Job Title: Graduate Research Assistant
PVN ID: JJ-1710-002147
Category: Research
Location: JOHN JAY COLLEGE OF CRIMINAL JUSTICE

Job Description

General Description

The Research Network on Misdemeanor Justice:

The Research Network on Misdemeanor Justice was launched at John Jay College of Criminal Justice in New York City. The goal of the Research Network is to use the power of data analytics to inform policy conversations and reform regarding the enforcement of lower-level offenses.

The Research Network on Misdemeanor Justice is part of the Misdemeanor Justice Project (MJP). The MJP has produced a series of reports examining trends in the enforcement of lower-level offenses in New York City (and to a lesser extent New York State) including misdemeanor arrests, criminal summonses, and pedestrian stops. We have analyzed data by demographics (i.e., gender, race, and age), charges, dispositions, and sentences. These works have substantially informed criminal justice reform in New York City. The Research Network has identified six additional cities to create a network focused on similar analyses to determine local trends in the enforcement of lower-level offenses and understand multi-site differences.

The Research Network on Misdemeanor Justice strives to provide an empirical framework to inform data-driven policy initiatives at local, state, and national levels. The Research Network is fully committed to working with criminal justice practitioners to obtain accurate data, provide objective analyses, and disseminate our findings to key stakeholders in the community, renowned scholars, and policy-makers to spur a national discourse on the enforcement of lower-level offenses.

The Research Network provides funding to research partners, academic institutions, and/or not-for-profit institutes in these cities to build infrastructure that will alow them to collect and monitor local criminal justice trends including arrests practices and pretrial detention

The Laura and John Arnold Foundation is funding the Research Network on Misdemeanor Justice for a three-year span. The Research Network on Misdemeanor Justice has entered its second year.

Position: Graduate Research Assistants work closely with the Principal Investigator, Director, and other staff members of the Research Network on Misdemeanor Justice to analyze and interpret quantitative findings and disseminate them via scholarly journals, policy reports, and policy briefs. The GRA will work with large and complex datasets and will assist with ongoing research analyses using diverse research methods. The GRA will also work with maps and Census data.

Other Duties

Responsibilities

  • Assists in quantitative data collection, analysis, and reporting for rigorous evaluations of local and state data;
  • Aids in identifying, developing and implementing ideas for new research and advancing existing projects at the intersection of criminal justice and policy;
  • Aids in preparing and delivering presentations and reports to board members, data partners, stakeholders, and scholarly forums;
  • Works with maps and conducts geospatial analyses;
  • Works with Census data;
  • Contributes to academic publications and other written documents;
  • Attend relevant meetings, conferences, and specialized training as needed;
  • Maintains confidentiality as required by the project or as directed by supervisors;
  • Follows protocols for gathering quantitative data, coding data or information, constructing data bases using specified technology, analyzing data, maintaining data security, and archiving data as needed;
  • Assists with other tasks when necessary.

Qualifications

Core Competencies

  • Ability to comprehend and act on assignments of varying complexity;
  • Ability to handle multiple assignments;
  • Ability to work on a team as well as independently;
  • Ability to operate in the computer/statistical environment of the research project;
  • Ability to contribute to reports of substantial complexity; when assigned,
  • Ability to organize and participate in colloquia, symposia, presentations of reports, demonstrations, performances, etc. consistent with the scope and nature of the project and the requirements of the sponsor;
  • Ability to communicate effectively with and convey complex concepts, intricate processes, and sophisticated statistical findings to other researchers, supervisors, students, sponsors, administrators, and, when appropriate, the public;
  • Knowledge of policies regarding intellectual property, use of facilities and equipment, allocation of time and materials to project costs, and utilization of IT resources;
  • Knowledge of protocols for safe conduct of research, including the study of human subjects and establishment of safety reporting procedures.

Ideal Qualifications of a Graduate Research Assistant

  • Proficient skills in quantitative research methods, using and performing descriptive and multivariate data analyses;
  • Familiarity with the management of datasets and presentation of data;
  • Familiarity with the use of statistical analysis software, including ArcGIS, QGIS, R, SAS, Stata, SPSS, and/or Excel (including pivot tables);
  • Mapping ability and Census data expertise preferred;
  • Excellent written and oral communication skills for research and non-research audiences;
  • Experience with report and manuscript writing. 

 

Salary: Hourly rate based on experience and qualifications, 18 hours per week, position starts in January 2018

 

To apply, please go to www.rfcuny.org. Under “About RF” there is a link for “Careers.” Please choose John Jay College of Criminal Justice to find the position.

 

RFCUNY Benefits

RFCUNY Employee Benefits and Accruals

About the Research Foundation

The Research Foundation of The City University of New York (RFCUNY) was established as a not-for-profit educational corporation chartered by the State of New York in 1963. RFCUNY supports CUNY faculty and staff in identifying and obtaining external support (pre-award) from government and private sponsors and is responsible for the administration of all such funded programs (post-award).

RFCUNY stands between CUNY’s principal investigators (PIs) and the sponsors who support them and strives to fulfill its essential responsibilities to both groups. Working closely with individual PIs and Grants Officers on the campuses, RFCUNY oversees employment, accounting, audit, reporting, purchasing, and special responsibilities that include management of a planned giving program; liaison with governmental agencies and foundations; negotiation of agreements; facility construction and renovation; protection and commercialization of intellectual property; and compliance with applicable standards in research involving human subjects, animal care, environmental and radiological safety, and conflicts of interest.

Equal Employment Opportunity Statement

The Research Foundation of the City University of New York is an Equal Opportunity/Affirmative Action/Americans with Disabilities Act/E-Verify Employer. It is the policy of the Research Foundation of CUNY to provide equal employment opportunities free of discrimination based on race, color, age, religion, sex, pregnancy, childbirth, national origin, disability, marital status, veteran status, sexual orientation, gender identity, genetic information, marital status, domestic violence victim status, arrest record, criminal conviction history, or any other protected characteristic under applicable law.

Key Features

Department
Psychology
Status
Part Time
Salary
Depends on Qualifications
Closing Date
Nov 21, 2017 (Or Until Filled)
Bargaining Unit
No

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