Careers Job Description
General Description
About the Data Collaborative for Justice (DCJ)
The Data Collaborative for Justice (DCJ) is a research institute launched at John Jay College of Criminal Justice in 2013. DCJ seeks to advance justice and equity through rigorous research and data-driven policy analysis on mass incarceration, racial disparities, bail reform, case backlog, pretrial diversion, low-level enforcement, and other justice reform topics. DCJ partners with reformers, think tanks, and government agencies in New York and maintains a small portfolio of partnerships around the nation. DCJ also provides technical assistance to the Mayor’s Office of Criminal Justice (MOCJ) of New York City to process administrative data and conduct criminal justice research, including data analysis, data engineering, and data science work. DCJ operates under the Research Foundation of the City University of New York (RF-CUNY).
About the Mayor’s Office of Criminal Justice (MOCJ)
The successful applicant will work closely with research, technical, and policy staff at the Mayor’s Office of Criminal Justice (MOCJ). MOCJ advises the Mayor of the City of New York on criminal justice policy. MOCJ develops and implements strategies to reduce crime and incarceration and promote fairness and legitimacy. MOCJ works with other city agencies, law enforcement, nonprofits, foundations, and others to implement data-driven strategies that address current crime conditions, prevent offending, and build the strong neighborhoods that ensure enduring safety. Over the past decade, the office has an extensive record of quality in-house research, funding, support for research by partner agencies, and publication of important data on criminal justice reforms and trends.
The Current Position
Overview
This position is a data analysis and senior manager role working towards the end of informing NYC’s criminal justice policies under the MOCJ technical assistance project. The successful applicant would provide research support for a variety of initiatives that could include: shrinking case processing delays in the criminal courts (that contribute to excessive jails stays); reforming bail and pretrial detention; monitoring discovery reform implementation; addressing violence through community-based prevention; and obtaining, coding, and analyzing data submitted by nonprofit providers related to a citywide Alternative-to-Incarceration program. The applicant would have primary responsibility in one to two areas and potentially supervise the work of others. The day-to-day work would require strong coding skills and a facility with large and complex databases.
Although the primary assignment would be to the MOCJ project, the applicant would also likely lead on at least one project at all times resulting in independent DCJ research publications, with subjects along the lines of those represented under the “Our Work” tab of our website.
In sum, we are interested in applicants with a combination of strong technical skills, relevant research-to-policy translation skills, and a willingness to support colleagues. We would consider applicants at a lower point on the experience spectrum for a title of Senior Research Associate.
Other Duties
Responsibilities
Beyond the content, coding, and supervisory responsibilities outlined above, the Senior Research Manager’s work would also include the following:
- Identify and integrate critical data elements from multiple criminal justice data systems to facilitate reporting and research using big data.
- Provide internal research and operational support in the design and implementation of projects/initiatives at MOCJ.
- Work with external partners to design and implement rigorous evaluations, including cost-benefit analyses, of innovative and scaled policies and programs.
- Provide advice to research, technology, and program staff on statistical analysis and quantitative and/or qualitative research design and methods related to court processes, alternatives-to-incarceration, and the NYC jail population.
- Develop codebooks, coding schemes, file specifications, and other technical resource documents.
- Design data-driven presentations and create documents to translate proposals, forecasts, and findings to government and community stakeholder partners;
- Synthesize and interpret analytic findings for a broad audience, including the crafting of policy and practice recommendations.
- Collaborate on data dashboard development for ongoing criminal justice system analysis and performance measurement.
- Contribute to independent DCJ research publications and to conversations within the DCJ team about future research and policy ideas.
Qualifications
The successful candidate must have a broad range of skills, but above all, they must be curious, flexible thinkers who love learning new things and tackling challenges on a daily basis. In addition, the successful applicant should possess the following:
- Master’s degree in a relevant social science discipline, such as, public policy, public administration, criminal justice/criminology, or sociology.
- Strong background in carrying out quantitative research with the use of large datasets that require careful coding work prior to analysis.
- Minimum three years of professional experience with relevant research methodologies (excluding time spent in school); additional experience desired for the “Senior Manager” title.
- A demonstrated interest in criminal justice (including topics such as those listed above in the position “overview”). Familiarity with New York City-specific criminal justice issues, data, and research preferred.
- Proficient in cleaning, coding, merging, and/or administrative data file preparation for analysis using statistical or general programming (e.g., R, SQL, or similar).
- Ability to manage project timelines, processes, staffing, and deliverables.
- Experience developing or responding to research solicitations (grants, contracts, research fellowships).
- Excellent written and verbal communication skills, with the ability to present data and research.
- Ability to think outside of the box to develop novel strategies for analysis (including a willingness to craft estimates using imperfect data).
- Ability work comfortably with a wide variety of people at different levels within the organization; the ability to effectively supervise others is strongly preferred.
Work Model: Hybrid in-person and remote.
Salary: Likely range of $80,000 to $110,000. Final salary will be based on the skills and experience of the successful applicant; extensive relevant experience in all areas will be required for the upper end of the advertised range.
Benefits: Competitive health insurance plan with vision and dental; generous annual leave time and holiday schedule; 403b and Group Retirement Annuity; Life & disability insurance, and additional benefits from the RF-CUNY system available immediately or after a period of service.
To Apply:
Please submit a cover letter, resume, and list of three references.
For More Information:
Data Collaborative for Justice: https://datacollaborativeforjustice.org/
Mayor’s Office of Criminal Justice: https://criminaljustice.cityofnewyork.us/
RFCUNY Benefits
RFCUNY Employee Benefits and AccrualsAbout 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
Key Features
Data Collaborative for Justice
Full Time
$80,000.00 - $110,000.00
Mar 17, 2023 (Or Until Filled)