Position Context

The WORLD Policy Analysis Center (WORLD) at the UCLA Fielding School of Public Health (FSPH) is a non-profit policy research center that aims to improve the quantity and quality of globally comparative data on policies affecting human health, development, well-being, and equity by collecting and analyzing sources of information on rights, laws, and policies. With this data, WORLD informs policy debates, facilitates comparative studies of policy progress, feasibility and effectiveness, and advances efforts to improve government transparency and accountability.

WORLD is the first and largest data center examining social and economic policy globally. Under the leadership of Dr. Jody Heymann, Dean of the UCLA Fielding School of Public Health, WORLD’s research team analyzes the state of constitutional rights, laws, and public policies in all 193 UN member states in a range of critical areas, including education, health, environment, adult labor and working conditions, child labor, poverty, equal rights and discrimination, childhood, gender, marriage, families, aging, and disability. WORLD makes its findings publicly accessible to policymakers, citizens, civil society, and researchers in the form of global maps, data tables, and policy analyses.

Position Overview

The Senior Research Analyst will join this team and help lead an exciting and unique effort to build and maintain the first global resource to understand what countries are doing to promote human rights and human development around the world. The Senior Research Analyst will play a vital role within WORLD by enhancing global health and social policy research, building policy capacity at UCLA’s FSPH, and translating research findings into action at the global, national, and local levels.

Currently, WORLD is focused on preparing this data for public dissemination and use by a wide range of audiences, including, but not limited to, researchers/academics, policy advocates, civil society, the media, students, and the public. The Senior Research Analyst will work closely with the Director and in collaboration with WORLD team members to further develop policy databases with the latest available data, conduct rigorous data analysis and create complex data visualizations, design and manage quantitative and qualitative research projects, participate in the dissemination of data and findings, and contribute to strategic planning of the WORLD research agenda.

Key Responsibilities

Supervise and guide the development of the WORLD databases

Supervise teams of coders to ensure data is coded in a consistent and comparable method that will be useful in statistical and other comparative analyses in the future
Critically examine data sources for any issues with reliability and comparability
Identify and develop ways of graphically and numerically presenting the data to policymakers and researchers alike, allowing a better understanding of the complex issues vital to the health and well-being of those worst off around the world
Construct and perform statistical analyses to show the relationship between social policies and outcomes, as well as provide advice and guidance to policy analysts performing statistical analyses
Supervise and facilitate the future growth of the WORLD project through assistance on grant proposals and budget estimates

To learn more about WORLD and the position, please visit http://worldpolicyforum.org/ and http://world.ph.ucla.edu/

Education, Experience, and Competencies

Master’s degree or Ph.D. in economics, health sciences, political science, public health, epidemiology, public policy or related field. with 5 – 7 years of relevant experience. Ph.D. with 1 – 2 years of relevant experience

Highly analytical, detail-oriented, thoughtful, and intellectually curious; willing to immerse self in new policy areas and able to work flexibly on a range of assignments and prioritize a variety of evolving tasks
Articulate; exceptional ability to synthesize, visualize, present, and explain complex information and data by speaking and writing clearly and precisely
Experience conducting quantitative analyses and explaining those results in written materials including policy briefs, reports or scientific journal articles, addressing a range of audiences in academia, political/NGO/IGO community, and private sector required
Takes personal ownership and accountability to manage multiple deadlines and fulfil team goals and has the personal organization, motivation, and project coordination skills to do so
Strong background in data cleaning, transformation, and analysis using software packages such as STATA, SAS or similar required
Strong working knowledge of Microsoft Office Professional required (MS Access proficiency preferred)
Actively seeks knowledge needed to complete assignments independently and shares knowledge with others, communicating and presenting information in a clear and organized manner
English language proficiency required; proficiency in another official UN language an asset
Demonstrated interest in issues relating to global health and social policy, including poverty, labor conditions, education, gender, disability, environmental, or equity policy required; experience working in these areas an asset

All qualified candidates are encouraged to apply; however, only complete applications will be considered and only candidates selected for an interview or to gather additional information will be contacted.

UCLA is committed to equity in employment and diversity. It welcomes applications from all races and ethnicities, all sexual orientations and identities, as well as people with disabilities, visible minorities, and others who may contribute to further diversification.

How to apply

To apply, please submit the following documents to the UCLA Job Portal < https://hr.mycareer.ucla.edu > for Job Requisition No. 22108:

Cover Letter
Curriculum Vitae
Complete Academic Transcripts (email scanned copies to WORLD@ph.ucla.edu)
Writing Sample (maximum 5 pages)
Contact Information (telephone and email) for 3 References

Call for application will close on 5 June, 2015.