Senior Data Scientist

Senior Data Scientist

The NYC Department of Consumer and Worker Protection (DCWP) protects and enhances the daily economic lives of New Yorkers to create thriving communities. DCWP licenses nearly 45,000 businesses in more than 40 industries and enforces key consumer protection and workplace laws that apply to countless more. By supporting businesses through equitable enforcement and access to resources, DCWP protects the marketplace from predatory practices and strives to create a culture of compliance. DCWP empowers consumers and working families by providing the tools and resources they need to achieve financial health and work-life balance. DCWP also conducts research and advocates for public policy that furthers its work to support New York City's communities.

The Research and Analytics Division (RAD) is DCWP's in-house data team, and one of the first municipal offices of its kind in the country. Data scientists, technologists, engineers, product managers, and PhD economists work directly with the agency's attorneys and investigators to speed up investigations and win relief for consumers and workers. RAD also supports the agency's research, policy analysis, public reporting, and internal operational analysis. DCWP's data scientists and economists helped pioneer the Minimum Pay Rate for delivery workers, which has resulted in over $2 billion in additional pay. RAD will grow to 36 staff by FY28. It's hiring now, and it's moving fast.

The Senior Data Scientist will be a key member of RAD's Operations Analytics team, which plays a critical role in providing timely and accurate operations data to stakeholders in order to comply with public reporting needs, increase the agency's transparency, and provide direct informational support to our decision makers as they shape DCWP's policies, practices, and procedures. The unit coordinates collaboration on quality improvement initiatives, designs and implements performance management systems and tools, and recommends new analyses and analytic projects to improve agency outcomes.

DCWP is seeking for this position a highly skilled data scientist with a strong background in assessing data quality, a track record of applying appropriate analytical techniques to solve complex organizational and operational challenges, and an entrepreneurial spirit with the ability to think outside the box to design and implement novel solutions. Reporting to the Manager of Data Analytics and Reporting, the selected candidate will be responsible for spearheading analytic, innovation, and reporting efforts across the agency.

What you'll do:

• Report to the Manager of Data Analytics and Reporting, taking a lead role in the development and implementation of analytic, policy, and planning strategies to achieve agency-wide goals.
• Assume a leading role in the production of the Mayor's Management Report, ensuring timely reporting and relevant indicators; manage, maintain and develop new mayoral indicators.
• Assume a leading role in the development and implementation of DCWP's data governance policy.
• Work with agency subject matter experts and the Division of Technology and Strategic Solutions (DoTSS) to ensure agency IT systems use data structures and support downstream reporting capabilities.
• Exercise broad discretion in the conduct of routine data and statistical analysis designed to enhance understanding of agency operations and to support consumer and worker protection and financial empowerment objectives.
• Utilize internal and web-based GIS tools and other geo-spatial data to evaluate the impact and efficacy of DCWP's outreach and enforcement activities across a broad array of geographic and demographic sectors.
• Provide research support for special initiatives and projects.
• Coordinate with External Affairs and Communications divisions in the provision of agency data to the press, elected officials, and other interested parties.
• Consult on data sharing projects between DCWP and other governmental and non-governmental entities.
• Utilize self-authored SQL to support the agency's reporting team on an as-needed basis, analyzing and summarizing large datasets extracted directly from DCWP's reporting databases.
• Collaborate on the design, development, and implementation of public-facing web-based tools designed to enhance agency transparency.

Minimum Qualifications

1. For Assignment Level I (only physical, biological and environmental sciences and public health) A master's degree from an accredited college or university with a specialization in an appropriate field of physical, biological or environmental science or in public health. To be appointed to Assignment Level II and above, candidates must have:

• 1. A doctorate degree from an accredited college or university with specialization in an appropriate field of physical, biological, environmental or social science and one year of full-time experience in a responsible supervisory, administrative or research capacity in the appropriate field of specialization; or
• 2. A master's degree from an accredited college or university with specialization in an appropriate field of physical, biological, environmental or social science and three years of responsible full-time research experience in the appropriate field of specialization; or
• 3. Education and/or experience which is equivalent to "1" or "2" above. However, all candidates must have at least a master's degree in an appropriate field of specialization and at least two years of experience described in "2" above. Two years as a City Research Scientist Level I can be substituted for the experience required in "1" and "2" above.

NOTE: Probationary Period Appointments to this position are subject to a minimum probationary period of one year.

Preferred Skills

- Proficiency with a wide variety of analytic and business intelligence tools, such as IBM Cognos, Tableau, Power BI, advanced Excel (e.g. VBA Macros), and others

- Proficiency with statistical software packages (R, SAS, SPSS, STATA)

- Proficiency in writing SQL queries, Stored Procedures, and Optimizations in Microsoft SQL Server

- Strong organizational and project management skills detail oriented with the ability to multi-task and work both independently and as part of a team

- Excellent quantitative and problem-solving skills. Demonstrated commitment to data-driven decision making

- Superior written and oral communication skills and demonstrated ability to communicate effectively in public forums and to executive audiences

- Ability to manage multiple ad-hoc intake requests and long-term projects simultaneously

- Ability to improve data quality by identifying and resolving data quality issues

- Familiarity with Object Oriented Programming (OOPS) a plus

- Intermediate knowledge of GIS tools including Esri GIS products, CartoDB, and Leaflet (JavaScript) a plus

Public Service Loan Forgiveness

As a prospective employee of the City of New York, you may be eligible for federal loan forgiveness programs and state repayment assistance programs. For more information, please visit the U.S. Department of Education's website at

Residency Requirement

New York City residency is generally required within 90 days of appointment. However, City Employees in certain titles who have worked for the City for 2 continuous years may also be eligible to reside in Nassau, Suffolk, Putnam, Westchester, Rockland, or Orange County. To determine if the residency requirement applies to you, please discuss with the agency representative at the time of interview.

Additional Information

The City of New York is an inclusive equal opportunity employer committed to recruiting and retaining a diverse workforce and providing a work environment that is free from discrimination and harassment based upon any legally protected status or protected characteristic, including but not limited to an individual's sex, race, color, ethnicity, national origin, age, religion, disability, sexual orientation, veteran status, gender identity, or pregnancy.