Senior Fellow - Statistics and Data Science

National Opinion Research Center - NORC; Chicago (IL); Hybrid; USD 200,000 - 230,000; Full time

Job summary

NORC at the University of Chicago seeks a Senior Fellow to join the Statistics and Data Science Department in our Research Science Division. This hybrid role is based in Washington, DC or Chicago downtown, with a minimum of six days in the office each month; remote work may be considered for outstanding candidates.

The Senior Fellow will lead strategic public policy or scientific research initiatives, provide technical oversight, mentor staff, and shape NORC's methodological directions across

Qualifications

• Master or doctoral degree in statistics, biostatistics, or related field.
• At least 15 years' experience in positions of increasing responsibility in public policy analysis, statistical research, or related field;
• Extensive publishing experience in area of expertise through scholarly publications.
• Deep subject-matter expert within a discipline, with expert knowledge of the principles, processes, and methods of research; knowledge in one or more critical methodological areas and publication/reputation within the areas.
• Widely recognized as a national or international leader within the field, either through extensive publication, successful public or private leadership roles, or exemplary public service.
• Strong problem solving, project management, relationship management skills.
• Ability to work on multiple projects simultaneously and to identify obstacles to productivity and troubleshoot problems, and to provide intellectual leadership.
• Excellent interpersonal, presentation, and communication skills combined with strong ability to influence and gain collaboration and cooperation.

Responsibilities

• Conduct innovative policy analysis or scientific research and development that is aligned with NORC's mission and informs and guides NORC's strategies.
• Provides technical oversight, guidance and research expertise to senior staff and professionals assigned to projects, providing mentoring, advice, supervision, and counsel; acts as a senior advisor to project teams to meet project schedules and resolve technical problems.
• Serves as a strategic advisor to NORC senior executives providing technical, methodological and key subject matter expertise for significant corporate decision-making.
• Suggests and recommends developmental and training opportunities for individual contributors and immediate project workgroup.
• Works on complex problems that are typically solved by application of deep knowledge based on a wide range of learned alternatives. Understands inter-relationships between areas and considers when selecting methods and techniques for obtaining solutions
• Exercises judgment within broadly defined general policies, guidelines, and practices in order to develop creative solutions and applying project methods and techniques; develops and administers project performance requirements.
• Creates proposals and successfully gains bids for project work within area of expertise.
• Applies, and moreover extends, industry knowledge and effectively addresses client needs and requirements as outlined in project proposals. In some cases, leads client in a search for what is possible, and guides them as they determine needs and requirements.
• Typically manages or advises on the activities of a specific area of expertise and related projects with regard to objective and content.
• Responsible for results in terms of costs, methods, and goals. Accountable for planning and scheduling as well as resource allocation.
• Lead or participate in interdisciplinary project teams.
• Perform other duties as assigned.

Skills

Strategic leadership

Research expertise

Policy analysis

Project management

Communication skills

Mentoring

Team collaboration

Education

Master's or PhD in statistics

Job description

Job Summary

NORC at the University of Chicago seeks a Senior Fellow to join the Statistics and Data Science Department in our Research Science Division.

Location: This is a hybrid role based in either our Washington, DC and Chicago downtown offices, with a minimum of six days per month in the office. Remote work status may be considered for outstanding candidates.

Qualified applicants must be eligible to work in the U.S. We regret that we are unable to offer visa sponsorship for this position.

Statistics and Data Science

The Statistics and Data Science Department implements state-of-the-art statistical methods and develops innovations to deliver reliable data and rigorous analysis to guide critical programmatic, business, and policy decisions for NORC clients. In collaboration with all NORC subject area departments, the Statistics and Data Science Department provides leadership along the project life cycle for study design, data collection, analysis, and dissemination of results, and also conducts its own research. The department provides expertise and leads NORC strategy and research on the use of a broad range of methods for the analysis of primary and secondary data, including Bayesian analysis, causal inference, data linkage and statistical matching for combining multiple data sources, data quality assessment, differential privacy, imputation, machine learning, small area estimation, statistical disclosure limitation, statistical methods for surveys, survival analysis, visualization, and efficient and reproducible workflow development.

Responsibilities

Senior Fellows provides strategic and innovative public policy or scientific research leadership with ultimate responsibility for all activities, research personnel, and results for project assignments, including soliciting and obtaining new business, effective management of existing projects, and design of data collection methodologies. Senior Fellows are accountable for maintaining a high standard of research output, as reflected in published research output. Incumbent is a nationally or internationally recognized leader in the given discipline who envisions and directs a program of public policy analysis or research on key problems within NORC's mission. Incumbent impacts NORC's formulation of strategy and tactics.

