Data and Policy Analyst – Education Funding Equity Initiative

Data and Policy Analyst – Education Funding Equity Initiative

New America is seeking a Data and Policy Analyst to join the Education Funding Equity Initiative. We believe that it is critical for advocates, policymakers, and thought leaders to understand the harms created by current school funding policies, and for them to be equipped with the data and policy knowledge necessary to push for improved systems that support the provision of equitable education in diverse schools.

The Data and Policy Analyst will work alongside the Project Director to formulate and execute analytical projects, interpret and communicate findings, maintain and update existing publications and data products, and communicate and engage with advocacy and academic communities working on school finance reform. This position will report to the Project Director of the Education Funding Equity Initiative.

• Collect, maintain, and analyze data and information related to issues of education funding equity, including public education data, housing data, census data, public finance data, and other open source data.
• Implement techniques for quality data collection to ensure adequacy, accuracy, and legitimacy of data.
• Create and execute plans for data-analytical projects focused on education funding equity.
• Create compelling written and visual presentations of research findings, including maps, charts, and graphs that make data more accessible, understandable, and usable.
• Maintain and update existing interactive data products and visualization tools.
• Synthesize existing academic research and policy analysis through authoring literature reviews and policy scans.
• Work to develop a moderate level of subject‑matter expertise in school finance.
• Monitor current events and research developments in school finance to be conversant in the issues.
• Perform other duties as assigned.

• Strong analytical skills, with the ability to collect, organize, analyze, and disseminate significant amounts of information with attention to detail and accuracy.
• Comfort with the process of extracting, loading, cleaning, analyzing, and reporting data.
• Familiarity with modern databases and cloud infrastructure.
• Experience managing and manipulating large data sets, with adherence to standard data management principles such as data quality and/or profiling and data governance.
• Moderate experience with scripting languages (e.g., R, Python).
• Experience with or exposure to spatial analysis, econometrics, or causal inference methods.
• Experience employing data and analysis to answer research questions and support public policy recommendations.
• Experience communicating findings and analyses through writing and data visualization.
• Ability to engage with academic research in education policy, economics, and related social sciences.
• Interest in policy issues related to education equity.
• Ability to work independently in a hybrid work setting, effectively managing time and communicating activities to a team or supervisor.
• A bachelor's degree in data science, political science, education, economics, or another related field.
• At least 2 years of professional experience or a master's/doctoral degree in a relevant field.

• Experience working with government data sources.
• Professional experience with policy issues related to education equity.
• Experience with data journalism and associated tools (e.g., Data wrapper, Tableau, Mapbox, Looker).
• Experience with or knowledge of housing policy.
• Master of Public Policy degree or similar academic preparation.

This position is preferred to be based in New America's Washington, DC office on a hybrid basis, with expected office attendance at least two days per week. For especially well‑qualified candidates, fully remote arrangements will be considered.

This position is a full‑time role with benefits. The annual salary will be between $70,000.00 and $95,000.00, depending on experience. New America offers a highly competitive benefits package that includes health care, dental, and vision coverage; a generous retirement plan; paid time off; observes all federal holidays; and…