A best-in-class city that attracts best-in-class talent, Philadelphia is an incredible place to build a career. From our thriving arts scene and rich history to our culture of passion and grit, there are countless reasons to love living and working here. With a workforce of over 30,000 people, and more than 1,000 different job categories, the City of Philadelphia offers boundless opportunities to make an impact.

As an employer, the City of Philadelphia values inclusion, integrity, innovation, empowerment, and hard work above all else. We offer a vibrant work environment, comprehensive health care and benefits, and the experience you need to grow and excel. If you’re interested in working with a passionate team of people who care about the future of Philadelphia, start here.

What we offer

• Impact - The work you do here matters to millions. 
• Growth - Philadelphia is growing, why not grow with it? 
• Diversity & Inclusion - Find a career in a place where everyone belongs.
• Benefits - We care about your well-being.

Agency Description

The Managing Director’s Office (MDO) works in coordination with individual operating departments to implement the Mayor’s vision and deliver efficient, effective, and responsive public services to every neighborhood in Philadelphia. MDO plans, coordinates, and implements major strategic initiatives that involve multiple departments. The MDO leadership provides strategic oversight and support for the

Philadelphia Police Department (PPD), Philadelphia Fire Department (PFD), Department of Prisons (PDP), Department of Licenses and Inspections (L&I), and the Office of Emergency Management (OEM), as well as administrative support to the independent Citizens Police Oversight Commission (CPOC). MDO supports five operational clusters: Community Services, Criminal Justice and Public Safety (CJPS), General Services, Arts & Events (GSAE), Health and Human Services (HHS), Transportation, Infrastructure and Sustainability (OTIS).

The MDO Policy Unit has responsibility for managing high priority initiatives that cut across multiple City agencies and affect the lives of the City’s most vulnerable residents. The Research and Data Manager will work on key high-priority cross-systems projects. Projects may include work on quality of life initiatives, gun violence reduction, PPD priority efforts like civilianization, benefits access, and other projects as needed.

We are looking for a civically-minded leader with a passion for data-driven decision making and improving city government. This individual will lead data analysis for the MDO Policy Unit with a focus on high priority policies and services, to improve City policy and performance and provide visibility into key issues for senior leadership, working in close collaboration with operating departments.

Essential functions

In this role, you will:

• Define, measure, and help to track key quantitative indicators of success for critical City services
  • Work with subject matter experts to identify critical information
  • Develop workflows to collect, process, and visualize this information for City policymakers and leadership
  • Present and interpret the information for a variety of audiences
• Establish and maintain strong relationships across City departments and external partners to support priority project reporting and delivery
• Manage projects that cross City departments and require sustained engagement, follow-up, and relationship-building
• Respond to ad-hoc requests for descriptive data analysis, including producing professional-looking documents or data visualizations 
• Access, manipulate, and combine varied datasets, including administrative City data, US Census data, and data from other publicly available sources
• Quickly develop an understanding of a variety of policy issues and their context
• Support and/or manage external contracts for relevant services, including survey design and implementation; consult on designing survey questions and interpreting results
• Review and assist other team members writing reproducible data analysis code in R or another language
• Proactively provide ideas and critical feedback—as well as being open to such constructive dialogue—as part of constantly improving the Managing Director’s Office and its collective work output.

