Senior Policy Analyst (Strategic Research) : District of Columbia

Senior Policy Analyst (Strategic Research)

Based in Washington, DC

The National Employment Law Project seeks an experienced Senior Policy Analyst for its new Research Team to collaborate with NELP staff and partner organizations in producing highly credible research and written products in support of all of NELP’s programs and policy campaigns, with a particular focus on safety net and social insurance programs including unemployment insurance, retirement security, and other work supports like portable benefits proposals.

Who We Are
NELP is a national non-profit with offices in New York, Washington (DC), Seattle, and Berkeley, promoting federal, state, and local policies to create good jobs in safe and healthy workplaces, boost access to employment for all job seekers, enforce worker rights, and ensure that work provides economic opportunity, security, and prosperity for all of America’s workers. NELP provides research and policy development, litigation support, public education and communications support, and technical assistance to raise wages and end wage theft, secure safe and healthy workplaces, strengthen unemployment insurance and workers’ compensation programs, promote fair chance hiring, ensure employer accountability, and promote a comprehensive policy framework to build a good jobs economy. For more information, see http://www.nelp.org/.

What You Will Do
Policymakers at the federal, state, and local levels regularly turn to NELP for reliable, timely research on issues important to low-wage workers. NELP is now deepening our investment in research by building a new Research Team that provides additional support to our programs while developing cross-cutting publications aimed at a broader public audience.

As a Senior Policy Analyst at NELP, you will work with this new Research Team to devise strategies for data collection and analysis, assist with data visualization, and clearly describe the importance of the data and your methodology to a variety of audiences. You will also conceptualize and draft stand-alone research reports and other products that cut across NELP’s subject matter areas, often identifying emerging trends in our workforce and potential policy proposals to address them. While your work involves many of NELP’s program areas, you will provide focused research and policy writing involving unemployment insurance, retirement security, and other work support proposals like portable benefits and universal basic income.

In addition, you will:

• Conduct research and analysis, of a mostly descriptive nature, to support NELP’s policy campaigns and program teams;
• Prepare policy reports, data briefs, memos, blogs, and other advocacy oriented products for internal and external audiences including legislators, partners, members of the media, and the general public;
• Work with NELP program teams to identify and develop model policies to advance our priorities at the state and federal level and to help improve economic security for our nation’s low wage and unemployed workers;
• Review the use of data in NELP’s substantive reports and other products to help maintain our high standard for accuracy sound research methodologies;
• Help coordinate across the organization to identify best practices, opportunities for collaboration and partnerships, and options for engaging with academics and graduate student researchers;
• Represent NELP in the media, including print, radio, internet and television; at conferences; before government officials; in coalitions and community events; and in public forums;
• Track relevant information, resources, tools, and developments in the federal and state domestic economic policy field;
• Contribute to NELP’s fundraising, grant proposals, project reports, newsletters and web materials as needed.

Who You Are

• You have a Master’s or Ph.D. in public policy, economics, or sociology. These degrees are preferred, but NELP will consider strong candidates with degrees in other relevant social sciences.
• You have a passion for social and economic justice, as reflected by involvement in professional or volunteer activities or study related to labor/employment rights, civil rights, anti-poverty work, and domestic economic policy.
• You have policy advocacy experience or expertise in U.S. social insurance programs, including unemployment insurance, retirement security, and/or workers’ compensation, or strong interest in developing expertise in these areas.
• You have demonstrable skill and background in compiling and analyzing aggregate data and microdata from government and other sources. You have experience visually representing and reporting on data in a way that appeals to a wide audience, and working in a statistical software program, such as Stata or SPSSA; experience performing regression analysis is a plus.
• You have a strong track record writing for a general audience and synthesizing existing research, including scholarly work, and can do so on sometimes short timelines.
• You are skilled at working collaboratively and supportively with other co-workers and with other organizations, including lawyers and others without formal research training.
• You are a confident public speaker and have experience speaking in front of a variety of audiences. Experience responding to media requests for information and on-record interviews a plus.
• You work effectively under limited supervision. You are effective in managing your time and balancing multiple expectations and demands. And you are skilled in creating your own or using existing systems for organizing and maintaining information and data relevant to both internal and external work.
• You have at least 5 years of experience (and preferably more) working in this or a related research or policy advocacy field. Time spent in postgraduate education may count toward the requisite experience.
• The following qualifications, though not essential, are a plus: experience working with allies such as unions, worker centers, faith-based organizations, and policymakers, elected and appointed; Spanish-language fluency.

Start date and compensation:  We would prefer to fill this position in our Washington, DC, office, but would consider excellent candidates who could be located in NELP’s other offices.  The position will start as soon as possible and reasonable, given the candidate’s current employment.   Salary is competitive within the non-profit sector and commensurate with experience and education.  Excellent benefits package.  This position is in NELP’s bargaining unit, represented by National Organization of Legal Service Workers, UAW Local 2320. The position will require some travel.

To apply:   Email cover letter, resume, three references, and three different types of writing samples (including one that demonstrates your ability to work with data) to jobs@nelp.org, noting “Senior Policy Analyst (Research)” in the subject line.  If you have questions regarding this announcement, please forward those to jobs@nelp.org, noting “Senior Policy Analyst (Research) Questions” in the subject line.  No phone calls or other email inquiries please.  We will consider applications on a rolling basis.

NELP is a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization and an equal opportunity, fair chance, affirmative action employer, committed to building a diverse and inclusive workforce.  All qualified applicants will be considered for employment without regard to race, color, creed, national origin, sex, age, disability, marital status, sexual orientation, military status, prior record of arrest or conviction, citizenship status, current employment status, or caregiver status.

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