Career Opportunities

• Job Title: Data Scientist
• Desired Start Date: 03.23.2022
• Requisition Number: JR 15710

The Health Lab’s mission is to partner with civic and community leaders to identify, rigorously evaluate and scale programs and policies that improve health outcomes and address systemic barriers to achieving health equity. To accomplish our mission, we seek to identify and engage groups of people who are disproportionally impacted by health disparities that result from socioeconomic disadvantage and systemic inequities, and to develop and evaluate interventions that improve health, safety, and vitality and reduce health and social disparities. Decades of experience have proven that health care alone cannot solve urban health problems, or address related cross-sectoral challenges in poverty, crime, education and the environment faced by many urban residents. Accordingly, we work closely with diverse partners, including persons and communities with lived experience of disadvantage in urban contexts, to learn directly from them about the challenges they face interacting with the health care system and social service sectors. We seek to partner with these groups and the organizations committed to serving them to develop and evaluate interventions to address these challenges.

We support our partners using data-driven findings and are deeply committed to expanding knowledge about the effectiveness of policies, programs and interventions to promote health equity. We believe that generating evidence on multi-sectoral interventions can have a multiplicative impact, improving not just health but also equity and outcomes across other sectors. Our partners in these efforts include communities and community-based organizations, medical and social service providers, housing and homeless services providers, emergency service providers, and members of the corrections, policing and other law enforcement communities. These relationships are essential to advance our mission. As with the other Urban Labs, our approach applies science in the service of cities. We hypothesize that two key obstacles prevent cities from mobilizing and coordinating their resources across sectors. First, cities lack evidence about the multi-sector impact of their efforts. Second, cities lack sufficient coordination mechanisms and incentives to collaborate across sectors to improve health equity.

Based on these hypotheses, the Health Lab focuses our resources on generating high-quality evidence about interventions that can be widely scaled to sustainably improve urban health. For examples of our work, please see: http://urbanlabs.uchicago.edu/

Job Summary

The University of Chicago Health Lab is seeking a Data Scientist to work on our portfolio of projects applying machine learning to public policy, particularly in the area of improving 911 and emergency response. We’re seeking a smart, motivated, and detail-oriented person to work on all parts of our applied machine learning projects – all the way from cleaning and structuring raw data to developing predictive models and evaluating them in field studies and randomized control trials. An ideal candidate will have experience extracting insights from data and communicating them to both technical and non-technical audiences.

The position offers the opportunity to work directly with leading researchers at the University of Chicago and policymakers on projects with immediate real-world impact. You will collaborate closely with PhD-level economics, criminology, and computer science researchers, as well as top-notch analysts, research managers, and Health Lab leadership. This position is particularly well-suited for candidates who may be interested in pursuing a PhD in the future or for data scientists who want to transition from industry to public policy research.

Responsibilities

• Works with research team and partners to identify analytical approaches to addressing research questions.


• Contributes to the design, implementation, and validation of an efficient and reproducible data processing pipeline.


• Builds and rigorously evaluates statistical models using best practices of machine learning and statistical inference.


• Cleans, merges, and matches data from multiple agencies and sectors.


• Develops sampling strategies.


• Develops and assesses statistical models and machine learning algorithms.


• Prepares memos, spreadsheets, manuscripts and presentations for a range of audiences including policymakers, publics, and academic researchers.


• Ensures that project deliverables are developed in an efficient and timely manner.


• Analyzes moderately complex data sets for the purpose of extracting and purposefully using applicable information.


• Cleans, transforms, merges, and matches between large and complex research and administrative datasets. Plan sown resources to collect, organize, and analyze information from the University's various internal data systems as well as from external sources.


• Builds and analyzes statistical models and reproducible data processing pipelines using knowledge of best practices in machine learning and statistical inference. Serves as a single point of contact for all requests and engages other IT resources to assist as needed. May partner with other campus teams to assist faculty with data science related needs.


• Performs other related duties as assigned.

Minimum Qualifications

Education:

Minimum requirements include a college or university degree in related field.

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Work Experience:

Minimum requirements include knowledge and skills developed through 2-5 years of work experience in a related job discipline.

