Data Analyst II

About Rice:

Boasting a 300-acre tree-lined campus in Houston, Texas, Rice University is ranked among the nation's top 20 universities by U.S. News & World Report. Rice has a 6-to-1 undergraduate student-to-faculty ratio, and a residential college system, which supports students intellectually, emotionally and culturally through social events, intramural sports, student plays, lectures series, courses and student government. Developing close-knit, diverse college communities is a strong campus tradition, which is why Rice is highly ranked for best quality of life and best value among private universities.

Rice is also a wonderful place to work. Rice faculty, staff and students share values that are essential to our success as a healthy community. Those values guide our decisions and behaviors and shape Rice's culture. They come through in the way we treat each other and the welcome we extend to our visitors. These values can be recalled simply by our name -- RICE -- Responsibility, Integrity, Community and Excellence.

Position Summary:

The Kinder Institute for Urban Research (KIUR) aims to improve lives through data, research, engagement, and action. The institute is currently expanding to build out five research centers focused on key aspects shaping the social and cultural landscape of the Houston area. The five research centers will conduct research on housing, education, public health, economic mobility and inequality, and population dynamics. KIUR uses a research-practice partnership (RPP) model to jointly design, develop, and do research that values diversity in expertise and centers the community in identifying the most pressing questions and challenges facing Houston.

The Data Analyst II participates in the design, planning, and implementation of research projects and data analysis by formulating research questions, identifying data resources/information, and providing advice on research methods. This position utilizes statistical programming languages to acquire, transform, manipulate, and geocode data, as well as build automated workflows and database models. It also conducts data analysis in both tabular and spatial environments and presents outputs to audience with academic (e.g., researchers) and non-academic (e.g., KIUR partners, workers of community organizations, etc.) background, as well as prepares metadata, technical documentation, data summaries, and reports. In addition, this position audits and verifies codes, data outputs, and documentation prepared by others to make sure the outputs are valid and accurate. It assists the Director of Data Operations, Senior Data Manager, and information technology staff with data security issues as needed.

This is a full-time, benefits eligible position. Telecommuting is permissible within the greater Houston MSA for up to 2 days per week.

Minimum Requirements:

• Master's degree (or foreign equivalent degree) in Sociology, Demography, Urban Studies or related field
• Two (2) years of experience as a Graduate Assistant or Research Assistant in Sociology

Special Requirements:

Must include two (2) years of experience with each of the following:

• Accessing, manipulating, exploring, and processing tabular and spatial datasets in relational databases, and automating workflows
• Using programming languages including SAS, Stata, and Python, as well as GIS software to manipulate data with multiple formats in SQL and relational databases
• Conducting data analysis in data enclaves using restricted data from various entities such as Federal Statistical Research Data Centers and generating outputs that meet data confidentiality rules
• Working collaboratively with partners with various academic backgrounds (e.g., education, housing, health, population studies, as well as members of nonprofit organizations) and conduct geospatial and statistical research
• Data integrity validation methods
• Working with demographic, socioeconomic, environmental, or health data

Essential Functions

• Participate in the design, planning and implementation of research projects and data analysis by formulating research questions, identifying data resources/information especially data within the demography and sociology fields, and providing advice on research methods.
• Utilize statistical programming languages to acquire, transform, manipulate, geocode data, as well as builds automated workflows and database models.
• Conduct data analysis in both tabular and spatial environments and presents outputs to audience with academic (e.g., researchers) and non-academic (e.g., KIUR partners, workers of community organizations, etc.) background.
• Prepare metadata, technical documentation, data summaries, and reports.
• Audit and verify codes, data outputs, and documentation prepared by others to make sure the outputs are valid and accurate.
• Assist the Director of Data Operations, Senior Data Manager and information technology staff with data security issues as needed.

Rice University HR | Benefits: https://knowledgecafe.rice.edu/benefits

Rice Mission and Values: Mission and Values | Rice University

Rice University is committed to ensuring Equal Employment Opportunity and welcoming the fullness of diversity into our candidate pools. Rice considers qualified applicants for employment without regard to race, color, religion, age, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, national or ethnic origin, genetic information, disability, or protected veteran status. Rice also provides reasonable accommodations to qualified persons with disabilities. If an applicant requires a reasonable accommodation for any part of the application or hiring process, please contact Rice University's Disability Resource Center at 713-348-5841 or adarice@rice.edu for support.

If you have any additional questions, please email us at jobs@rice.edu. Thank you for your interest in employment with Rice University.