EPI seeks a skilled and motivated person to join the EARN team as a Research Assistant. This entry-level position will support the research and writing of EPI’s and EARN’s analysts and policy experts, provide programmatic support for the EARN in the Midwest project, and assist EARN’s national network of state and local policy groups with data, research, and technical assistance. We are seeking someone with a bachelor’s degree in economics, math, or other related social science field (e.g., public policy or political science) with strong quantitative skills, who is highly organized and detail-oriented, comfortable working with data, and interested in advancing economic, racial, and gender justice through public policy. The Research Assistant will work on a variety of issues, including state labor markets (wages, employment, unemployment), labor policies and supports (minimum wages, paid leave, unemployment insurance), economic development, unions and worker power, economic impacts of structural racism, and racial and gender-pay inequities.
This position also offers excellent opportunities for on-the-job training; for example, EPI Research Assistants receive extensive training to use STATA and WordPress, and are offered support if they want to learn R. Past Research Assistants have gone on to complete advanced degrees in social science, law, and other public policy fields. Former Research Assistants are employed in tenured or tenure-track jobs in academia, in key policy posts in state and federal government, for institutions such as the Federal Reserve and the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD), and in other DC and state-based think tanks.
This position is based in Washington, DC. Economic Policy Institute staff are currently working remotely due to the coronavirus pandemic. We will resume in-person work at EPI’s offices in Washington when it is safe to do so.
What You Will Do
- Support the research, data analysis, and technical assistance needs of EARN’s projects, campaigns, and state partners, particularly in the EARN in the Midwest project.
- Collect, analyze, and produce visualizations of a variety of economic data for use in EARN and EPI publications, presentations, and online tools
- Produce tables, figures, literature reviews, and research summaries with meticulous documentation of methods, data, and processes
- Co-author and assist in the production of reports, issue briefs, blog posts, resource packets, presentations, and other materials by EPI and EARN member organization staff
- Assist in reviewing, editing, and fact-checking materials from both internal and external authors
- Help develop and maintain state-level data packages and tools for EARN state groups
- Provide technical assistance to EARN’s state and local partners, in consultation with other EARN and EPI staff
- Produce custom statistics and data sets for EARN members to use in their analyses and advocacy.
- Update and maintain EARN data packages and tools
- Assist in the management of EARN’s online resources, including the EARN website and listserv.
- Support EARN’s programmatic needs: helping to manage projects, drafting strategy documents and memos, helping facilitate webinars and meetings, and assisting EARN’s Policy Coordinators as they plan, organize, and facilitate cross-state work among EARN member groups.
- Attend meetings and conferences to represent EPI and EARN, as needed, and prepare short memos summarizing the key events that took place.
- Help to plan and staff EARNCon, EARN’s annual conference for state partners and allies, as well as other network events.
- Assist in the training of new EPI/EARN Research Assistants, interns, and new EARN member staff.
- Other duties as assigned.
Who You Are
We do not expect that every candidate will have this full range of experience, but the following qualities and experience are highly desirable:
- A bachelor’s degree in economics, math, or other related social science field (e.g., public policy or political science) with strong quantitative skills
- Experience with and demonstrated commitment to economic justice, worker power and collective bargaining, and racial and gender equity
- A love of learning and a desire to explore a diverse set of economic, gender, and racial justice policy issues
- Strong Microsoft Excel expertise and familiarity with data visualization techniques
- Training and experience with analysis of microdata, including the use of statistical software such as Stata, or R
- Familiarity with labor market and microeconomic survey data
- Excellent written and oral communication skills and ability to create materials for a wide range of audiences
- Facility with the Microsoft Office Suite, with expertise in Excel. Knowledge of WordPress, Highcharts, and/or GIS a bonus
- Self-motivated and able to work independently, but also able to collaborate and work as part of a team and with diverse partners
- Willingness to handle occasional long hours and travel
- This is currently a 2-year position, with the possibility of extension contingent on available funding. If the position is extended, it may be in another area of our work, depending on organizational need and funding.
- EPI is a unionized workplace. This position is in the bargaining unit and reports to the EARN Deputy Director.
- The salary for this position ranges from $47,800 to $52,232, dependent on experience, plus benefits.
- EPI offers an excellent benefits package, including generous paid time off, as well as retirement contributions, medical, vision, dental, short- and long-term disability, and life insurance.
To apply: Candidates should send a cover letter highlighting their relevant experience and explaining their interest in working at EPI, resume, and writing sample to earn-jobs@epi.org with “EARN Learning Community Coordinator” in the subject line. Applications will be accepted on a rolling basis until the position is filled. Applications without a cover letter will not be considered. Deadline to apply is Friday, November 20, 2020.
