Data and Policy Analyst - Education Funding Equity Initiative

New America is seeking a Data and Policy Analyst to join the Education Funding Equity Initiative. We believe that it is critical for advocates, policymakers, and thought leaders to understand the harms created by current school funding policies, and for them to be equipped with the data and policy knowledge necessary to push for improved systems that support the provision of equitable education in diverse schools. The Data and Policy Analyst will work alongside the Project Director to formulate and execute analytical projects, interpret and communicate findings, maintain and update existing publications and data products, and communicate and engage with advocacy and academic communities working on school finance reform. This position will report to the Project Director of the Education Funding Equity Initiative.

A successful candidate will be collegial and collaborative. As the sole data-focused person on the team, they must be able to work with non-technical colleagues to translate policy and research questions into data project plans. This person will understand how to use data to communicate about important social and policy problems. Technical skills and moderate knowledge of programming languages are required. Some experience with policy analysis, especially related to education, housing, or taxation, or public finance, is also important for success in this role.

New America is a nonprofit, nonpartisan public policy institute that invests in new thinkers and ideas to address the next generation of challenges facing the United States. The Education Policy Program uses original research and policy analysis to solve the nation’s critical education problems, serving as a trusted source of objective analysis and innovative ideas for policymakers, educators, and the public at large.

Responsibilities:

• Collect, maintain, and analyze data and information related to issues of education funding equity, including public education data, housing data, census data, public finance data, and other open source data
• Implement techniques for quality data collection to ensure adequacy, accuracy, and legitimacy of data
• Create and execute plans for data-analytical projects focused on education funding equity
• Create compelling written and visual presentations of research findings, including maps, charts, and graphs that make data more accessible, understandable, and usable
• Maintain and update existing interactive data products and visualization tools
• Synthesize existing academic research and policy analysis through authoring literature reviews and policy scans.
• Work to develop a moderate level of subject-matter expertise in school finance
• Monitor current events and research developments in school finance to be conversant in the issues
• Perform other duties as assigned

Required Qualifications and Skills:

• Strong analytical skills, with the ability to collect, organize, analyze, and disseminate significant amounts of information with attention to detail and accuracy
• Comfort with the process of extracting, loading, cleaning, analyzing, and reporting data
• Familiarity with modern databases and cloud infrastructure.
• Experience managing and manipulating large data sets, with adherence to standard data management principles such as data quality and/or profiling and data governance
• Moderate experience with scripting languages (e.g. R, Python) 
• Experience with or exposure to spatial analysis, econometrics, or causal inference methods
• Experience employing data and analysis to answer research questions and support public policy recommendations
• Experience communicating findings and analyses through writing and data visualization
• Ability to engage with academic research in education policy, economics, and related social sciences 
• Interest in policy issues related to education equity
• Ability to work independently in a hybrid work setting, effectively managing time and communicating activities to a team or supervisor
• A bachelor’s degree in data science, political science, education, economics, or another related field
• At least 2 years of professional experience or masters/doctoral degree in relevant field 

     Bonus Qualifications:

• Experience working with government data sources
• Professional experience with policy issues related to education equity
• Experience with data journalism and associated tools (e.g. Datawrapper, Tableau, Mapbox, Looker)
• Experience with or knowledge of housing policy
• Master of Public Policy degree or similar academic preparation of the role

Location: It is preferred that this position be based in New America’s Washington, DC office on a hybrid basis, with expected office attendance at least two days per week. For especially well-qualified candidates, fully remote arrangements will be considered.   

Compensation and Benefits:  This position is a full-time role with benefits. The annual salary will be between $70,000.00 – $95,000.00 , depending on experience.

New America offers a highly competitive benefits package that includes health care, dental, and vision coverage; a generous retirement plan; paid time off; observes all federal holidays; and an office-wide closure between Christmas and New Year’s Day.

Application Process:

To apply, please submit a resume and cover letter. Applications will be reviewed on a rolling basis, so early submissions are recommended. For those invited to proceed, the selection process will include both interviews and a performance task.

Start Date: The start date for this position is on or about July 1, 2026

No phone calls or emails will be answered

Physical Environment:

• This position is hybrid, working from home and in an office environment and sits at a desk for extended periods of time and requires dexterity to operate general office equipment;
• The person in this position will frequently communicate with peers, management, company partners/vendors, and the general public and must be able to exchange accurate and timely information verbally and in writing and
• This position may require walking, bending, kneeling, and standing and will require sitting for extended periods of time.

Work Environment:

• The work environment is in an indoor office environment. This role routinely uses standard office equipment such as computers, phones, photocopiers, and filing cabinets

Originality and Transparency:  At New America, we value authentic voices and intellectual property rights. All application materials, including, cover letters, writing samples, and any other submissions, must be solely your own original work. The use of AI text generation tools like ChatGPT, language models, or other artificial intelligence writing assistants is strictly prohibited for any part of your job application. Submissions found to contain AI-generated content will be immediately disqualified from consideration. Applicants have a responsibility to be fully transparent about authorship and any tools or resources utilized. We celebrate human ingenuity and want to hear your genuine thoughts and experiences

New America is an equal-opportunity employer committed to hiring a diverse workforce at all levels of the organization thereby creating a culture that allows us to better serve our clientele, our employees, and our communities. We value and encourage the contributions of our employees and strive to create an environment where everyone can reach their full potential and drive outstanding results. All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, national origin, age, sex, religion, disability, sexual orientation, marital status, veteran status, gender identity or expression, or any other basis protected by local, state, or federal law. This policy applies with regard to all aspects of one’s employment, including hiring, transfer, promotion, compensation, eligibility for benefits, and termination.  This is a bargaining unit position.