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Certifications:

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Preferred Qualifications

Education:

• Bachelor’s degree in computer science, statistics, data science, economics or a closely related field.


• Master’s degree.

Experience:

• Experience in applied statistics & statistical modeling

Preferred Competencies

• Proficiency with statistical data analysis and machine learning using Python or R is required. The ability to work in both is preferred.


• Advanced knowledge of machine learning techniques and algorithms.


• Experience working with large and complex datasets.


• Proficiency with one or more languages such as R or Python and experience developing reproducible and maintainable code.


• Excellent written and verbal communication skills, with the ability to present data in a simple and straightforward way for non-technical audiences required.


• Strong interpersonal skills required.


• Strong initiative and a resourceful approach to problem solving and learning required.


• Ability to work independently and as part of a team in a fast-paced environment required.


• Sound critical thinking skills required.


• Strong attention to detail with superb analytical and organization skills required.


• Familiarity with program evaluation and causal inference preferred.


• Ability to manage multiple projects simultaneously and meet tight deadlines.


• Strong interest in social policy.

Working Conditions

• This role will be indoors, on phone, Zoom, email, and other digital formats - working remotely initially.


• Requires the ability to work independently and virtually with teams for periods of eight (8) hours or more.

Application Documents

• Resume (required)


• Cover Letter (required)


• Writing Sample (required)


• Transcript (required)

When applying, the document(s) MUST be uploaded via the My Experience page, in the section titled Application Documents of the application on The University of Chicago career page. 

Job Family

Research

Role Impact

Individual Contributor

FLSA Status

Exempt

Pay Frequency

Monthly

Scheduled Weekly Hours

37.5

Benefits Eligible

Yes

Requires Compliance with University Covid-19 Vaccination Requirement

Yes

Drug Test Required

No

Health Screen Required

No

Motor Vehicle Record Inquiry Required

No

Posting Statement

Employees must comply with the University’s COVID-19 vaccination requirements. More information about the requirements can be found on the University of Chicago Vaccination GoForward.



The University of Chicago is an Affirmative Action/Equal Opportunity/Disabled/Veterans Employer and does not discriminate on the basis of race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, national or ethnic origin, age, status as an individual with a disability, protected veteran status, genetic information, or other protected classes under the law. For additional information please see the University's Notice of Nondiscrimination.

Staff Job seekers in need of a reasonable accommodation to complete the application process should call 773-702-5800 or submit a request via Applicant Inquiry Form.

We seek a diverse pool of applicants who wish to join an academic community that places the highest value on rigorous inquiry and encourages a diversity of perspectives, experiences, groups of individuals, and ideas to inform and stimulate intellectual challenge, engagement, and exchange.

All offers of employment are contingent upon a background check that includes a review of conviction history.  A conviction does not automatically preclude University employment.  Rather, the University considers conviction information on a case-by-case basis and assesses the nature of the offense, the circumstances surrounding it, the proximity in time of the conviction, and its relevance to the position.

The University of Chicago's Annual Security & Fire Safety Report (Report) provides information about University offices and programs that provide safety support, crime and fire statistics, emergency response and communications plans, and other policies and information. The Report can be accessed online at: http://securityreport.uchicago.edu. Paper copies of the Report are available, upon request, from the University of Chicago Police Department, 850 E. 61st Street, Chicago, IL 60637.

• Works with research team and partners to identify analytical approaches to addressing research questions.


• Contributes to the design, implementation, and validation of an efficient and reproducible data processing pipeline.


• Builds and rigorously evaluates statistical models using best practices of machine learning and statistical inference.


• Cleans, merges, and matches data from multiple agencies and sectors.


• Develops sampling strategies.


• Develops and assesses statistical models and machine learning algorithms.


• Prepares memos, spreadsheets, manuscripts and presentations for a range of audiences including policymakers, publics, and academic researchers.


• Ensures that project deliverables are developed in an efficient and timely manner.


• Analyzes moderately complex data sets for the purpose of extracting and purposefully using applicable information.


