Senior Policy Data Analyst

This position is listed on behalf of a partner company, who manages all applications and next steps. Our partner is looking for a Senior Policy Data Analyst based in the United States.

We are seeking an analytical and mission-driven Senior Policy Data Analyst to transform complex criminal justice data into actionable insights that support meaningful policy reform. In this role, you will partner with government stakeholders and cross-functional teams to understand system challenges and evaluate opportunities to improve outcomes. You will use SQL, Python, and statistical modeling to analyze administrative data, assess policy scenarios, and quantify potential trade-offs.

Beyond technical analysis, you will translate findings into clear recommendations, presentations, and decision-support tools for senior decision-makers. You will lead projects from initial scoping through delivery, exercising independent judgment as priorities and stakeholder needs evolve. This is an opportunity to combine rigorous analytics, creative problem-solving, and collaborative engagement to help reduce unnecessary incarceration and build safer, healthier communities.

• Analyze complex corrections, parole, and other administrative datasets using SQL and Python to understand system behavior, identify trends, and uncover opportunities for policy improvement.

• Design and execute end-to-end analytical projects, translating broad objectives into actionable work plans, analytical approaches, timelines, and deliverables.

• Develop statistical models and policy scenarios using techniques such as regression analysis, time-series analysis, stock-and-flow modeling, and distributional analysis.

• Quantify the potential effects and trade-offs of alternative policy designs, clearly identifying assumptions, limitations, uncertainties, and the implications of available data.

• Build practical, decision-focused analyses that help government leaders evaluate policy options and make informed choices.

• Communicate findings through presentations, reports, memos, and other decision-support materials tailored to the needs of state agency leaders and other stakeholders.

• Collaborate with partnership leads, policy specialists, engineers, and other internal teams to understand state-specific context, data infrastructure, and implementation considerations.

• Manage projects independently from initial problem definition through analysis, interpretation, stakeholder communication, and final delivery.

• Adapt analytical strategies as project objectives, data availability, and stakeholder priorities change, balancing analytical rigor with speed and practical impact.

• Identify and address project risks, clarify ownership, coordinate dependencies, and improve workflows to support predictable delivery and effective collaboration.

• Build deeper knowledge of assigned states, their correctional systems, and policy environments to identify emerging questions and additional opportunities for analysis.

• Conduct exploratory analyses to determine whether potential projects are feasible, valuable, and likely to support meaningful decisions.

• Develop reusable analytical methods, modeling patterns, and frameworks that improve consistency and strengthen the broader team's capabilities.

• Support policy implementation by providing evidence-based insights and helping stakeholders understand the operational implications of proposed changes.

• Participate in occasional travel to state partners across the continental United States, approximately every six months, with visits potentially including correctional facilities and parole offices.

• At least five years of full-time professional experience exploring, analyzing, and processing complex datasets.

• Advanced SQL skills, including writing efficient queries for complex data extraction, transformation, and analysis across large datasets.

• Professional experience using Python, particularly pandas, for data manipulation, statistical analysis, and visualization.

• Strong statistical foundations and the ability to design sound analyses, scrutinize results, evaluate uncertainty, and produce defensible conclusions.

• Experience scoping and delivering analytical projects, including balancing analytical depth, speed, and practical value under tight timelines and shifting priorities.

• Demonstrated ability to turn ambiguous questions into structured analytical approaches and meaningful metrics that support real-world decisions.

• Strong judgment in determining which details…