Position: Senior Data Analyst
Unit: DATA Lab
As a Senior Data Analyst in the District Attorney’s Transparency Analytics (DATA) Lab, you are a member of a team of innovators who are rethinking and reshaping how a prosecutor’s office functions in the 21st Century. Our mission is to use data, research, and advocacy to inform internal policies and practices; increase equity, transparency, and accountability; and reduce harms through prosecutorial and systems reform in Philadelphia and beyond. The Senior Data Analyst will work with DATA Lab analysts, researchers, and operations staff as well as District Attorney’s Office (DAO) staff and partners throughout Philadelphia and the criminal legal system policy landscape.
The Senior Data Analyst is a subject matter generalist who will support many areas of focus throughout the DATA Lab and the DAO, including analyses of crime and enforcement, socioeconomic and demographic factors, court and case processes, office workflows, and more. The Senior Data Analyst is a technical expert and has the experience and technical knowledge to field most analytical questions that arise. The Senior Data Analyst is also expected to become an expert in various subjects around the criminal legal system in Philadelphia.
This position reports to and works closely with the Assistant Director of Analytics. The Senior Data Analyst will also work with other DATA Lab Analysis, Research, and Operations team members and Directors to support the development, completion, and dissemination of projects and work product.
How You Will Make an Impact
- Contribute as part of a unique and nationally recognized team doing innovative research and analysis of the criminal legal system from within a prosecutor’s office.
- Open the doors of the office to community members and research partners by leveraging prosecution data through direct data sharing, our public data releases, data stories, analyses, and DAO-sponsored studies. Help communicate the goals of the office through data.
- Communicate critical information about crime and the criminal legal system to a wide variety of stakeholders throughout City and State government using data.
- Assist DAO practitioners in the operation of the office, including identifying and managing case lists, understanding case outcomes, and viewing what is actually happening among criminal justice system actors at a high level.
- Help practitioners at the DAO understand the impact of their decision-making by conducting new analyses of rarely studied criminal legal data. Inform policy decisions using data analysis.
- Evaluate programs and policies in the DAO.
- Mentor data analysts and share skills and knowledge to increase the overall capabilities of the DATA Lab.
- Build a research and data culture at the DAO.
Duties & Responsibilities
- Conduct data analyses on topics related to crime and the criminal legal process.
- Develop and manage work on 3-4 analytics projects at any given time.
- Assists the analytics leadership team in the development and coordination of other internal and external projects and emergent tasks as needed.
- Contribute to the DATA Lab’s knowledge base by writing internal memos on analytical topics, public facing reports and data products, and completing emergent requests and short-deadline projects as needed.
- Contribute to the development of new analytical tools and the analytical team members, including trainings, presentations, and new infrastructure to build the capacity of the DATA Lab.
- Act as a peer reviewer and final reviewer of work done by other analysts on the team, providing an initial code review and offering feedback to the author, and conducting a final check to ensure quality and accuracy of analyses.
- Bring findings to the attention of the analytics team and the DATA Lab leadership team.
- Interface with ADAs, Unit Supervisors, and other staff throughout the office to help guide and inform analytical projects.
- Mentor other analysts, bringing them along for more complex tasks.
- May be asked to review external research.
- May contribute to infrastructure (e.g. package development, data validation, onlining new data, etc.)
- May prepare data for external researchers.
- Other duties as needed to advance the mission of the DAO and DATA Lab.
What You’ll Need to Succeed: Desired Qualifications
- The education and experience. A bachelor’s or master’s degree or certifications with an extensive background in an analytical field desired. Candidates should have a minimum of 5 years in the field of data analysis. Experience exceeding the minimum requirement as well as a proven track record of work may stand in for a degree. Previous exposure to criminal justice data a plus.
- A demonstrated ability to conduct analyses and program in an R environment, with familiarity working with the tidyverse family of packages. The ability to read, analyze, and export geospatial data in R. Considerations will be made for expertise in a comparable language with an ability to transition to R.
- Familiarity with Git and Github for code management and experience with effective code review a must.
- Familiarity with writing and testing functions, package development and other such concepts a must.
- Effective communication skills. The ideal candidate will have the ability to communicate well within the DATA Lab and the DAO to get the day-to-day work done. You are also able to effectively communicate complex data and analyses to a wide variety of audiences and levels of expertise.
- Pride. You enjoy your work and getting a job done well.
- Ownership. You take ownership for your work, your tasks, your timelines.
- Teamwork. You will split your time between heads-down work and team collaboration. You want to be part of a team where everyone contributes and brings out the best in each other. You can be counted on by your team to deliver the best solution. You work to build skills and mentor other team members. You want to be part of a team that promotes their accomplishments and sees the difference they make.
- Driven. You want to be challenged and you are constantly seeking new opportunities to learn, gain and apply new skills and knowledge.
What You’ll Gain
- Top tier City of Philadelphia Employee benefits including health, dental and vision insurance among others
- Learning and development opportunities
- Generous retirement savings options available (pension plan etc.)
- We are a Public Service Loan Forgiveness (PFLF) Program qualified employer
- Annual paid time off (PTO) package: 10 vacation days, 15 sick leave days, 11 paid holidays, 5 annual administrative leave
- Our wellness program offers eligibility into the discounted medical plan
- Before tax commuter program
- Health care and Dependent care flexible spending accounts
- Sick leave bonuses and exchanges
- Employee Assistance Program (EAP)
Promotion Pathway
Successful Senior Data Analysts who have gained the necessary experience and excel in their current role, and develop specialized knowledge or subject matter expertise, may be eligible for consideration to be promoted to positions including Data Manager, Assistant Director, Data Scientist, Data Engineer, or others.