• Cleans, transforms, merges, and matches between large and complex research and administrative datasets. Plan sown resources to collect, organize, and analyze information from the University's various internal data systems as well as from external sources.


• Builds and analyzes statistical models and reproducible data processing pipelines using knowledge of best practices in machine learning and statistical inference. Serves as a single point of contact for all requests and engages other IT resources to assist as needed. May partner with other campus teams to assist faculty with data science related needs.


• Performs other related duties as assigned.


• Bachelor’s degree in computer science, statistics, data science, economics or a closely related field.


• Master’s degree.


• Experience in applied statistics & statistical modeling.


• Proficiency with statistical data analysis and machine learning using Python or R is required. The ability to work in both is preferred.


• Advanced knowledge of machine learning techniques and algorithms.


• Experience working with large and complex datasets.


• Proficiency with one or more languages such as R or Python and experience developing reproducible and maintainable code.


• Excellent written and verbal communication skills, with the ability to present data in a simple and straightforward way for non-technical audiences required.


• Strong interpersonal skills required.


• Strong initiative and a resourceful approach to problem solving and learning required.


• Ability to work independently and as part of a team in a fast-paced environment required.


• Sound critical thinking skills required.


• Strong attention to detail with superb analytical and organization skills required.


• Familiarity with program evaluation and causal inference preferred.


• Ability to manage multiple projects simultaneously and meet tight deadlines.


• Strong interest in social policy.


• This role will be indoors, on phone, Zoom, email, and other digital formats - working remotely initially.


• Requires the ability to work independently and virtually with teams for periods of eight (8) hours or more.


• Resume (required)


• Cover Letter (required)


• Writing Sample (required)


• Transcript (required)

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• Job Title: Research Analyst
• Desired Start Date: 04.01.2022
• Reporting to: Marilyn Sinkewicz
• Requisition Number: JR15190

Job Summary:

The Health Lab is seeking a Research Analyst with strong research, methodological, and programming skills to support social policy research projects. The Research Analyst will have the opportunity to apply tools and approaches from methodologies in both traditional econometrics and modern data science to original projects on mental illness and the criminal justice system, improving health outcomes and reducing costs, and preventing and ending homelessness. In addition to supporting field-based randomized controlled trials, the Research Analyst will contribute to a growing practice of advanced analytical solutions to provide data-driven technical assistance to governmental and non-profit partners.

The successful candidate will have experience in applying a variety of statistical modeling approaches to large datasets in real-world settings. From project inception to delivery, the Research Analyst will contribute to all facets of data collection & cleaning, model development, and implementation. This position requires an individual who is able to work as a part of small research teams running multiple projects concurrently. The position offers the opportunity to work directly with leading social policy researchers at the University of Chicago and local city agency staff, as well as a team of administrative staff, project managers, and student research assistants.

Responsibilities:

     • Works with partners to identify analytical approaches to solve specific                       research questions 

     • Cleans, merges, and matches data, and runs sampling and randomization               across multiple projects.

     • Builds traditional statistical models and machine learning algorithms for a                 variety of research projects.

     • Prepares results of models for memos, spreadsheets, and presentations                 targeting both policymakers and academic researchers

     • Assists with literature reviews and drafting papers.

     • Assists in writing grant proposals, preparing IRB proposals, and obtaining               other research permits

     • Other duties as assigned.

Competencies:

• Strong interest in social policy required.


• Strong background in applied statistics & modeling required.


• Strong written and verbal communication skills required.


• Ability to manage multiple projects simultaneously and meet tight deadlines required.


•  Excellent organizational skills and attention to detail required.


•  Ability to work both independently and as a team member required.


•  Ability to work discretely with sensitive and confidential data required.

Education, Experience or Certifications:

• Master's degree in economics, sociology, public policy or other relevant social/mathematical science field required.


•  Coursework in econometrics and/or mathematical statistics required.


•  A minimum of two years of relevant data analysis experience required.


•  Experience working with large and complex datasets strongly preferred.


•  Proficiency with one or more languages such as R, Stata, Python, or SAS preferred.


•  Experience with relational databases a plus.


•  Experience working on field experiments preferred.


