Data Specialists; Consultant

Data Specialists (Consultant) – Posting #219-26

SALARY: $48-58 per hour (commensurate with skills and experience)

The Department of Children and Families (DCF), Office of Data Management and Reporting, is seeking two (2) qualified individuals to fill the Data Specialist position located in Trenton. This is a contract position, not a New Jersey State position. Successful candidates will be employed by 22nd Century and work on a contract basis, with an hourly rate of $48-$58, 35-hour work week.

The duration of this position is 12 months, with a potential extension. This position will be predominantly remote, with once-monthly in-person meetings in Trenton, NJ. Additional in-office days may be required based on business needs.

The New Jersey Department of Children and Families (DCF) seeks two (2) Data Specialists (Consultant) to support the organization, quality, and usability of programmatic data across the Department. Under the supervision of the Data Acquisition Lead, the Data Specialist will ensure that data is consistently collected, maintained, cleaned, and prepared for analysis and reporting by program and research teams. This role focuses on establishing and managing data workflows, implementing data quality protocols, developing guidance for data entry and data governance practices, and recommending improvements to data collection processes.

The Data Specialist will work closely with the divisions and programs to which they are assigned, ensuring that high‑quality, well‑documented data is readily available for reporting, analysis, and decision‑making.

• Manage Data and Data Collection Efforts
• Download, compile, and organize incoming programmatic data on a routine basis.
• Clean and prepare datasets by checking for completeness, accuracy, consistency, and quality issues.
• Identify data errors or irregularities and communicate needed corrections to program staff or supervisors.
• Maintain documentation of data sources, data dictionaries, codebooks, and data management protocols.
• Develop, refine, and maintain data workflows and processes that support consistent and high‑quality data collection.
• Recommend improvements to data collection practices and tools based on recurring issues or inefficiencies.
• Provide guidance and training to program staff on data entry expectations, data definitions, and data management practices.
• Prepare Data for Internal Stakeholders and Research Teams
• Reorganize, merge, and structure datasets to ensure they are ready for analysis by research and evaluation teams.
• Respond to internal data requests by compiling and securely providing cleaned, well‑documented datasets.
• Collaborate with program and research staff to understand data needs and ensure datasets are usable and accessible.
• Support Reporting and Dashboard Development
• Assist Business Intelligence (BI) developers by preparing structured datasets and documenting data logic for dashboard development.
• Provide feedback and troubleshooting support during dashboard creation and refinement.
• Occasionally develop simple dashboards or visualizations when needed, using tools such as Excel, Tableau, or Power BI.

• Participate in meetings with data system stakeholders to discuss data needs, issues, and workflow improvements.
• Support ongoing data governance processes, including version control, standardization, and data stewardship practices.
• Perform additional data‑related duties as assigned.

Necessary tools and preferred experience:

• Required:
  
  MS Excel, Tableau, Power BI, Salesforce, SQL, Python or R
• Preferred: VBA, MS SharePoint, REDCap, MS Project

• Graduation from an accredited college or university in a relevant discipline; coursework in data management, data analytics, information science, or a related field preferred.
• Minimum of 3 years of experience working with large datasets, including data cleaning, data preparation, and data documentation.
• Demonstrated experience with routine data management tasks such as downloading data, cleaning and validating records, resolving data quality issues, and preparing datasets for analysis.
• Proficiency…