Career Opportunities
Urban Labs staff have a strong commitment to using science in service of cities struggling with difficult urban challenges. We regularly seek out passionate, data-oriented, public service minded individuals to help us improve the quality of urban life in cities across the nation and world.
Current Opportunities
Crime Lab
- Job Title: Research Director
- Desired Start Date: 06.05.2017
- Reporting to: Executive Director
- Requisition Number: 102508
The Role
Crime Lab is seeking a full-time Research Director to contribute to the scientific and intellectual leadership. In this role, the Research Director will help to manage and mentor research and project staff, providing scientific direction and ensuring the rigor and quality of all work. The Research Director would also be expected to direct a portfolio of applied research projects in association with faculty members and research teams focused on reducing crime and violence and improving life outcomes for disadvantaged youth in addition to facilitating technical assistance work for government partners and strategic partners. The Research Director will report to Executive Director and work collaboratively with other researchers, staff, and partner agencies. The Research Director will contribute to the scientific content of research proposals, and will assist the ED and other faculty affiliates in supporting dissemination and policymaker outreach activities. The Research Director will also contribute to strategic conversations about which new projects and initiatives the Crime Lab should take on. This position is based in Chicago, IL.
- Job Title: Research Analyst
- Desired Start Date: 06.06.2017
- Requisition Number: 102510
The Role
The UChicago Crime Lab and Urban Education Lab are seeking two Research Analysts with strong technical skills to work on large-scale social policy experiments designed to test the effectiveness and cost-effectiveness of youth violence prevention and educational interventions. Each Analyst will work on a portfolio of projects across a variety of areas that span both criminal justice and education. 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 NYC-area universities, local city agency staff, as well as a team of administrative staff, other analysts, research managers, and student research assistant.
- Job Title: Research Manager
- Desired Start Date: 07.01.2017
- Reporting to: Research Director
- Requisition Number: 102899
The Role:
The Crime Lab is seeking a Research Manager to work on large-scale social policy experiments designed to test the effectiveness and cost-effectiveness of youth violence preventions and interventions. The position offers the opportunity to work directly with leading social policy researchers at the University of Chicago and NYC-area universities, as well as a team of administrative staff, other project staff, research analysts, and student research assistants.
- Job Title: Implementation Manager (Research & Evaluation)
- Desired Start Date: 07.05.2017
- Reporting to: Associate Director, Implementation and Scale Up
- Requisition Number: 102984
The Role
The University of Chicago Crime Lab seeks an Implementation Manager to work on the evaluation of a large-scale intervention offering transitional employment and cognitive behavioral therapy to individuals who are at an extremely high risk for involvement in gun violence. The Implementation Manager will be involved in a variety of project components including, but not limited to, assisting local community agencies with program design, monitoring project implementation to ensure rigor and quality, serving as the primary liaison for all stakeholders, providing input on the research design from a practitioner perspective, and managing the relationships between the research team, social service providers, government agencies, and community members.
- Job Title: Research Analyst
- Desired Start Date: 07.17.2017
- Reporting to: Research Director
- Requisition Number: 103087
The Role
The UChicago Crime Lab is seeking embedded Research Analysts with strong technical and communication skills to work in close partnership with the Chicago Police Department (CPD) on a project to enhance CPD’s use of data to improve public safety. Each Analyst will be embedded in a division of CPD and assist command staff by analyzing crime patterns and trends, preparing briefing materials, and training officers on the use of tools and systems. Working as part of a larger Crime Lab team, the Analysts will enable CPD to utilize the data at its disposal to make better-informed decisions that meet the needs of the communities they serve.
The successful candidate will have experience analyzing data and presenting findings, must demonstrate a willingness to work alongside and assist officers, and is able to work well both independently and as part of a larger team. This position offers the opportunity to work directly on addressing a pressing social policy issue in close collaboration with academic and subject matter experts.
The Research Analyst position is a one-year assignment, though there may be an opportunity to extend it subject to funding and project needs.
Crime Lab New York
- Job Title: Associate Director
- Desired Start Date: 02.01.2017
- Reporting to: Executive Director
- Requisition Number: 102515
The Role
The Crime Lab New York team is seeking an Associate Director who will support the Executive Director to execute strategic priorities, identify and resolve obstacles, secure fundraising for research activities, communicate with internal and external stakeholders, and build relationships with new and existing partners. The Associate Director will report to the Executive Director and work collaboratively with research staff in New York and Chicago.
- Job Title: Research Manager
- Desired Start Date: 06.30.2017
- Reporting to: Executive Director
- Requisition Number: 102797
The Role:
Crime Lab New York is seeking a Research Manager to work on large-scale social policy experiments. The research projects rigorously evaluate ways to prevent crime, help make the criminal justice system more effective and fair, and improve outcomes for the most disadvantaged and at-risk populations. The position offers the opportunity to work directly with leading social policy researchers at New York City universities, as well as a team of administrative staff, other project managers, research analysts, and student research assistants.
Health Lab
- Job Title: Research Analyst
- Desired Start Date: TBC
- Reporting to: Executive Director
- Requisition Number: 103090
The Role:
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 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 from the Chicago office.
Poverty Lab
- Job Title: Research Fellow
- Desired Start Date: 06.05.2017
- Reporting to: Scientific Director, Poverty Lab
- Requisition Number: 102732
The Role
The University of Chicago Poverty Lab is seeking a full-time Post-Doctoral Fellow to build and lead a portfolio of applied research projects in association with faculty members and research teams focused on improving educational and labor market outcomes in urban areas. They will report to Poverty Lab Scientific Director Kelly Hallberg and work collaboratively with Marianne Bertrand, other researchers, staff and partner agencies. The Post-Doctoral Fellow will be responsible for contributing to the scientific content of research proposals and will have the opportunity to author or co-author scientific articles. The Post-Doctoral Fellow will assist the Executive Director and other faculty affiliates in supporting dissemination and policymaker outreach activities, and will oversee the work of other research staff.
In addition, the Post-Doctoral Fellow will oversee an existing study of a school-based sports program operating in the Chicago Public Schools, and will be responsible for building the Poverty Lab’s partnership with the Office of Evaluation Sciences of the General Services Administration. Over time, they will have the opportunity to work remotely from Washington, DC, and oversee a portfolio of projects developed in partnership with OES.
The term of this position in 12 months, with the possibility of renewal for up to 24 additional months.
- Job Title: Project Associate
- Desired Start Date: 07.17.2017
- Reporting to: Research Manager
- Requisition Number: 103086
The Role:
The University of Chicago Poverty Lab is seeking a Project Associate with strong technical skills to support large-scale social policy research projects. This person will work on a portfolio of projects designed to test the effectiveness and cost-effectiveness of promising poverty interventions.
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 government agency staff, as well as a team of administrative staff, project managers, and student research assistants from the Chicago office.