•  Experience working with GIS and UNIX servers preferred.


•  Familiarity with randomized controlled trials preferred.


•  Experience with health and claims data highly appreciated.

Required Documents:

• Resume


•  Cover Letter


•  Writing Sample


•  Transcript

To Apply: Please submit a resume, cover letter, three professional reference, writing sample, and transcript to Workday, requisition number

Please note, when applying, all documents MUST be uploaded under the Resume/CV section of the application. Please be advised that this job announcement is formatted differently on the University of Chicago “Workday” Job Board.

The University of Chicago is an Affirmative Action/Equal Opportunity/Disabled/Veterans Employer and does not discriminate on the basis of race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, national or ethnic origin, age, status as an individual with a disability, protected veteran status, genetic information, or other protected classes under the law. For additional information please see the University's Notice of Nondiscrimination.

Staff Job seekers in need of a reasonable accommodation to complete the application process should call 773-702-5800 or submit a request via Applicant Inquiry Form.

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• Job Title: Data Acquisitions Manager
• Desired Start Date: 08.24.2022
• Requisition Number: JR18193

Job Summary

The University of Chicago Health Lab is seeking a Data Acquisitions Manager to support the internal operations related to data acquisitions, management, stewardship and compliance. This Data Acquisitions Manager will work under the guidance of the Research Director and Lead Data Scientist, and with Health Lab staff in processing data requests for research projects, and with external partners to coordinate communication regarding data sharing agreements. The Data Acquisitions Manager will also be responsible for ongoing documentation and recordkeeping related to data maintained by Health Lab, reinforcing policies and procedures, and supporting data privacy and security policies and best practices.



The position offers the opportunity to work directly with leading health and social policy researchers at the University of Chicago, research partners, community-based organizations, government agencies, non-profits, and a team of administrative staff and project managers.

Responsibilities

Data Acquisitions

• 
  

  Leads the process of gathering information from the research staff and drafting new data sharing or data request materials.

  
  


• 
  

  Serves as an internal resource to all researchers to advise on processes and procedures for obtaining access to data assets.

  
  


• 
  

  Coordinates with external partners and Health Lab staff to schedule meetings and prepare materials.

  
  


• 
  

  Manages the flow of work to University Research Administration (URA), and ensures all submissions for new data sharing agreements meet internal requirements.

  
  


• 
  

  Monitors the status of pending agreements. Triage and prioritize items needing University Research Administration (URA) attention.

  
  


• 
  

  Leads contractual negotiations between Health Lab, URA and external data sources.

  
  


• 
  

  Updates and maintains a comprehensive tracking sheet of active and pending agreements. Prepares status updates for the research staff and management. Produces operational metrics to inform management decision-making and resource allocation.

  
  


• 
  

  Ensures that all fully executed data sharing agreements and statements of work are archived internally and at URA. Ensures that partners requiring original signatures are provided with the necessary hardcopies. 

  
  

Compliance Monitoring

• 
  

  Supports the satisfaction of policies and operational procedures for ensuring compliance with U Chicago and Health Lab terms and conditions, MOUs, IRB approvals, HIPPA authorization, or other agreements with Health Labs regarding permissions to use or store data.

  
  

Data Stewardship

• 
  

  Supports the development and administration of internal surveys.

  
  


• 
  

  Manages Health Lab staff access to files, folders, and tools.

  
  


• 
  

  Supports the maintenance of data privacy and security best practices and policies.

  
  


• 
  

  Investigates and documents privacy and security incidents.

  
  


• 
  

  Prepares status updates for the research staff and management. Produces operational metrics to inform management decision-making and resource allocation.

  
  


• 
  

  Participates in the cross-lab data privacy and security committee. 

  
  


• 
  
  
  

Additional Opportunities

• 
  

  Depending on their background and interests, the Data Associate will have the opportunity to work with applications such as REDCap (survey development and administration platform) and help conduct literature searches, formulate research questions, prepare data for analysis, analyze data, and prepare results for dissemination using data visualization techniques.

  
  


• 
  

  The Health Lab will support professional development in these areas.

