Poverty Research Technical Fellow

The application window for the Mayor’s Office for Economic Opportunity Fellowships is now open!

The Poverty Research Unit (PRU) of the Mayor’s Office for Economic Opportunity has multiple openings for technical fellows in the area of developing and implementing measures of poverty, mobility, and medical care economic risks.

NYC Opportunity produces research and analysis of poverty and social conditions, including its influential annual Poverty Measure (NYCgov poverty measure), which provides a more accurate and comprehensive picture of poverty in New York City than the federal measure. The NYCgov poverty measure has become an important tool for evaluating policies, assessing the progress the city has made over time in reducing poverty and designing new policies to reduce current levels of economic deprivation.

  Responsibilities

The NYCgov poverty measure is a nationally known alternative to the federal poverty measure. Fellows will be closely involved with this model and use multiple federal, state and local data sets including survey and administrative data.

Fellows will work closely with PRU staff to support multiple research projects including statistical data analysis and monitoring the poverty reduction effects of the city’s anti-poverty initiatives.

Examples of specific responsibilities could include:

  • Supporting the modeling of policy alternatives and their comparative outcomes (e.g., anti-poverty impacts, distributional consequences, and fiscal efficiency).
  • Assisting in assessing the statistical soundness of models, reviewing model performance and recommending action plans to remediate model deficiencies.

  Education and Experience

The fellowship is open to students with a Masters degree (MA/MS in Economics, Statistics, Public Policy), however Ph.D students are preferred.

  Rate and Hours

This is a paid position with flexible hours. A minimum commitment of one year is desirable.

  Skills We're Seeking

Commitment to the mission of advancing greater equality and opportunity.

Strong quantitative & programming skills.

Ability to present ideas cleraly and concisely in writing and orally.

High level of proficiency in statistical programming language (e.g., R or Stata) as well as Microsoft Excel, Word, and Power Point

Basic econometric training and experience and familiarity with the linear regression model as well as maximum-likelihood estimator.

Experience working with large public survey data is a plus.

Well-developed interpersonal and team-working skills.

An interest in poverty and income distribution

Background in labor or health economics, childcare or welfare policy, and/or applied econometrics is preferred.

  How to Apply

Please email your resume, cover letter, and research portfolio with the subject line "PRU Technical Fellowship."

In your research portfolio, please include whether the research was employer or coursework related, and research hypotheses and findings. Describe what techniques were used. A sample analysis/report and coding sample should be attached.

Upon selection of finalist, candidates may receive a coding and analytic test to be completed offsite.