well as restorative justice practices. The research team will track the implementation and performance of the initiatives, work with CBOs to increase their data and research capacity, and assess the impact of restorative justice approaches on criminal legal, education, employment, mentoring, emotional healing, and other domains.

For the above projects and others, the Research Analyst will report to a Research Associate or Senior Research Associate on a range of tasks depending on the project, which may include but are not limited to:

Research and analysis

• Carrying out literature, policy, and practice reviews;
• Developing, tracking, and interpreting performance metrics, including their policy and practice implications;
• Conducting descriptive quantitative analysis and potentially supporting higher-level multivariate analysis;
• Drafting interview, focus group, and/or survey questionnaires; assisting in the facilitation of interviews and focus groups; drafting and/or helping administer surveys; coding and analyzing qualitative data;
• Synthesizing and interpreting findings;
• Supporting the design and creation of reports, presentations, and dashboards or other types of data visualization for practitioner and policy audiences

Research development

• Conducting literature reviews and analysis to identify areas of opportunity in criminal justice research;
• Supporting the development of criminal justice research projects;
• Drafting portions of Requests for Proposals (RFPs) and supporting application and scoring processes

Grants management and administration

• Monitoring grantee progress in meeting research goals and objectives;
• Developing processes to ensure that grantees are meeting project milestones and deliverables;
• Troubleshooting issues as they arise;
• Providing administrative support for projects as needed, such as helping coordinate meetings/events and notetaking

Data management

• Developing data requests and data collection protocols for criminal justice agencies, community-based service providers, and other relevant organizations;
• Cleaning, coding, merging, and preparing administrative data files for analysis or transcribing and coding qualitative interview and focus group data;
• Developing codebooks, coding schemes, file specifications, and other resource documents

This position is hybrid and based in New York City. CUNY ISLG staff work out of the Midtown office two days a week of their choosing and the remaining three days a week remotely.

We would love to hear from you if you have:

• Bachelor’s Degree in criminal justice/criminology, psychology, sociology, public policy, or other related field;
• Experience in collecting and working with administrative data, particularly data from government agencies (experience with criminal justice data a plus);
• You are familiar with at least one quantitative statistical software package or language (e.g., Python, R, SAS, SPSS, STATA);
• Excellent time management skills and experience working in a deadline-driven environment;
• Ability to prioritize and work on a number of tasks simultaneously;
• An exceptional commitment to accuracy and attention to detail;
• Ability to work on a team, as well as independently;
• Flexibility and adaptability;
• Background/experience in any of the following is a plus, but not a requirement:
  • Information technology
  • NVivo or other qualitative software
  • Tableau or other data visualization software

This is a full-time position in New York City with a salary range of $60,000-$70,000 and excellent benefits, including:

• • Comprehensive medical/dental/vision insurance
  • Paid vacation and personal days
  • Paid sick leave
  • CUNY tuition reimbursement program
  • Pre-tax benefits for transit and healthcare costs
  • Family/parental leave
  • Life insurance
  • A retirement plan with employer contribution.

Our staff also benefit from:

• • A positive work/life balance.
  • Opportunities for advancement within the organization.
  • Engagement with the broader CUNY network.
  • Working with organizational leadership who have years of significant public sector and policymaking expertise.

How to Apply

To apply please visit https://www.rfcuny.org/careers/postings?pvnID=VB-2507-006932. You will need to submit a cover letter describing your qualifications and interests and attach your curriculum vitae. Questions about the position can be addressed to info@islg.cuny.edu. Application review will commence immediately and continue until the position is filled.

The CUNY Institute for State and Local Governance and the Research Foundation of the City University of New York are an Affirmative Action/Equal Opportunity/Americans with Disabilities Act/Protected Veterans Status/ Verify Employer