  
  


• 
  

  Flexibility and willingness to periodically work on some of the Health Lab’s other projects.

  
  


• 
  

  Coordinates department compliance with a moderate level of guidance.

  
  


• 
  

  Prepares, completes and submits all compliance documentation on a routine basis. Coordinates compliance committee meetings.

  
  


• 
  

  Performs other related work as needed.

  
  

Minimum Qualifications

Education:

Minimum requirements include a college or university degree in related field.

Work Experience:

Minimum requirements include knowledge and skills developed through 2-5 years of work experience in a related job discipline.

Preferred Qualifications

Education:

• 
  

  Bachelor’s degree, preferably in the social sciences, public policy, business, law or another relevant field.

  
  

Experience:

• 
  

  Minimum of two years of experience working in contracting, research, data management or project management.

  
  


• 
  

  Familiarity with research methods.

  
  


• 
  

  Experience with statistical modeling and coding is NOT required.

  
  

Preferred Competencies

• 
  

  Strong interest in health and social policy.

  
  


• 
  

  Ability to manage multiple, concurrent deadlines and assignments.

  
  


• 
  

  Strong attention to detail, and ability to process and retain frequent new information.

  
  


• 
  

  Ability to interpret and apply contract requirements.

  
  


• 
  

  Knowledge of data management and/or contract negotiations.

  
  


• 
  

  Strong interpersonal skills.

  
  


• 
  

  Critical thinking and ability to evaluate the actions of colleagues. 

  
  


• 
  

  Ability to maintain confidentiality.

  
  


• 
  

  Ability to work both independently and as a team member.

  
  


• 
  

  Ability to maintain good relations with external partners, internal researchers and administrators.

  
  

Working Conditions

• 
  

  This role will be indoors, on phone, Zoom, email, and other digital formats - working remotely initially.

  
  


• 
  

  Requires the ability to work independently and virtually with teams for periods of eight (8) hours or more.

  
  

Application Documents

• 
  

  Resume (required)

  
  


• 
  

  Cover Letter (required)

  
  


• 
  

  References (3) (required)

  
  

When applying, the document(s) MUST be uploaded via the University of Chicago's job board, the My Experience page, in the section titled Application Documents of the application.

Job Family

Legal & Regulatory Affairs

Role Impact

Individual Contributor

FLSA Status

Exempt

Pay Frequency

Monthly

Scheduled Weekly Hours

37.5

Benefits Eligible

Yes

Requires Compliance with University Covid-19 Vaccination Requirement

Yes

Drug Test Required

No

Health Screen Required

No

Motor Vehicle Record Inquiry Required

No

Posting Statement

Employees must comply with the University’s COVID-19 vaccination requirements. More information about the requirements can be found on the University of Chicago Vaccination GoForward.



The University of Chicago is an Affirmative Action/Equal Opportunity/Disabled/Veterans Employer and does not discriminate on the basis of race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, national or ethnic origin, age, status as an individual with a disability, protected veteran status, genetic information, or other protected classes under the law. For additional information please see the University's Notice of Nondiscrimination.

Staff Job seekers in need of a reasonable accommodation to complete the application process should call 773-702-5800 or submit a request via Applicant Inquiry Form.

We seek a diverse pool of applicants who wish to join an academic community that places the highest value on rigorous inquiry and encourages a diversity of perspectives, experiences, groups of individuals, and ideas to inform and stimulate intellectual challenge, engagement, and exchange.

All offers of employment are contingent upon a background check that includes a review of conviction history.  A conviction does not automatically preclude University employment.  Rather, the University considers conviction information on a case-by-case basis and assesses the nature of the offense, the circumstances surrounding it, the proximity in time of the conviction, and its relevance to the position.

The University of Chicago's Annual Security & Fire Safety Report (Report) provides information about University offices and programs that provide safety support, crime and fire statistics, emergency response and communications plans, and other policies and information. The Report can be accessed online at: http://securityreport.uchicago.edu. Paper copies of the Report are available, upon request, from the University of Chicago Police Department, 850 E. 61st Street, Chicago, IL 60637.

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