Project Policy Analyst

PROJECT POLICY ANL 2 (007397)

UCPath Position ID: 40968393

Position Description History/Status

Approved Date:

6/11/2025 8:28:20 PM

Date Last Edited:

6/11/2025 8:28:01 PM

Last Action Effective Date:

Organization Details

Business Unit (Location):

LACMP

Organization Code:

1140O

Organization:

SCHOOL OF LAW

Division Code:

1141D

Division:

LAW DIV

Department:

025000 - LAW

Position Details

UCPath Position Number:

40968393

Position Description ID

172581

UC Payroll Title:

PROJECT POLICY ANL 2 (007397)

Personnel Program

Professional and Support Staff (PSS)

Salary Grade:

Grade 19

Job Code FLSA:

Non-Exempt

Union Code (Collective Bargaining Unit):

99: Non-Represented (PPSM)

Employee Relations Code:

E: All Others - Not Confidential

Employee Class (Appt Type):

1 - Staff: Contract

Full-Time Equivalent (FTE)

1

SUPERVISION

UCPath Reports to Position Number:

40082290

Reports to Payroll Title:

Project Policy Anl 3

UCPath Department Head Position Number:

40040696

Department Head Payroll Title:

Dean

GENERAL SUPERVISION - Indicates that the incumbent develops procedures for performance of variety of duties; or performs complex duties within established policy guidelines.

POSITION SUMMARY

The Project seeks a Research Analyst to join our interdisciplinary team of data scientists and policy researchers. Tasks will involve collaboratively advancing our research through data management (data collection, data cleaning, database management) and research support (IRB management, literature reviews, contributing to grant and academic articles with the research team, and research meeting coordination).

The Behind Bars Data Project gathers, standardizes, publishes, and analyzes open-source data on health conditions in U.S. carceral facilities. The foundation of our work is the Project’s carceral mortality database, a comprehensive, public accounting of the most basic facts about mortality behind bars: how many and which people died in carceral facilities in recent years. Beginning in 2019—just before prisons and jails across the country became the epicenters of COVID outbreaks—the federal government effectively ceased its publication, and much of its collection, of carceral mortality data. This reporting failure seriously impedes the public’s ability to know who is dying in prison and why, what racial disparities exist in mortality outcomes, and ultimately what can be done to reduce preventable deaths and hold officials accountable. The Behind Bars Data Project launched in March 2020 (as the COVID Behind Bars Data Project) and was the leading data resource for understanding COVID in prisons. In February 2023, the Project received funding from Arnold Ventures and other sources to transition to a focus on all-cause mortality. The Project’s current research agenda includes national- and state-level demography of mortality in prisons and jails and case studies on facility-level prison conditions that may drive mortality.

We are a small team and work collaboratively, albeit largely remotely. The work we produce is intended for both technical and broader public audiences. Examples include the following:

• Nationwide database of deaths in custody, housed on GitHub

• Published research in public health journals (e.g., JAMA, AJPM, Health Affairs)

• Blog posts and white papers on data trends, policies, and current events

• Reporting coverage drawing attention to urgent issues (New York Times)

• Testimony and other advocacy for local, state, and federal policymakers

Data Responsibilities

1. Processing requests for public records and extracting and compiling data from carceral facilities, including state and federal prisons, county and city jails, immigration detention centers, and juvenile detention centers.

2. Cleaning and standardizing data using R to create master datasets for analysis by the team and collaborators.

3. Developing and reviewing reproducible code from team members and maintaining codebases and datasets on GitHub.

50%

Research Responsibilities

1. Drafting IRB submissions and responses to reviewers.

2. Compiling literature reviews on U.S. carceral mortality, carceral health conditions, and related topics.

3. Collaboratively drafting research reports and blog posts containing high-level findings.

4. Conducting basic quantitative data analysis using statistical software (preferably R).

5. Assisting senior-level staff in communications with technical and nontechnical stakeholders involved in research, policy, and organizing related to carceral health issues.

6. Coordinating research and Advisory Board calls and taking notes as needed.

7. Creating data visualizations for reports, presentations, blogs, and publications using R and Figma.

50%

0%

•

Performs other duties as assigned.

•

Complies with all policies and standards.

•

Complies with the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) Principles of Community.

•

This position description is not intended to be a complete list of all responsibilities, duties or skills required for the job and is subject to review and change at any time, with or without notice, in accordance with the needs of the organization.

QUALIFICATIONS

Bachelor's Degree

Required

Or

Bachelor's Degree

in STEM field, or significant undergraduate research experience involving data analysis and dataset production.

Preferred

Experience

in working with diverse collaborators with varying levels of data literacy.

Required

Proficient

in R or another programming language to manipulate data and draw insights from large, complex datasets.

Required

1-2 years

work experience (or the equivalent in internships and/or practicums) in research, including data analysis and dataset production.

Preferred

Prior

experience building or maintaining productionized ETL pipelines in R or Python.

Preferred

Prior

experience working with diverse collaborators with varying levels of data literacy.

Required

Familiarity with git/GitHub or another version control system.

Required

Familiarity with or interest in public health and criminal justice research

Required

Outstanding judgment, attention to detail, and written and oral communication skills.

Required

Experience with web-scraping and using OCR to convert data from unstructured sources to a machine-readable format.

Preferred

Experience creating impactful data visualizations for social media and reports.

Preferred

Lived experience with and/or knowledge of the criminal legal system.

Preferred

Experience with conducting literature reviews and drafting materials for peer review.

Required

SPECIAL REQUIREMENTS AND/OR CONDITIONS OF EMPLOYMENT

Background Check: Continued employment is contingent upon the completion of a satisfactory background investigation.

Age Requirement: Candidate(s) must be 18 years or older to be eligible to be hired.

LOCATION AND PHYSICAL, ENVIRONMENTAL, MENTAL (PEM) REQUIREMENTS

Environment and Work Location Information

Environment Type:

Non-Clinical Setting

Location Setting:

Campus

Location:

Standing/Walking

X

Sitting

X

X

Bending/Stooping

X

Squatting/Kneeling

X

Climbing

X

Lifting/Carrying/Push/Pull 0-25 lbs

X

X

Lifting/Carrying/Push/Pull 26-50 lbs

X

Lifting/Carrying/Push/Pull over 50 lbs

X

Physical requirements other

X

Chemicals, dust, gases, or fumes

X

Loud noise levels

X

Marked changes in humidity or temperature

X

Microwave/Radiation

X

Operating motor vehicles and/or equipment

X

Exposures other

X

Sustained attention and concentration

X

X

Complex problem solving/reasoning

X

X

Ability to organize & prioritize

X

X

Communication skills

X

X

Numerical skills

X

X

Mental demands other

X

X

Classification 3:  Position in which exposure to blood, body fluids or tissues is not part of the position description. The normal routine task involves no exposure to blood, body fluids or tissues and the employee can decline to perform tasks which involve a perceived risk without retribution.