Open: 2/14/2017 – 3/16/2017
Salary Range:$94,796.00 to $123,234.00 / Per Year
The Congressional Research Service (CRS) seeks an Applied Research Statistician/Methodologist to support policy research for the U.S. Congress. The position will be based in the Domestic Social Policy Division (DSP) but will provide limited support for quantitative research analyses undertaken by policy analysts throughout CRS. This position is not intended for theoretical statisticians. Rather, the ideal candidate will have a degree in a social science discipline (economics, demography, sociology, political science) or related field with advanced skills in statistics OR a degree in statistics with extensive experience in an applied, policy research setting. Desired qualifications include:
- Extensive training and experience in the use of statistical or mathematical modeling techniques to analyze policy research questions, in areas such as: domestic social policy (children and family issues, domestic security and immigration, education, health, income security, or related areas); or areas of government and finance (budget and tax policy, macroeconomics, banking and finance, elections, emergency management, or related areas).
- Extensive experience with statistical computing software or data analytic environments (e.g., SAS, Stata, R, Tableau), including the ability to manage large and complex datasets;
- The ability to apply a variety of data collection and analysis approaches to research;
- Advanced proficiency with one or more programming languages or data tools (e.g., VBA, SQL, Python, etc.) or the use of statistical computing software in a social science or policy research environment;
- The ability to handle multiple priorities, sometimes under tight deadlines; and
- Strong methodological, analytic, conceptual, organizational, verbal and written communication and interpersonal skills.
CRS works exclusively for the United States Congress, providing policy and legal analysis to committees and Members of both the House and Senate, regardless of party affiliation. As a legislative branch agency within the Library of Congress, CRS has been a valued and respected resource on Capitol Hill for more than a century.
CRS is well known for analysis that is authoritative, confidential, objective and nonpartisan. Its highest priority ¡s to ensure that Congress has immediate access to the nation’s best thinking on public policy issues of interest to its Members and Committees.
CRS is fully committed to workforce diversity. Interested applicants must apply online at http://www.loc.gov/crsinfo.
This position is located in the Administrative Section, Domestic Social Policy Division, Congressional Research Service.
The position description for this position is 359371.
Acting as a secondary data user, manages large, complex data for use in policy analysis (e.g., detecting systemic patterns of missing data and outliers; analyzing distribution properties). Sources of data may include government sources such as the Census Bureau’s Current Population Survey (CPS), the Federal Reserve’s Survey of Consumer Finances (SCF), IRS data, data acquired through the Interuniversity Consortium for Political and Social Research (ICPSR), or administrative data from executive branch Agencies of the federal government.
Provides technical consultation and expert advice to analysts in the Domestic Social Policy Division and other CRS research divisions on aspects of study design, analysis, and interpretation of results. This includes interacting with analysts to identity and support the use of appropriate statistical and modeling techniques (e.g., primarily from the use of exploratory data analysis, through the calculation of standard errors for univariate analyses, through (less frequently) longitudinal analysis, multiple regression, logistic regression, hierarchical linear modeling, predictive modeling or other advanced statistical/mathematical techniques).
Assists CRS analysts in the identification of specific policy research areas that merit investigation, development of options and approaches for studies, and evaluation of the feasibility of such endeavors.
Provides programming and technical support to CRS analysts for the conduct of statistical analyses using appropriate statistical or modeling techniques. Assists in the initiation, formulation, planning, and execution of analytic research projects. (The incumbent of this position will NOT have an independent portfolio of analysis, writing, or consultative support to Congress).
Assists in the analysis and review of computer code, as well as of tabulated/graphical data; and uses professional judgment to determine what is reliable and of value on the basis of established statistical principles and criteria.
Prepares written documentation of, for instance, computer code created, methodological approaches utilized, technical appendices, etc.