Senior Research Analyst/Team Leader
- Employer
- Institute for Justice
- Location
- Virginia, United States
- Salary
- Salary Commensurate with experience
- Date posted
- Oct 7, 2021
View more
- Position Type
- Jobs Outside Academe, Non-profit & Government Organizations
- Employment Level
- Post-Doc
- Employment Type
- Full Time
Do you want to use your empirical research skills to advance individual rights? This is what the Institute for Justice’s Strategic Research team does every day, creating data-driven research used by journalists, lawmakers, advocates, and courts to bring light to government abuse and achieve reform. We are seeking entrepreneurial researchers to join our nine-member team in leadership roles. Title is negotiable to reflect research and managerial skills and experience.
Responsibilities include:
- Developing and executing research plans on a wide range of cutting-edge topics, such as civil forfeiture, occupational licensing, qualified immunity, zoning/housing, and 4th Amendment rights.
- Working closely with IJ attorneys and researchers to generate research questions that advance our issues and to identify the strongest methods to answer them.
- Finding datasets or creative ways to build them, as well as managing data collection.
- Manipulating and analyzing large datasets with both descriptive and inferential statistics, as well as drafting and managing surveys.
- Mining research literature for new ideas, potential collaborators, and methodological insights.
- Leading both solo and team projects.
- Managing and mentoring junior researchers and assistants to maintain high standards of accuracy, methodological rigor, and integrity.
- Ensuring research findings reach key audiences, such as journalists and lawmakers, to bring important issues to prominence and create policy change.
- Writing clear, accessible reports for general audiences, as well as articles for peer-reviewed journals.
- Conducting media interviews; testifying before legislatures and city councils; writing media materials, such as op-eds and letters to the editor; speaking at public events.
- Strategizing with IJ’s communications, legislative, activism, and research teams to maximize distribution and impact.
Qualifications include:
- Passion for policy research and IJ’s mission of championing property rights, economic liberty, free speech, and educational choice.
- Strong background in research design and statistical analysis, preferably including survey methods.
- Ph.D. in social sciences or statistics with an emphasis on research methods, applied statistics, or applied economics; or master’s degree in applied statistics or applied economics with three years’ experience.
- Proficiency with statistical software such as Stata; proficiency with Python, R, or GIS is helpful.
- Experience conducting policy research, such as with a policy institute, in a legislative, executive, or regulatory role, or through a university-based research center.
- Excellent written and oral communication skills, especially for non-technical audiences.
- Proven ability to handle multiple projects and meet deadlines; experience managing project teams preferred.
- Strong problem-solving and critical-thinking skills.
- Self-motivation and enthusiasm for collaboration.
Working at IJ:
Our culture is entrepreneurial, open, and resilient. We relentlessly pursue real-world change—while having fun. Our salaries and titles are commensurate with experience, as well as competitive with nonprofit and academic salaries. This position offers the opportunity to work in any of IJ’s offices: Arlington, Virginia (headquarters); Tempe, Arizona; Seattle, Washington; Austin, Texas; Minneapolis, Minnesota; Miami, Florida; or Chicago, Illinois. IJ offers superior benefits including medical, dental, vision and life insurance, retirement benefits and generous paid leave. IJ also offers flexible work-day scheduling and the option to work from home two days a week, as well as fully remote up to four weeks a year.
To be considered, please submit a resume, a cover letter, and a
writing sample.
More about the Institute for Justice's SR Team: IJ’s Strategic
Research team creates social science and policy research, but our
studies don’t just sit on a library shelf collecting dust. We put
our research to
work by combining it with IJ’s unique brand of
cutting-edge litigation, award-winning communications and top-notch
activism and legislative outreach. Our studies have been cited by
the White
House and the U.S.
Supreme Court,
as well as leading news outlets nationwide.
They have been published in leading peer-reviewed
journals. Our work helped certify a victorious class action
lawsuit against Philadelphia’s civil forfeiture machine, ensure
the return of cash wrongfully
seized by the IRS, roll back needless
occupational licensing, dismantle
speech-squelching campaign
finance laws, and protect programs that empower parents
to choose the best schools for their children.
IJ is an equal opportunity employer.
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