Research Analyst 1

About the role

The Global Poverty Research Lab (GPRL) at Northwestern University is hiring several full-time Research Analysts for a two-year term appointment based in Evanston, Illinois (Chicago area).

Responsibilities

• Manage, clean, and analyze data from surveys, administrative sources, and experiments
• Support the design and implementation of randomized controlled trials and methodological studies
• Contribute to meta-analyses and evidence synthesis projects
• Aid in project management, documentation, and coordination with external partners
• Participate in research meetings and collaborate with faculty, students, and research staff

Requirements

• Cleaning survey or administrative datasets and preparing them for analysis
• Conducting analysis using advanced statistical and econometric tools and seeking out the resources to learn new analytical techniques as needed
• Aiding in project development and dissemination tasks such as:
• Planning and executing project scoping activities, including procuring publicly available data and communicating with potential research collaborators.
• Developing analysis plans that detail the statistical and analytical techniques to be used to answer the study’s research questions.
• Submitting applications and modifications to the Institutional Review Board.
• Cultivating a relationship with implementing partners, including extensive non-technical communication about study design.
• Supporting research design tasks like power calculations, sampling, and randomization.
• Aiding in writing grant proposals and reports.
• Supporting the development of presentations to communicate study results to academic and lay audiences.
• Presenting analysis to investigators, including communicating proactively and setting meeting agendas to facilitate productive discussions. Incorporating feedback into subsequent analysis.
• Conducting literature reviews for analysis plans, working papers, and grant proposals, using an organized approach that takes account of results, analytical methods, and intervention design.
• Supporting data collection and process monitoring by:
• Supporting questionnaire design through reviews of similar surveys;
• Programming survey instruments in SurveyCTO or Qualtrics.
• Running high-frequency data quality checks and communicating findings to aid conversations with partners
• Working with implementing/research partners to monitor their programs, including developing monitoring tools.
• Preparing tables and figures with empirical results for publication, along with data replication packages.
• Aiding in Lab-management activities such as:
• Participating in lab interviews for other Research Analysts, including reviewing completed coding tests performed by prospective candidates.
• Mentoring new analysts and leading training sessions during onboarding on topics like Advanced Stata and Project Management.
• Supporting logistics at Lab-hosted events.
• Participating on teams that produce research resources for the Lab.
• Supervising undergraduate research analysts as needed, including mentoring, managing workload, allocating tasks, and proactively communicating expectations.

Qualifications

• Successful completion of a full 4-year course of study in an accredited college or university leading to a bachelor's or higher degree in economics or another quantitative major
• Strong programming skills in Stata and/or R combined with the willingness to learn other statistical software
• Strong quantitative skills (coursework in econometrics and statistics)
• Familiarity with randomized controlled trials
• Excellent organizations skills
• Fluency and excellent communication skills in English
• Ability to seek resources and self-teach new statistical, analytical, and programming techniques
• Flexible, self-motivated, able to manage multiple tasks efficiently

Skills

• Experience with reproducible research workflows, version control (GitHub), and modern documentation tools (Quarto, R Markdown)
• Familiarity with meta-analytic methods or systematic review approaches
• Demonstrated ability to build data quality assurance systems and manage collaborative data projects
• Experience using advanced data infrastructure such as relational databases, API connections, and cloud computing
• Familiarity working with a variety of machine learning models
• Familiarity with other statistical, visualization or digital data collection software like ArcGIS/Python/SurveyCTO is a strong plus

Pay

The expected pay for this position is $58,500 annually, in alignment with departmental equity and market data.

Benefits

At Northwestern, we are proud to provide meaningful and competitive benefits. The available benefits package for this position will include health, dental, vision, disability, and life insurance; paid vacation and holidays; paid medical/sick and parental leave; tuition benefits for the employee and dependents; pre-tax and flex spending accounts for commuting and dependent care; generous retirement savings options; and wellness programs. For a comprehensive overview of available benefits, including eligibility details, visit us at https://www.northwestern.edu/hr/benefits/index.html.

Work-Life and Wellness

Northwestern offers comprehensive programs and services to help you and your family navigate life’s challenges and opportunities, and adopt and maintain healthy lifestyles.

Professional Growth & Development

Northwestern supports employee career development in all circumstances whether your workspace is on campus or at home. If you’re interested in developing your professional potential or continuing your formal education, we offer a variety of tools and resources. Visit us at https://www.northwestern.edu/hr/learning/index.html.