Position Information

Position: Education Data Analyst / Researcher (“SDP Data Fellow”)

Location: Multiple US Locations (see below)

Compensation: $75,000 - $90,000 annual salary plus benefits

Duration: Summer/Fall 2023 through Summer 2025 (with potential options for continued employment)

Contact: sdprecruitment@gse.harvard.edu

 

Join a powerful, growing community of over 500 forward-thinking data advocates and leaders across more than 38 states and 240+ education organizations. The Strategic Data Project (SDP) is an initiative of the Center for Education Policy Research at Harvard University. The SDP Fellowship program helps school system leaders use data and evidence in strategic decision-making to improve public education. By placing fellows in school systems and education organizations across the United States, SDP provides a unique entry point for passionate quantitative researchers and data strategists who want to make a difference.  

 

The SDP Fellowship is a unique opportunity, combining full-time employment as an education data analyst/researcher at an SDP-approved partner organization (a school district, state education agency, postsecondary system, non-profit, etc.) and two-years of intensive in-person and virtual professional development, training, and mentorship to build your toolkit as an education data leader. As a fellow, you and your host agency will develop clear priorities and plans for using data and build organizational willingness to use data for decision-making. Over the course of two years, fellows participate in a series of tailored workshops, both virtual and in person, to develop their measurement, leadership, communication and education policy skills. Training is delivered by Harvard-affiliated researchers and practitioners and fellows are supported by faculty advisors, Fellowship alumni mentors, and their colleagues across the SDP network. 

 

Learn more about past fellows’ work by visiting the SDP blog. In the past, fellows have tackled strategic data projects in one of the following focus areas: 

 

• program evaluation 

• data visualization 

• early warning indicator systems 

• data management governance 

• survey design and analysis 

• data dashboards 

• student pathways and postsecondary success 

• educator quality, pipeline, and training   

 

Fellows are paid an annual salary of $75,000-90,000 USD plus appropriate benefits by their placement organization. Salary is commensurate with experience and must be negotiated with the host organization. The Fellowship lasts two years (Summer/Fall 2023 through Summer 2025) with the possibility for longer-term employment.

Locations

 

Fellowship placements are available in various locations across the United States and shift from year to year. SDP is currently selecting placement organizations. A sample of currently available locations/projects includes:

 

1. Arizona: A partnership between a higher education initiative and local school district in the Phoenix area seeks to hire a fellow to better understand the impact of team-based staffing models on student achievement and student outcomes.

 

2. California: A state-level partner organization in California is looking for a fellow to support standing up their new state longitudinal data system. The ideal candidate has a solid understanding of large-scale interoperability with data and is excited to work closely with various stakeholders.

 

3. California: school district in the San Francisco area; candidate should be proficient with SQL, Salesforce, and Python or R;  more information forthcoming

 

4. California: A postsecondary organization in the Los Angeles area seeks a fellow to help dig into the influence of the pandemic on postsecondary instructional practice and student outcomes. The ideal candidate is comfortable with large-scale administrative data, an interest in community colleges, and experience with quantitative and qualitative analyses.

 

5. California: a school district in the ??San Joaquin Valley seeks a fellow to help lead the rollout of a data governance program closely aligned with information privacy and security efforts already underway. The ideal candidate should have experience with TSQL and good relationship-building skills. More information is forthcoming

 

6. Connecticut: A school district in southwestern Connecticut seeks a fellow to play an integral role in developing, maintaining, and advancing data pipelines and databases that form the foundation of the district’s data systems. The ideal candidate will have experience with SQL, Python, and/or Tableau. 

 

7. Delaware: A returning SDP partner organization in Delaware seeks multiple candidates for multiple projects; more information forthcoming

 

8. Georgia: A returning SDP partner and school district in the Atlanta area seeks multiple fellows to support equity-oriented research and evaluation efforts; more information forthcoming

 

9. New Jersey: A school district north of Newark seeks a fellow to support research and evaluation of parent and family engagement initiatives. The ideal candidate should be proficient in various research methods, as well as stakeholder management and relationship-building skills. Spanish language proficiency is preferred, but not required.

 

10. New York: postsecondary agency near Albany; more information forthcoming

 

11. North Carolina: A school district near Greensboro seeks a fellow to support mixed methods research and program evaluation around COVID-19 academic recovery. The ideal candidate should have strong relationship-building, communication, and organizational skills.  

 

12. Oklahoma: school district located in the Tulsa area; candidate should be proficient in R or Python; more information forthcoming

 

13. Rhode Island: school district in the Providence area; candidate should be proficient with SQL and R; more information forthcoming

 

14. Virginia: school district outside of Washington DC; more information forthcoming 

This list is subject to change and additional placements/locations will be added soon! Candidates who successfully progress through the SDP Fellowship selection process will learn more details about available placements.

 

Qualifications

 

The Strategic Data Project seeks candidates who possess: 

 

• a strong background in applied quantitative analysis

• an advanced degree (Master’s or higher) completed by summer 2023 

• at least four years of relevant full-time work experience by summer 2023 (waived for those with a PhD)

• a demonstrated passion for education reform and improving outcomes for all students

• a track record of collaboration, humility, and ability to guide change 

• an entrepreneurial and innovative spirit     

• flexibility, adaptability, and persistence 

• ability to communicate complex information to various audiences in written, verbal, and visual formats

 

*** We are unable to provide visa sponsorship ***

Benefits of the SDP Fellowship

 

• Two-years of full-time employment with annual salary + benefits, with potential for continued employment

• Mission-driven analytic work, tackling high-impact challenges in the education sector

• Network of talented life-long colleagues and peers in the education data field

• Ongoing professional development and training

• In-person and virtual workshops, learning modules, and conferences (travel + lodging included)

• Active network-wide slack channel

• Word class mentorship from faculty (Harvard + other institutions)and SDP fellowship alumni

• Global alumni network

• Pathways to leadership

 

The Application Process

 

Upcoming Deadlines:

 

• Application opens Friday, March 31, 2023

• Applications are due by June 12, 2023 at 9:00am ET

• Applications will be reviewed following the application deadline on June 12, 2023 at 9:00am ET

• Analytic Task: due June 20, 2023

• Virtual Screening Interviews: June 26-28, 2023

• Final Virtual Selection Day Interviews: July 12, 2023

• Placement interviews: Summer 2023

 

Following each application deadline, we will invite successful candidates to move through the selection process. This process includes a technical analytic assignment, a virtual screening interview, and a virtual interview day. Candidates who are selected from the virtual interview day will interview remotely or on-site at an SDP partner organization. After receiving and accepting an offer from a placement, fellows are welcomed to the fellowship.

 

Please follow the link to complete the online application: SDP Online Application

 

Learn more on our website and visit the FAQ section

 

Questions? Reach out to sdprecruitment@gse.harvard.edu 

 

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