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Postdoctoral Scholar- California Policy Lab -Institute for Research on Labor and Employment (IRLE)

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Position description

The California Policy Lab (CPL) at University of California, Berkeley creates data-driven insights for the public good. Our mission is to improve the lives of Californians by generating evidence that transforms public policy. We do this by forming lasting partnerships between government and California’s flagship public universities to harness the power of research and administrative data. We work on California’s most urgent problems, including homelessness, poverty, crime, and education inequality. We facilitate close working partnerships between policymakers and researchers at the University of California to help evaluate and improve public programs through rigorous empirical research and technical assistance.

The post-doctoral researcher will work closely with faculty at UC Berkeley and with government partners of the California Policy Lab on data-driven projects related to criminal justice, education, social safety net, employment, and/or housing and homelessness. The post-doctoral researcher will be involved in every aspect of the research, from research design to data analysis and reporting. The position will give this early scholar a chance to build their research portfolio by taking advantage of CPL’s existing partnerships with California agencies, including the Franchise Tax Board, Department of Social Services, the Community College system, the Department of Justice, and the Health and Human Services Agency, as well as several local partners.

The post-doc would develop project leadership experience and gain extensive practice working with large administrative data sets. Duties will include research design, intensive data analysis, and assisting with the creation of presentations, internal reports, and academic articles for publication. The post-doc will also be responsible for project management, communicating with agency partners and mentoring graduate students and other staff who are assisting with projects. The post-doc will be expected to spend 50% of their time on CPL projects (some of which would lead to co-authored papers), 25% of their time on self-generated projects using CPL’s data infrastructure, and 25% of their time on other self-generated projects. The position does not include teaching obligations.

Principal Responsibilities:
• Under the mentorship of your faculty sponsor, design rigorous research projects that answer policy-relevant questions, in collaboration with government partners
• Play a lead role on research projects , including project management.
• Manage the work of research associates and/or graduate students, who provide analytic and relationship support on some projects.
• Be the primary point of contact with government agency partners. The postdoc will manage those relationships, provide deliverables on time, attend and organize meetings with stakeholders, and keep engagement active and bidirectional. Some agencies are located in other parts of the state, including Sacramento and Los Angeles, and this would involve occasional travel to those locations, probably not exceeding 2-3 times per month.
• Prepare applications for funding.
• Act as a subject matter expert and project manager for other CPL projects.

Basic Qualifications-must be met at the time of application
• PhD or equivalent international degree

Additional Qualifications required by the start date:
• No more than 3 years post degree research experience

Preferred Qualifications:
• PhD or equivalent international degree in a relevant technical, social science, or interdisciplinary field such as Public Policy, Economics, Political Science, Computer Science, Statistics, Sociology, or Criminology.

• Extensive knowledge of at least one of the California Policy Lab’s primary policy areas, and related literature.
• A superior academic performance and publication record.
• Advanced econometrics or other statistical training, including familiarity with methods for experimental and non-experimental causal inference.
• Proficiency with STATA or with another statistical program (SAS, R, etc.) and a commitment to learning whatever language is appropriate for given projects.
• Ability to work discreetly with sensitive and confidential data.
• Strong interpersonal and communication skills, including exceptional writing skills.
• Experience working with administrative data.
• Experience in or with governments, or a demonstrated ability to adapt to that environment.
• Ability to successfully lead a team (prior management experience preferred).
• Experience writing grant proposals.

The position is open until filled with an anticipated start date of July 2020. This is a two-year post-doctoral researcher, full-time position, with the possibility of renewal based on performance and availability of funding. Previous postdoctoral experience will be recognized in setting the initial step, up until the maximum of five years in the postdoctoral title. Salary will depend on experience but will follow the minimum postdoctoral salary scale at UC-Berkeley; benefits are included.

To apply, please go to the following link: https://aprecruit.berkeley.edu/apply/JPF02409.

Applicants should also provide contact information for three references. Letters of reference are not required at this time. We will seek your permission before contacting your references. All letters will be treated as confidential per University of California policy and California state law. Please refer potential referees, including when letters are provided via a third party (i.e., dossier service or career center), to the UC Berkeley statement of confidentiality: http://apo.berkeley.edu/evalltr.html.

This is a designated position requiring fingerprinting and a background check due to the nature of the job responsibilities. Berkeley does hire people with conviction histories and reviews information received in the context of the job responsibilities. The University reserves the right to make employment contingent upon successful completion of the background check.

Please address inquires to: Johanna Lacoe at johanna.lacoe@berkeley.edu

University of California Postdoctoral Scholars are exclusively represented by the United Automobile, Aerospace and Agricultural Implement Workers of America (UAW). The union’s (UAW 5810) website is http://uaw5810.org/. Details concerning your benefits as a Postdoctoral Scholar are set forth in Article 3, "Benefits," of the UC-UAW Local 5810 Collective Bargaining Agreement (CBA). A copy of the CBA between the University of California and the UAW is located at: http://ucnet.universityofcalifornia.edu/labor/bargaining-units/px/index.html.

The University of California is an Equal Opportunity/Affirmative Action Employer. All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, national origin, disability, age or protected veteran status. For the complete University of California nondiscrimination and affirmative action policy see: http://policy.ucop.edu/doc/4000376/NondiscrimAffirmAct

Application Requirements

Document requirements
  • Curriculum Vitae - Your most recently updated C.V.

  • Cover Letter

  • Writing Sample

Reference requirements
  • 3 required (contact information only)

Job location

Berkeley, CA