Deputy Director of Data Science & Analytics

Position: Deputy Director of Data Science & Analytics - Washington, DC or remote

Reports to: Senior Director of Data Science & Analytics

Organization Description:

The Voter Participation Center (VPC) is the nation’s largest non-partisan, non-profit organization dedicated to registering and mobilizing voters from the New American Majority (NAM) – people of color, unmarried women and young people – who make up the majority of the potential electorate but have been historically underrepresented in political participation and power. Using direct mail, digital and social media outreach, guided by rigorous data science and experimentation, and working closely with a multitude of partner organizations, VPC connects with millions of voters each year, building the foundation for a more representative democracy.

Over 18 years VPC has helped more than 5.6 million people register to vote. In 2020, as COVID-19 shut down most forms of in-person voter contact, VPC helped more than 4.6 million people apply to vote by mail & cast ballots, registered more than 1.6 million people, and assisted millions of voters in voting early and safely to reduce pressures on polling places on Election Day.

VPC programs are flexible, nimble and scalable. VPC is driven by a commitment to constant research, testing, experimentation and evaluation, and thus offers many of the most cost effective, proven, high-impact programs in the civic engagement field.

The Center for Voter Information (CVI) is VPC’s partner organization, and is a separate but affiliated 501(c)4 non-profit that works to engage both the NAM as well as members of the broader electorate who share their values.

Position Overview: VPC and CVI seek a Deputy Director of Data Science & Analytics who will be at the forefront of VPC and CVI’s effort to expand its analytics and research capabilities by utilizing the latest data science applications to solve some of the toughest challenges in the civic engagement space. The Deputy Director will take a leading role in improving VPC/CVI’s data processing and analytics work, such as evaluating the quality of data sources and tools, applying statistical methods to generate actionable insights, and building machine learning models to improve program effectiveness. The Deputy Director will work on a broad range of statistical, AI/ML, and business intelligence solutions to elevate the impact of VPC/CVI programs. An ideal candidate has deep passion for increasing voter participation among underrepresented constituencies, and is a collaborator who thrives in a team environment and takes ownership of the work. They will also actively contribute to improving processes, workflows, and communication. This position reports to the Senior Director of Data Science & Analytics.

Primary Responsibilities

Responsibilities Include, but are not limited to: 

• Draw actionable insights from past program and external data by formulating research questions, testing hypotheses, and determining solutions with statistical/ML tools 
• Evaluate the quality of alternative data sources, model scores, and matching algorithms
• Design, develop, test, deploy AI/ML models that improve program impact and cost-effectiveness
• Take ownership of the entire data science project lifecycle
• Develop metrics on key program performance drivers and trends for standardized reporting
• Proactively identify new data sources and analytics opportunities
• Develop and maintain documentation for the analytics team’s workflow and code
• Help teammates troubleshoot their SQL and Python code and provide training on those skills
• Effectively communicate results with teammates and external partners using data visualizations and presentations tools
• Support the adoption of industry best practices for data science and analytics

Skills and Qualifications 

The ideal candidate will have:

Proficiency in: 

• Statistical inferences (probabilities, hypothesis testing, effect estimate, power analysis, regressions, etc)
• Machine learning techniques (supervised and unsupervised learning, NLP, etc)
• Every stage of the data science lifecycle, including data mining, cleaning, exploration, feature engineering, modeling, evaluation, optimization, and visualization
• Python or R and their corresponding ML libraries (Scikit-learn, XGBoost, PyTorch, etc) and visualization libraries (Seaborn, Plotly, etc)
• SQL for data querying and processing
• UNIX shell scripting (Bash/Zsh)
• Version control (Git and Github)

Strong track record of bringing industry-standard predictive models to production

Solid understanding of distributed storage and big data computing frameworks (Cassandra, Hadoop, Spark)

Solid understanding of cloud-based (AWS, Google Cloud, Azure, etc) computing resources and infrastructure

Experience in applying advanced research methods and analyzing/interpreting complex research findings

Experience in analyzing household-level or person-level data sets including large numbers of features

Extensive track record of writing clear code that is well-documented

Demonstrated ability to learn new techniques and troubleshoot code without support; work independently and be a self-starter

Demonstrated ability to work effectively in teams, in both a lead and support role

Demonstrated ability to coach teammates to improve their skills and teach new skills

Effective time management skills, including demonstrated ability to manage and prioritize multiple tasks and projects

Nice-To-Haves:

• Knowledge of randomized control trials, experimental design, and survey research
• Knowledge of deep learning techniques
• Experience in data mining using API calls, web scraping, etc
• Experience in building data pipelines and ETL workflows
• Experience in object-oriented programming
• Familiarity with reporting and dashboarding tools such as Tableau and Periscope
• Experience in or knowledge of large scale voter registration and civic engagement programs
• Professional experience in commercial direct mailing programs preferred

The salary range for this position is $90,000-$110,000. This is a full-time position. VPC and CVI offer an excellent benefits package, including 100% coverage of healthcare premiums. 

To apply, please submit a resume, cover letter, and three references. Interested Candidates can APPLY HERE.  References are not contacted until you are notified.

VPC/CVI is an Equal Opportunity Employer. We strongly value the leadership of people of color, LGBTQ individuals, and other traditionally marginalized communities, and encourage diverse candidates to apply.