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Salary range: $5,747 - $6,304 per month [$68,964 - $75.648 per year]

POSITION PURPOSE
The Institute for Health Metrics and Evaluation (IHME) is an independent research center at the University of Washington. Its mission is to monitor global health conditions and health systems, as well as to evaluate interventions, initiatives, and reforms. IHME carries out a range of projects within different research areas including: the Global Burden of Diseases, Injuries, and Risk Factors; Future Health Scenarios; Costs and Cost Effectiveness; Local Burden of Disease; Resource Tracking; and Impact Evaluations. The aim is to provide policymakers, donors, and researchers with the highest-quality quantitative evidence base to make decisions that achieve better health.

IHME has an exciting opportunity for a Data Analyst on the Surge Team, supporting the Global Burden of Diseases, Injuries, and Risk Factors enterprise (GBD). A systematic, scientific effort to quantify the comparative magnitude of health loss due to diseases, injuries, and risk factors by age, sex, and geography over time, the GBD is the largest and most comprehensive effort to date to measure epidemiological levels and trends worldwide. The GBD’s aim is to provide policymakers, donors, and researchers with the highest-quality quantitative evidence base to make decisions that achieve better health. The Surge Team supports research teams through temporary assignments to help meet deadlines, manage unexpected challenges or changes in scope, and fill in where staffing has fallen short.

The main purpose of the Data Analyst position is to provide support to key research projects through database management, data quality management, computational support to multi-disciplinary research projects, data extraction and formatting, and providing key inputs for papers and presentations. Data Analysts must develop an understanding of different research needs and analytic functions across multiple projects to best meet research needs. Data Analysts must be able to independently translate requests into actionable results through interactions with research databases, formulation of displays of results, and development of complex code to be applied to a variety of quantitative data.

This position calls for dexterity working with complex databases and the ability to assess, transform, and utilize quantitative data using multiple coding languages (primarily R, Python, SQL, and Stata). The individual must then quality control results to ensure that other team members have exactly what they need to incorporate the data and results into their own components of the analytic process, presentations, and papers. Additionally, this position will work alongside other Data Analysts on complementary projects and will require knowledge and skill sharing and collective problem solving. Overall, the Data Analyst will be a critical member of an agile, dynamic team. This position is contingent on project funding availability.

DUTIES AND RESPONSIBILITIES

Research Command
  • Become familiar with substantive areas of expertise to understand the dimensions and uses of health data and the analytic underpinnings of different research streams.
  • Work directly with researchers to identify the source of data used in models and results, understand the context of the data, and ensure that they are relevant to the analyses themselves.
  • Create and document efficient, effective, and replicable methods for extracting data, developing code, organizing data sources, managing data quality, and explaining complex analytic processes.

Data Management and Analytics
  • Problem-solve computational and analytic challenges by investigating the data, understanding the root questions, and coming up with alternative measurement strategies.
  • Implement code solutions in order to answer analytic questions, perform diagnostics on results, and test and assess new methods.
  • Maintain, update, and adapt databases containing health data from multiple sources such as surveys, vital registration systems, administrative records, and published studies relevant to demographic estimation.
  • Maintain, update, and carry out routine but complex computational processes and statistical modeling that are central to generating estimates of key indicators.
  • Execute queries on databases and resolve intricate questions in order to respond to the needs of senior researchers and external requests from collaborators, media, policymakers, donors, and other stakeholders.
  • Bring together data, analytic engines, and data visualizations in one seamless computational process.
  • Use protocols to identify problems with datasets and routine computational processes, rectify issues, and systematize data for future analyses.
  • Transform and format data sets for use in ongoing analyses. 
  • Catalogue and incorporate these datasets into databases. 
  • Perform quality checks.

General
  • Create tables, figures, and charts for presentations and publications.
  • Provide referencing and other support for publications and presentations.
  • Communicate clearly and effectively while contributing as a member of both the Institute.
  • Work closely with other team members to assist with relevant tasks, facilitate learning new skills, and to help resolve emerging problems on different projects.
  • Participate in overall community of the Institute, carrying out duties as required as team members with other Institute members.

MINIMUM REQUIREMENTS
  • Bachelor’s degree in social sciences, engineering, computer science, or related field plus two years’ related experience, or equivalent combination of education and experience.

ADDITIONAL REQUIREMENTS
  • Demonstrated success in developing code in R and Python.
  • Interest in global health, population health, and/or ways in which quantitative research and data science can be used to create valuable global public goods.
  • Demonstrated self-motivation, ability to absorb detailed information, flexibility, and ability to thrive in a fast-paced, energetic, highly creative, and entrepreneurial environment.
  • Ability to learn new information quickly and apply analytic skills to better understand complex information in a systematic way.
  • Strong quantitative aptitude.
  • Flexible attitude and interest in moving around to a variety of different research teams, getting a broader range of experience, rather than focusing on a particular research area or team.
  • A commitment to working alongside others at IHME to illuminate the health impacts of systemic racism and to work within IHME to make our organization more diverse and inclusive. See IHME’s DEI statement here

CONDITIONS OF EMPLOYMENT
  • Appointment to this position is contingent upon obtaining satisfactory results from a criminal background check.
  • Weekend and evening work sometimes required.
  • University of Washington is an affirmative action and equal opportunity employer. All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, gender expression, national origin, age, protected veteran or disabled status, or genetic information.

Committed to attracting and retaining a diverse staff, the University of Washington will honor your experiences, perspectives and unique identity. Together, our community strives to create and maintain working and learning environments that are inclusive, equitable and welcoming.

The University of Washington is an affirmative action and equal opportunity employer. All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, gender expression, national origin, age, protected veteran or disabled status, or genetic information.

To request disability accommodation in the application process, contact the Disability Services Office at 206-543-6450 or dso@uw.edu.