• Conduct innovative policy analysis or scientific research and development that is aligned with NORC's mission and informs and guides NORC's strategies.
• Provides technical oversight, guidance and research expertise to senior staff and professionals assigned to projects, providing mentoring, advice, supervision, and counsel; acts as a senior advisor to project teams to meet project schedules and resolve technical problems.
• Serves as a strategic advisor to NORC senior executives providing technical, methodological and key subject matter expertise for significant corporate decision-making.
• Suggests and recommends developmental and training opportunities for individual contributors and immediate project workgroup.
• Works on complex problems that are typically solved by application of deep knowledge based on a wide range of learned alternatives. Understands inter-relationships between areas and considers when selecting methods and techniques for obtaining solutions
• Exercises judgment within broadly defined general policies, guidelines, and practices in order to develop creative solutions and applying project methods and techniques; develops and administers project performance requirements.
• Creates proposals and successfully gains bids for project work within area of expertise.
• Applies, and moreover extends, industry knowledge and effectively addresses client needs and requirements as outlined in project proposals. In some cases, leads client in a search for what is possible, and guides them as they determine needs and requirements.
• Typically manages or advises on the activities of a specific area of expertise and related projects with regard to objective and content.
• Responsible for results in terms of costs, methods, and goals. Accountable for planning and scheduling as well as resource allocation.
• Lead or participate in interdisciplinary project teams.
• Perform other duties as assigned.

Required Skills

• Master or doctoral degree in statistics, biostatistics, or related field.
• At least 15 years' experience in positions of increasing responsibility in public policy analysis, statistical research, or related field;
• Extensive publishing experience in area of expertise through scholarly publications.
• Deep subject-matter expert within a discipline, with expert knowledge of the principles, processes, and methods of research; knowledge in one or more critical methodological areas and publication/reputation within the areas.
• Widely recognized as a national or international leader within the field, either through extensive publication, successful public or private leadership roles, or exemplary public service.
• Strong problem solving, project management, relationship management skills.
• Ability to work on multiple projects simultaneously and to identify obstacles to productivity and troubleshoot problems, and to provide intellectual leadership.
• Excellent interpersonal, presentation, and communication skills combined with strong ability to influence and gain collaboration and cooperation.

Salary and Benefits

The pay range for this position is $200,000 - $230,000.

This position is classified as regular. Regular staff are eligible for NORC's comprehensive benefits program. Benefits include, but are not limited to:

• Generously subsidized health insurance, effective on the first day of employment
• Dental and vision insurance
• A defined contribution retirement program, along with a separate voluntary 403(b) retirement program
• Group life insurance, long-term and short-term disability insurance
• Benefits that promote work/life balance, including generous paid time off, holidays; paid parental leave, bereavement leave, tuition assistance, and an Employee Assistance Program (EAP).

NORC is committed to equity and transparency in its pay practices. We publish salary ranges and benefit information for every job. The listed hiring range reflects what we, in good faith, expect to pay at the time of posting, though actual compensation may vary and may be adjusted over time. A candidate's placement within the range depends on factors such as competencies, education, qualifications, experience, skills, performance, and organizational needs. This role is bonus eligible. Bonus payment is contingent upon program terms and individual performance.

What We Do

NORC at the University of Chicago is an objective, non-partisan research institution that delivers reliable data and rigorous analysis to guide critical programmatic, business, and policy decisions. Since 1941, our teams have conducted groundbreaking studies, created and applied innovative methods and tools, and advanced principles of scientific integrity and collaboration. Today, government, corporate, and nonprofit clients around the world partner with us to transform increasingly complex information into useful knowledge.

Who We Are

For over 80 years, NORC has evolved in many ways, moving the needle with research methods, technical applications and groundbreaking research findings. But our tradition of excellence, passion for innovation, and commitment to collegiality have remained constant components of who we are as a brand, and who each of us is as a member of the NORC team. With world-class benefits, a business casual environment, and an emphasis on continuous learning, NORC is a place where people join for the stellar research and analysis work for which we're known, and stay for the relationships they form with their colleagues who take pride in the impact their work is making on a global scale.

EEO Statement

NORC is an equal opportunity employer. NORC evaluates qualified applicants without regard to race, color, religion, sex, gender, national origin, disability, status as a protected veteran, sexual orientation, and other legally protected characteristics.