ATTENTION: IN ORDER TO BE CONSIDERED, ALL APPLICANTS MUST APPLY WITH A RESUME, COVER LETTER AND 3-5 PAGE WRITING SAMPLE. This is a remote position but will require periodic travel for office meeting once deemed safe. Applicants should live in the DC corridor- Philadelphia, New York, DC, VA or MD
The SENIOR RESEARCH ANALYST is a member of the Research Programs department—the Center for Legal Education Excellence—and provides analytical support for the Company’s research and data initiatives. The position plays a key role in: a) contributing to the development and output of research and data tools that advance the Company’s strategic goals and mission of increasing access, affordability and the value of legal education, and b) providing research counsel and support to internal colleagues, grantees, and external stakeholders.
RESPONSIBILITIES AND DUTIES:
- Actively contribute to the Company’s research agenda to further empirical understanding of law school access, affordability, academic and bar success, and the value of legal education.
- Serve as an expert on publicly available legal education data sources; fulfill internal and external ad hoc data requests.
- Assist in management and maintenance of the Center’s research and data tools, e.g., Analytix and XploreJD.
- Advise and assist colleagues, grantees, external researchers and consultants with research design, data analysis, data interpretation, and identifying and navigating higher education data sources.
- Conduct statistical analyses using both internal and external data; produce visually appealing and easy to interpret tables and graphical displays of statistical results for a variety of audiences.
- Organize, structure and clean data to permit for use to perform research and policy analysis.
- Design and conduct quality control procedures for data collection, analyses, reports and the Company’s data tools; produce technical reports describing procedures, data collection, and/or research results.
- Communicate findings to policy and practitioner audiences in succinct briefs, white papers and reports through cogent prose and graphical modeling.
- Present, with approval from supervisor and as needed, at professional conferences; represent the Center at relevant industry conferences and events.
- Assist in the development and maintenance of a repository of research evidence and data (e.g., the AccessLex Resource Collections) based on internal and external sources that can support the Company’s research objectives, specifically, and those of legal education more generally.
- Support Managing Director, Research in implementing tactics to execute the Actionable Data objective of the Company’s 2025 Strategic Plan.
- Other duties as assigned.
_ _
_ _
CANDIDATE REQUIREMENTS:
- KNOWLEDGE, SKILLS AND ABILITIES (KSAS) – To succeed in the SENIOR RESEARCH ANALYST position, candidates should possess the following KSAs:
REQUIRED
- Proficiency in R Studio or another statistical software program (e.g., SAS, Stata)
- Knowledge of statistical methods and research design
- Experience with relational databases and database management
- Excellent critical thinking and problem-solving skills; ability to anticipate and respond to challenges
- Superior attention to detail
- Superior project and time management skills; ability to manage and prioritize tasks independently
- Self-starter; takes initiative to adapt and modify tasks to accomplish larger goals
PREFERRED
- Public speaking and presentation skills
- Data visualization and graphic design skills
- Knowledge of higher education data sources, data definitions and limitations
- Knowledge of higher education and student financial aid policy, particularly for graduate and professional students
- Experience translating statistical terms and methodologies to lay audiences
- Knowledge of legal education data sources, data definitions and limitations
BACKGROUND EXPERIENCES. The following are required unless otherwise noted:
- Master’s degree in higher education, statistics, economics, political science or other related field.
- Minimum 2 years of related experience in a similar role.
- Experience writing and presenting research reports is required.
- Experience using R Studio or other statistical software programs (e.g., SAS, SPSS, Stata) is required.
- Experience creating compelling data visualizations is preferred.
- Experience working in higher education is a plus.
ORGANIZATIONAL COMPETENCIES: These competencies need to be demonstrated by everyone in AccessLex Institute.
- Quality/Compliance: Achieving a standard of excellence with our work processes and outcomes, honoring AccessLex policies and requirements
- Customer focus: Striving for high customer satisfaction, going out of our way to be helpful and pleasant to both internal and external customers
- Communication: Balancing listening and talking, speaking and writing clearly and accurately, influencing others, keeping others informed
- Teamwork focus: Being helpful, respectful, approachable and team oriented, building strong working relationships and a positive work environment
- Initiative: Taking ownership of our work, doing what is needed without being asked, following through
- Efficiency: Planning ahead, managing time well, being on time, being cost conscious, thinking of better ways to do things
- Coachability: Being receptive to feedback, willing to learn, embracing continuous improvement
- People management (for those with direct reports): Setting clear expectations, reviewing progress, providing feedback and guidance, holding people accountable
- Intellectual Curiosity: Having the desire to invest time and energy into learning more about a person, place, thing or concept. Utilizing what is learned to recommend and/or implement process improvements
POSITION TYPE / EXPECTED HOURS OF WORK:
This is a full-time, exempt position located in Washington, DC. The incumbent is expected to be present and accessible for at least 40 hours per week, subject to approved leave time, travel and other absences as described in the Employee Handbook or as otherwise agreed by the Company. The Company’s standard hours of operation are Monday through Friday, 8:15 a.m. to 5:00 p.m.
WORKING CONDITIONS:
This position will be located in WASHINGTON, DC. The position will perform required duties mainly in an office environment.
EQUAL EMPLOYMENT OPPORTUNITY STATEMENT
AccessLex Institute provides equal employment opportunity to all individuals regardless of their race, color, creed, religion, gender, age, sexual orientation, national origin, disability, veteran status, or any other characteristic protected by state, federal, or local law.
OTHER DUTIES AND CHANGES TO THE POSITION
Please note this job description is not designed to offer a comprehensive listing of activities, duties or responsibilities that are required of the employee for this position. Duties, responsibilities and activities, as well as job title and reporting relationship(s), may change at any time. Reasonable efforts will be made to provide advance notice to the employee of any changes, but failure to do so does not impact the effectiveness or validity of any change, nor does the failure to provide an updated job description.
Required Skills
Required Experience