Data Scientist

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Overview The Office of Institutional Research (OIR) is looking for a new member of our analytical team. As part of the Office of the Provost, OIR supports Yale’s mission through a variety of analytic activities, data-gathering tasks, external reporting, and internal research projects. The Data Scientist will join a collaborative team of researchers who draw from diverse backgrounds in social and data sciences to support university decision-making while upholding OIR’s mission and team values.

This position will work closely with team members in OIR and with stakeholders across the University to design research studies and communicate findings, including through designing and interpreting measures of community experience.

The Data Scientist will work with administrators and/or faculty committees to help them refine and evolve policy research questions that will illuminate opportunities for improvement across the University. The Data Scientist will formulate what data and analyses may bear on that question, and work with clients and OIR colleagues to identify and scope a project to answer it. The Data Scientist will determine what data are relevant to a particular set of issues, thinking creatively and pragmatically about the quantitative and qualitative methods most suited to the client’s needs.

The Data Scientist will conduct data collection through a variety of means, which may include designing and administering a novel instrument (e.g., web survey; structured interviews) or obtaining data from existing University resources, including various institutional databases. The Data Scientist will determine what statistical technique is most appropriate to a question, carry out analysis, and prepare and present reports. The incumbent will use excellent communication and teaching skills to explain nuanced technical and statistical findings to audiences that range from senior University leaders to members of external regulatory agencies.

Across these activities, the Data Scientist will be expected to access multiple University data sources, and extract, merge, clean, and/or collect relevant data. They will prepare materials and clearly and effectively communicate information to internal and external audiences, frequently navigating differences in data definitions and technical expertise. The Data Scientist will develop protocols for collection of data and design data-gathering instruments and related procedures.

They will test, refine and finalize instruments for use in research studies. The Data Scientist will use advanced statistical knowledge to provide support in managing and analyzing data in an applied context and will provide analytic support to faculty and administrative committees. The Data Scientist will prepare reports and presentations using both text and graphics and will stay aware of Yale leadership’s needs and relevant issues in higher education.

The position reports to the Director of the Office of Institutional Research. Please note that finalists may be required to provide additional information or work samples to demonstrate proficiency in key competencies relevant to the role. Please note that this office operates in a hybrid model, with employees working a minimum of 3 days per week in person.

Required

Skills and Abilities

1. Proficient in one or more programming languages for statistical analysis and data preparation (e.g., R or Python…