Competencies, knowledge, skills, and abilities

• Excellent communicator: Ability to explain technical concepts to general audiences, explain the logic behind research decisions, craft compelling narratives about research design, write and speak clearly, and cultivate effective communication among team members.
• Relationship-builder: Ability to work with a variety of people and personalities, listen and ask questions to identify new research opportunities, and cultivate strong relationships to ensure seamless collaboration and continued project support.
• Curious: Ability to practice active listening, ask questions to get at the root of a problem, be open to receiving/giving constructive feedback, and have a sincere interest in learning new skills or growing old ones.
• Compassionate: Ability to turn research insights into actionable solutions that address people’s real needs ethically and with integrity.
• Rigorous: Driven by thoughtful, quality, and detail-oriented processes, project output, and client/team interactions.
• Organized: Demonstrated ability to manage multiple projects, estimate timelines, rework a project approach based on unforeseen challenges, work well under pressure, and set/meet reasonable deadlines.
• Action-oriented: Ability to see opportunities, navigate barriers, be self-directed, and problem-solve solutions that enhance the City’s deliverables, processes, and practices.
• Broad-spectrum: Knows enough about the basics of social sciences and research processes to effectively collaborate across disciplines.
• Resilient: Ability to have a sense of humor, learn from mistakes, and/or return to work after experiencing a setback.
• Amplifier: Ability to amplify others’ strengths and successes and operate beyond ego and self-interest.

Work-Life

Working hours are generally 37.5 hours per week.  Our team is currently hybrid with both virtual and in-office days, however the position can opt to come in the office each day if desired

• Subject matter expertise in at least one field of relevance to local government, such as psychology, sociology, economics, public policy, public health, urban design, criminal justice, or other related fields.
• Training in quantitative research methods, or related work experience
• Strong communication skills
• Experience with at least one statistical programming language, such as R (preferred), Python, or related tools.
• Knowledge of racial equity and inclusion principles and experience with their application
• Experience managing projects, particularly projects that require collaboration across different groups or teams.
• Familiarity with applied research, including statistical research methods, research design, and/or program evaluation.
• Education: At a minimum, a Bachelor’s degree from an accredited college or university, preferably in psychology, sociology, political science, statistics, economics, mathematics, or another social science field.
• Experience: Five years of relevant experience which includes conducting data analysis and communicating results to provide insight into and improve performance or project delivery

TO APPLY: Interested candidates must submit a cover letter and resume.

Salary Range: $75,000-$80,000

Discover the Perks of Being a City of Philadelphia Employee:

• Transportation: City employees get unlimited FREE public transportation all year long through SEPTA’s Key Advantage program. Employees can ride on SEPTA buses, subways, trolleys, and regional rail for their daily commute and more.
• Parental Benefits: The City offers its employees 6 weeks of paid parental leave.
• We offer Comprehensive health coverage for employees and their eligible dependents.
• Our wellness program offers eligibility into the discounted medical plan
• Employees receive paid vacation, sick leave, and holidays
• Generous retirement savings options are available
• Pay off your student loans faster - As a qualifying employer, City of Philadelphia employees are eligible to participate in the Public Service Loan Forgiveness program. Join the ranks of hundreds of employees who have already benefited from this program and achieved student loan forgiveness.
• Unlock Tuition Discounts and Scholarships - The City of Philadelphia has forged partnerships with over a dozen esteemed colleges and universities in the area, ensuring that our employees have access to a wide range of tuition discounts and scholarships. Experience savings of 10% to 40% on your educational expenses, extending not only to City employees but in some cases, spouse and dependents too!

Join the City of Philadelphia team today and seize these incredible benefits designed to enhance your financial well-being and personal growth!

*The successful candidate must be a city of Philadelphia resident within six months of hire

Effective May 22, 2023, vaccinations are no longer required for new employees that work in non-medical, non-emergency or patient facing positions with the City of Philadelphia. As a result, only employees in positions providing services that  are patient-facing medical care (ex: Nurses, doctors, emergency medical personnel), must be fully vaccinated.

The City of Philadelphia is an Equal Opportunity employer and does not permit discrimination based on race, ethnicity, color, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, religion, national origin, ancestry, age, disability, marital status, source of income, familial status, genetic information or domestic or sexual violence victim status. If you believe you were discriminated against, call the Philadelphia Commission on Human Relations at 215-686-4670 or send an email to [email protected].

For more information, go to: Human Relations Website: http://www.phila.gov/humanrelations/Pages/default.aspx