Data Analyst

Job Title

The Houston-Galveston Area Council is one of the largest regional planning commissions in the country with a diverse service area of 13 counties and more than 7 million people. We are the pulse of our region addressing issues that cross city limits and county lines every single day.

We make decisions that affect our transportation system, ensure the safety and well-being of our seniors, connect people to jobs, help families recover from natural disasters, preserve water quality for our children, and so much more. We work to make the region a great place to live, work, and thrive.

Job Duties

• Support regional planning efforts through advanced land use modeling, data analysis, and forecasting.
• Apply strong analytical and programming skills to evaluate demographic, economic, and geographic trends that inform long-term planning in transportation, land use, environmental sustainability, and economic development.
• Apply advanced knowledge in economics, statistics, and data science to develop forecasting models and simulations that guide policy and project development.
• Manage and analyze large datasets, build scenario-based models, and communicate findings through technical reports and visualizations, demonstrating excellent written and verbal communication skills.
• Develop and maintain land use forecasting models using SAS and Python, incorporating time-series and spatial analysis techniques to support scenario planning.
• Conduct simulations to evaluate future land use patterns based on socioeconomic trends and policy drivers.
• Collect, clean, and validate demographic, economic, and geographic data from public and private sources.
• Ensure transparency and reproducibility by maintaining data dictionaries and process documentation.
• Perform quality assurance checks to ensure accuracy of datasets and models, produce technical outputs such as reports and dashboards, and support internal and external stakeholders in interpreting model results.
• Respond to data requests related to population, employment, and land use from local governments, research institutions, consultants, and the public, and serve as the primary contact for external data inquiries.
• Present technical concepts clearly to non-technical audience.

Key Qualifications

Do you have...

• Minimum Education Requirement: Bachelor's degree in Urban Planning, Economics, Mathematics, Statistics, Data Science, or a related field.
• Minimum Experience Requirement: 36 months of experience developing forecasting models, conducting statistical and spatial analysis, and managing complex datasets, including experience applying proficiency in SAS, and experience in land use modeling, simulation, or scenario analysis.