About the Role
As a UW employee, you have a unique opportunity to change lives on our campuses, in our state and around the world. UW employees offer their boundless energy, creative problem-solving skills and dedication to build stronger minds and a healthier world.
UW faculty and staff also enjoy outstanding benefits, professional growth opportunities and unique resources in an environment noted for diversity, intellectual excitement, artistic pursuits and natural beauty.
POSITION PURPOSE
The Institute for Health Metrics and Evaluation (IHME) is an independent research center at the University of Washington. Its mission is to deliver to the world timely, relevant, and scientifically valid evidence to improve health policy and practice. IHME carries out its mission through a range of projects within different research areas including the Global Burden of Diseases, Injuries, and Risk Factors; Future Health Scenarios; Cost Effectiveness and Efficiency; Resource Tracking; and Impact Evaluations. Our vision is to provide policymakers, donors, and researchers with the highest-quality quantitative evidence base so all people live long lives in full health.
IHME is committed to providing the evidence base necessary to help solve the world’s most important health problems. This requires creativity and innovation, which are cultivated by an inclusive, diverse, and equitable environment that respects and appreciates differences, embraces collaboration, and invites the voices of all IHME team members.
IHME has an outstanding opportunity for a Data Analyst on the Evaluations Team. The Data Analyst will contribute to survey programming, data collection management and processing, and survey data reporting and visualization across multiple projects. The Data Analyst will be integral to contributing to data management, data cleaning, and the creation of graphics and tables for presentations, visualizations, and reports. The Data Analyst must interpret and apply complex protocols systematically, learn computer coding languages and software to help manage survey data and the surveys themselves, and develop ways to quality check the data regularly. The position requires dexterity with quantitative data and keen attention to detail. This position directly contributes to cutting-edge data collection and analysis that helps IHME establish a high bar of excellence in the field of population health metrics and evaluation.
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 research team. This position is contingent upon project funding availability.
DUTIES AND RESPONSIBILITIES
Research learning
• Become familiar with substantive areas of expertise to understand the dimensions and uses of health data in complex multidisciplinary analyses.
• Understand fully survey items and structure and the purpose each serves in addressing study needs.
• Work directly with researchers to explain and modify surveys and databases to best serve the needs of evolving data collection.
• Create and document efficient, effective, and replicable methods to extract data, write and apply code as relevant, organize data sources, manage data quality, and produce summary results.
Primary data collection quality management and extractions
• Learn and apply code to develop surveys using pre-defined survey software.
• Develop code to perform survey-specific data verification and quality management.
• Communicate with individuals collecting primary data in order to troubleshoot survey problems and ensure high-quality results.
• Prepare summaries of data quality as well as progress toward data collection, cleaning, and analysis targets.
• Using standardized protocols, identify problems with survey data, rectify issues, and systematize data quality methods to ensure high-quality future analyses.
• Develop and maintain systematic documentation regarding survey changes, participating organizations, and programmatic tools, including training materials and analytic decisions.
• Extract, format, and transform data from multiple sources according to set protocols and in consultation with researchers to best meet their needs.
• Learn and apply computer coding skills as needed to clean, merge, aggregate, and format datasets and to adapt databases with needed additions.
• Archive, catalog, and annotate datasets according to Institute standards to build a common library of materials for use by a wide set of researchers.
• Become adept with and apply data conversion and extraction tools, as needed.
Publications, presentations, and data requests
• Create tables, figures, and charts for presentations and publications, drawing upon data and information from a multitude of sources.
• Provide referencing support for publications and presentations.
• Populate and maintain citation databases.
General
• Communicate clearly and effectively while contributing as a productive member of both the project team and the research management team.
• Work closely with other team members to help them with relevant tasks, show them how to learn new skills, and help resolve emerging problems on different projects.
• Attend relevant meetings, adhere to deadlines, and participate in collectively advancing team-level objectives.
• Participate in overall community of the Institute, carrying out duties as required as team members with other Institute members.
Other duties as assigned.
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. As a rule, a bachelor’s degree is equivalent to 4 years’ experience.
ADDITIONAL REQUIREMENTS
• Demonstrated success in developing code in R.
• Demonstrated facility with analytic tasks and ability to participate productively in an interdisciplinary team setting.
• Strong quantitative aptitude, desire to learn new skills, and ability to interpret complex analytic information.
• Strong sense of focus and attention to detail.
• Ability to learn new information quickly and apply analytic skills to better understand complex information in a systematic way.
• Demonstrated organizational skills, self-motivation, flexibility, good communication skills, and the ability to work and thrive in a fast-paced, energetic, creative, entrepreneurial environment.
• Interest in global health research.
• Prior experience with survey programming and/or survey data management is optimal.
• Experience writing novel code to handle complex analytic tasks is required.
• Experience with using, building, or maintaining databases of quantitative information is optimal.
• Professional or basic fluency in Spanish is required.
• 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: https://www.healthdata.org/about/mission-vision/DEI [healthdata.org].
DESIRED QUALIFICATIONS
• Experience with Stata.
CONDITIONS OF EMPLOYMENT
• Weekend and evening work sometimes required.
• This position is open to anyone authorized to work in the US. The UW is not able to sponsor visas for staff positions.
• Office is located in Seattle, Washington. This position is eligible to work fully remote in the US.
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 equal opportunity, affirmative action employer. To request disability accommodation in the application process, contact the Disability Services Office at 206-543-6450 / 206-543-6452 (TTY) or dso@uw.edu.
Applicants considered for this position will be required to disclose if they are the subject of any substantiated findings or current investigations related to sexual misconduct at their current employment and past employment. Disclosure is required under Washington state law.
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 a leader in environmental stewardship & sustainability, and committed to becoming climate neutral. The University of Washington is a leader in environmental stewardship & sustainability, and committed to becoming climate neutral.
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.
COVID-19 VACCINATION REQUIREMENT
Employees of the University of Washington are required to be fully vaccinated against COVID-19 unless a medical or religious exemption is approved. Being fully vaccinated means that an individual is at least two weeks past their final dose of an authorized COVID-19 vaccine regimen. As a condition of employment, newly hired employees will be required to provide proof of their COVID-19 vaccination. View the Final candidate guide to COVID-19 vaccination requirement webpage for information about the medical or religious exemption process for final candidates.