Research Assistant, Compensation Analytics

American Corporation for Public Well Being; Milwaukee (WI); On-site; USD 42,000 - 63,000; Full time

Job summary

ACPWB in Milwaukee seeks a Research Assistant, Compensation Analytics to grow within a rigorous ESG Strategy team. You will learn executive pay data collection and validation, support literature reviews, and assist in maintaining methodology documentation from day one.

You'll be mentored by a Team Manager, participate in the Research Rotation Initiative, and contribute to quality-control checks while building mastery of our data platforms.

Qualifications

• Interest in compensation, human capital, or workforce research as a professional focus.
• Demonstrated intellectual curiosity and a habit of asking questions when something is unclear.
• Demonstrated ability to manage time, prioritize competing tasks, and meet deadlines without constant supervision.
• Demonstrated proficiency in Microsoft Excel including pivot tables, VLOOKUP, and basic charting.

Responsibilities

• Conduct literature reviews and desktop research on topics relevant to executive pay data collection and validation
• Shadow client meetings and preparation sessions to build understanding of client-facing advisory work
• Assist in updating and maintaining standard methodology documentation for the ESG Strategy practice
• Perform quality-control checks on analytical models produced by senior team members
• Flag data anomalies and inconsistencies to senior team members for resolution

Skills

Interest in compensation

Intellectual curiosity

Time management

Pivot tables

VLOOKUP

Basic charting

Tools

Microsoft Excel

Job description

ESG Strategy Intern Full-Time, Senior Individual Contributor

About The Role

The Research Assistant, Compensation Analytics will work within a ESG Strategy team of 13 that is known for its methodological rigor and its investment in early-career professionals. Your first year will be spent building the analytical foundation that makes senior analysts effective: data handling, quantitative methods, and professional writing. We know this foundation matters because we built our own careers on it.

ACPWB is hiring a Research Assistant, Compensation Analytics to support a ESG Strategy team of 13 analysts and associates. If you are early in your career and want to learn executive pay data collection and validation at a firm that takes the craft seriously, this role was designed for you. You will be mentored by a Team Manager and participate in the Research Rotation Initiative from your first day.

The Research Assistant, Compensation Analytics joins ACPWB's ESG Strategy group as a foundational contributor — someone who is eager to learn, comfortable with data, and willing to ask questions when something doesn't make sense. We enroll all new analysts in our Research Rotation Initiative and pair each new hire with a Team Manager who will invest in your development as a core part of their own job.

Key Responsibilities

• Conduct literature reviews and desktop research on topics relevant to executive pay data collection and validation
• Shadow client meetings and preparation sessions to build understanding of client-facing advisory work
• Assist in updating and maintaining standard methodology documentation for the ESG Strategy practice
• Perform quality-control checks on analytical models produced by senior team members
• Flag data anomalies and inconsistencies to senior team members for resolution

Qualifications

Required

• Interest in compensation, human capital, or workforce research as a professional focus
• Demonstrated intellectual curiosity and a habit of asking questions when something is unclear
• Demonstrated ability to manage time, prioritize competing tasks, and meet deadlines without constant supervision
• Demonstrated proficiency in Microsoft Excel including pivot tables, VLOOKUP, and basic charting

Preferred

• Prior internship in HR, finance, consulting, or data analysis
• Prior exposure to financial statements or corporate disclosures
• Experience with professional writing — reports, memos, or analytical summaries
• Strong attention to formatting and visual presentation of data

WHY ACPWB

The ACPWB office is in Milwaukee. We have said this before and will say it again because we believe it matters. We chose this city deliberately, we are invested in it, and the quality of life it provides is part of our employer value proposition. It is not a consolation prize.

ACPWB was founded in Milwaukee in 2006 with a simple mandate: help working Americans understand and advocate for the compensation they deserve. Eighteen years later, that mandate has grown into a full-service research and advisory practice serving clients from early-stage employers to Fortune 50 enterprises — and we are still based in Milwaukee, because Milwaukee is genuinely underrated.

INTERVIEW PROCESS

Finalists are invited to a two-hour working session with the team — a structured discussion of a real analytical scenario relevant to the role. There is no single correct answer. The session is a preview of what collaboration looks like at ACPWB. Candidates consistently find it useful regardless of outcome.

What Success Looks Like In Year One

• Identify one area where you can add unique value to the team — and begin doing so
• Demonstrate consistent accuracy in data entry and analysis work with a declining error rate over time
• Develop working proficiency with ACPWB's primary data platforms and benchmarking tools

Applications for this position are being accepted through November 25, 2026.