Research Assistant or Research Associate — Family Income Support Policy
The Center on Budget and Policy Priorities is seeking to hire a Research Assistant or Research Associate to work with its Family Income Support (FIS) team. The Center is a strategic policy institute that informs and shapes public policies to reduce poverty, promote equity, and build opportunity. It has a national reputation for conducting rigorous research and analysis, developing timely, evidence-based policy ideas and strategies, and shaping policy debates at the federal and state levels on a broad array of critical issues affecting low- and moderate-income people.
The Center’s Family Income Support team is a leading source of expertise on the Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) block grant with a strong record of providing analytic and policy support to improve TANF at the federal and state levels. One of our key goals is to increase the amount of TANF funds that go directly to families to meet their basic needs. We also work to improve TANF work programs and on other cross-cutting issues important to low-income families. Key aspects of our work include: writing analytic papers, policy briefs, and blog posts; building state advocacy capacity and creating a strong TANF advocacy network; providing state-specific analytic support; and drafting, reviewing, and tracking state and federal legislative proposals. The Research Assistant or Associate works collaboratively with FIS team members on all aspects of our work. This position is an exceptional foundational role for people seeking to build a career in public policy. The Research Assistant or Associate will also participate in a skill and knowledge development program for early-career Center staff.
Duties and Responsibilities
- Maintains regular communication with federal and state advocates, including writing and sending out a weekly e-mail and managing our social media presence.
- Tracks and summarizes state legislative proposals.
- Assists team members responding to information requests from state advocates, policymakers, the media, and other national organizations, often on tight deadlines.
- Aids in the cleaning, updating, and management of longitudinal TANF spending and caseload datasets to ensure the team’s work is accurate and easily updated in the future.
- Supports the analysis of TANF spending and caseload data; updates annual papers and state fact sheets.
- Writes and/or assists with writing analytic papers, policy briefs and blog posts.
- Contributes to graphics, presentations, and written analyses for policy and research reports, blogs, fact sheets, and chart books.
- Helps the team stay on top of the latest social science research and maintains research databases for internal use.
- Covers congressional briefings and hearings, and other events as needed.
- Perform other job-related duties as assigned within the FIS team.
Qualifications
- Research Assistant: Bachelor’s degree in political science, sociology, or any related field.
- Research Associate: Advanced degree in public policy, sociology, or any related field, or 2 years related work experience.
- Familiarity with U.S. poverty-related programs, policies, and concepts with a desire to develop or deepen your understanding of TANF.
- A commitment to racial equity, including understanding the role of racism in maintaining poverty.
- A desire to deepen your understanding of cash assistance policy and racial equity, particularly institutional and structural racism and its impact on anti-poverty programs.
- Strong analytic abilities, including experience and proficiency analyzing data in Excel and presenting findings clearly and concisely.
- Meticulous attention to detail and an exemplary commitment to the accuracy and transparency of your analytic work.
- Familiarity with social media tools (especially Twitter).
- Excellent research skills, including the ability to use and interpret a range of sources and clearly summarize findings in writing.
- Strong project management skills, including the ability to work independently and collaboratively, stay on top of multiple projects, anticipate obstacles, and meet deadlines successfully.
- A commitment to the Center’s mission to improve the well-being of low- and moderate-income people and advance racial equity as part of the Center’s work.
This position reports to the Vice President of Family Income Support Policy.
Terms of Employment: Full-time, exempt. 2-year term position.
Bargaining Unit Status: This is a bargaining unit position.
Compensation
Salary and title commensurate with experience; excellent benefits, including three health insurance options, dental and vision care, life and long-term disability insurance, retirement, and generous vacation leave, sick leave, and holiday schedules.
Please upload a cover letter, resume, and a short writing sample. In your cover letter, please include a discussion of what draws you to the mission of the Center.
The Center on Budget and Policy Priorities is an Equal Opportunity Employer that values and welcomes diversity in the workplace and strongly encourages all qualified persons to apply regardless of race, color, age, sex, marital status, sexual orientation, gender identity, gender expression, genetic information, credit information, pregnancy or parental status, family responsibilities, personal appearance, creed, military or veteran status, religion, ancestry or national origin, union activities, disability, or other status protected by applicable law.