The Urban Institute
Research Assistant (Income & Benefits Policy Center) (R&D)
Who we are:
At the nonprofit Urban Institute, we believe in the power of evidence to improve lives and strengthen communities. Our employees are empowered to open minds, shape decisions, and offer solutions. We encourage intellectual honesty, innovation, equity, and mutual respect, and our analysis elevates the debate, wherever it takes place.
Urban's greatest asset is our people. We strive to attract and cultivate a vibrant, creative, diverse, and inclusive community. Our employees drive Urban's mission through entrepreneurship, innovation, leadership, effective communication, results-orientation, and relationship cultivation. Our success depends on engaging individuals who possess and value these attributes.
The Income and Benefits Policy Center (IBP) analyzes family economic well-being from childhood through retirement and undertakes research on a wide range of issues, including workforce development; income support and the social safety net, social insurance, taxes, and child support; education and training programs and policies; employers, workplaces and the labor market; and workforce development systems and policies. We strive to understand and advance social and economic policies to remedy persistent structural racism and support racial equity.
IBP is currently seeking a Research Assistant to join our team and help with research on our Income Support Team, researching social safety net programs. Possible responsibilities include:
Researching states' child care subsidy policies in order to update the CCDF Policies Database
Compiling and analyzing data sets using software packages (SAS, STATA, and Excel), running regression and other statistical analyses
Updating and using the TRIM3 and ATTIS microsimulation models
Reporting on research findings and presenting data effectively in multiple formats (the specific package of work will depend on an individual's strengths and interests and on the center's needs)
Research Assistants work closely with senior researchers and contribute to research papers.
The successful candidate will:
Have a bachelor's degree in a related field (Public Policy, Statistics, Economics, or related disciplines)
Prior research experience (through school coursework, internships, or professional experience) is desired. Lived experience and personal familiarity with social safety net programs is valued in addition to educational instruction or professional experience.
Be highly analytical, with demonstrated interest in some aspect of the social safety net, superior attention to detail, excellent organizational skills, demonstrated skills in statistics, and strong oral and written communication skills.
Experiencing working with federal survey data, other large data sets, or detailed state-level policy data is preferred.
Demonstrated experience using a statistical software package (such as SAS or Stata) is a plus.
Be self-motivated with the ability to prioritize workload and to work both independently and as part of a team.
The Urban Institute strives to be a vibrant, creative community of skilled and committed people who bring to their work a whole range of different experiences. Accordingly, the Urban Institute is committed to Equal Employment Opportunity without regard for race, ethnicity, gender, protected veteran status, disability, sexual orientation, gender identity or any other protected status under applicable law.
In addition, we offer a comprehensive benefits package that includes: medical, dental, disability, and life insurance coverage. Competitive paid time off allowance, and eligibility to participate in a generous retirement savings plan plus elect a pretax benefit for commuting expenses.
The Urban Institute is committed to Equal Employment Opportunity without regard for race, ethnicity, gender, protected veteran status, disability, sexual orientation, gender identity or any other protected status under applicable law.
The Urban Institute is an Equal Opportunity/Affirmative Action Employer -Minorities/Women/Disabilities/Veterans.
For more information about the Urban Institute, please visit our website at www.urban.org