About the California Policy Lab
The California Policy Lab (CPL) 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 issues, including homelessness, unemployment, poverty, criminal justice reform, 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. We are looking for equity-minded applicants who represent and understand the diverse racial and ethnic, gender identity, sexual orientation, educational, socioeconomic, cultural, and disability backgrounds present in California. When you join our team, you can expect to be part of an inclusive and equity-focused community.
CPL recognizes the value of having a diverse staff at all levels of the organization.

The Position
This is an exciting role for an early- or mid-career researcher who wants to design and conduct policy-relevant research with administrative data in California. The data includes roughly two decades worth of linked employer-employee earnings and unemployment insurance (UI) claims microdata for the universe of UI-covered jobs in California. The ideal candidate has expertise in labor economics, workforce development, or the social safety net. The Researcher conducts independent quantitative research, including conceptualizing research questions and designs; overseeing the requesting, receiving, and cleaning of data files; creating and overseeing the implementation of analysis plans; conducting quality assurance reviews; summarizing results in documents for both academic and policy audiences; and generating replicability documentation. The Researcher can implement and defend multiple causal research designs, including randomized control trials, quasi-experimental designs, and non-experimental designs. The Researcher will write grant proposals to support research tasks and contribute to grant reporting. The Researcher will also supervise junior staff. A successful candidate has demonstrated experience managing research projects and assigning and supervising tasks.

The position will report to the Faculty Director, and will work directly with leading social policy researchers at UC and beyond, state and local government agency staff, and CPL’s leadership team. Researcher job title and campus title will be based on experience and qualifications.

Salary Range $100,000 - $150,000

Preferred qualifications
● Record of independent research, including leading research design and analysis and writing for both academic
and policy audiences.
● Experience managing research projects, including supervising and assigning tasks to project staff.
● Experience writing grant proposals, communicating with funders, and managing grant reporting.
● Expertise in labor economics.
● Experience working with large and complex datasets, including administrative datasets.
● Knowledge of data management systems, practices, and standards.
● Ability to work discreetly with sensitive and confidential data.
● Strong interpersonal and communication skills and ability to work both independently and as a team member.
● Strong organizational skills and attention to detail and ability to multi-task with demanding timeframes.
● Experience collaborating with government agency partners.