Research Analyst- Part Time

Bradford Allen; Chicago (IL); On-site; USD 18,000 - 30,000; Part time

Job summary

Bradford Allen, a Chicago-based national commercial real estate firm, seeks a part-time Research Analyst to support market reports and thought leadership. You will source, clean, and structure data, then interpret it in memos and reports while collaborating with SVP and Senior Analyst.

You'll work around your class schedule (15–20 hours/week) with potential to convert to full-time after graduation. Real estate experience is a plus but not required; finance, economics, data science backgrounds

Qualifications

• Pursuing a bachelor's degree with focus on real estate, economics, data science, or statistics.
• Strong writing ability and data storytelling potential.
• Comfort with Excel, formulas, and pivot tables; beginner coding or scripting experience (Python/SQL/VBA) helpful.
• Foundational grasp of real estate concepts (NOI, cap rates) or eagerness to learn.
• Experience with public data sources like Census and BLS is a plus.
• Willingness to learn industry tools like CoStar, Placer.ai, REGIS/SitesUSA, RCA, and Dun & Bradstreet.
• Open to part-time schedule (~15–20 hours/week) with potential transition to full-time after graduation.
• Ability to juggle deadlines in a fast-paced environment and collaborative attitude.

Responsibilities

• Research companies, properties, and tenants to support brokerage and asset management.
• Maintain the firm's lease/sales comps database.
• Support brokers with targeted company and contact research.
• Track industry news, vacancy trends, leasing activity, and investment sales.
• Support quarterly Chicago office market reports with data collection and QC.
• Produce reports and research content informing internal decisions.
• Build Excel models, trackers, and dashboards from raw market data.
• Automate recurring data pulls and cleaning where appropriate.
• Run demographic, foot-traffic, and site-selection analyses using REGIS/SitesUSA, Placer.ai, Census, and BLS.
• Use Claude and AI tools to speed up research while maintaining rigor.

Skills

Excel

Python

SQL

VBA

AI tooling

Storytelling with data

Education

Bachelor's degree candidate

Tools

CoStar

RCA

Dun & Bradstreet

REGIS/SitesUSA

Placer.ai

Census data

BLS data

Job description

Bradford Allen is a Chicago-based, national commercial real estate company that provides a full array of brokerage services and expertise to entrepreneurial and corporate business entities, as well as not-for-profit organizations. The firm provides real estate strategy, advice, marketing, and transaction execution for occupiers, investors and owners of real estate. Services include: Tenant Representation, Landlord Representation, Property Management, Commercial Real Estate Finance, Corporate Services, and Investment Sales.

Bradford Allen professionals create flexible solutions for our clients through their experience, commitment to solving the most difficult problems, persistence, loyalty, hard work, and a singular focus on client objectives.

Position Overview

This is a part-time opportunity for a college senior to join a research team that already has a strong track record producing sharp, publication-ready market reports and thought leadership. You'll work closely with the SVP and Senior Analyst, focusing on data: sourcing it, cleaning it, structuring it, and interpreting it in memos and reports. The role is designed to work around a class schedule during the school year, with the potential to convert to a full-time position upon graduation.

You’ll join the Research Team supporting brokerage, asset management, and consulting engagements across the firm, including office, multifamily, hospitality, development.

We use a modern research stack, including AI tools like Claude and Copilot, to move faster and go deeper than a traditional research role allows, though plenty of the work is still manual, detail-driven, and not something you can hand off to a machine.

This is a great opportunity for an entrepreneurial, analytically curious college senior who wants to build a career in real estate research and has a real aptitude for data and technical tools, even if you're still building deep experience in them. Strong performers should expect a conversation about a full-time offer as graduation approaches.

Real estate experience is a plus, not a requirement; candidates from finance, economics, data science, or statistics backgrounds are encouraged to apply.

Essential Functions And Responsibilities

• Research companies, properties, and tenants using CoStar, RCA, and Dun & Bradstreet to support brokerage and asset management.
• Maintain the firm's lease/sales comps database.
• Support brokers with targeted company and contact research.
• Track industry news, vacancy trends, leasing activity, and investment sales.
• Support the quarterly Chicago office market reports, owning much of the underlying data collection, structuring, cleaning, and quality control.
• Produce reports and research content that inform internal decisions and differentiate Bradford Allen with clients.
• Build Excel-based models, trackers, and dashboards that turn raw market data into clear, reusable analysis.
• Use, or build proficiency in, tools to automate recurring data pulls, cleaning, and reporting, while knowing when a task calls for careful manual work instead.
• Run demographic, foot-traffic, and site-selection analysis using REGIS/SitesUSA, Placer.ai, and public data sources like Census and BLS.
• Use Claude and other AI tools to build faster, more consistent research and reporting workflows, and bring the same rigor to the work that still has to be done by hand.

Required Experience/Qualifications

• Currently a college senior pursuing a bachelor's degree, with a strong sense this is the industry you want to grow in.
• An interest in learning, and ideally some ability in, writing market-facing content; at minimum, a natural sense of storytelling with data.
• Strong aptitude for and interest in data and technical tools; comfortable in Excel (formulas, pivot tables), with coding or scripting exposure (Python, SQL, VBA, AI-coding tools) a meaningful plus, even at a beginner level.
• Foundational grasp of real estate and corporate finance concepts (e.g., NOI, cap rates, debt yields), or eagerness to learn them quickly.
• Comfort working with public data sources such as Census and BLS data.
• Openness to learning tools such as CoStar, Placer.ai, REGIS/SitesUSA, RCA, and Dun & Bradstreet; prior experience is a plus but not required.
• Comfort working with AI tools such as Claude, plus a willingness to do careful manual research when that's what the work calls for.
• Ability to work part-time during the school year (roughly 15-20 hours/week, schedule flexible around classes), with interest in transitioning to full-time after graduation.
• The ability to juggle multiple deadlines in a fast-paced environment.
• A collaborative attitude and eagerness to learn.