JOB SUMMARY: Applies demonstrated knowledge in demographic, economic, and other complex datasets to support agency activities including socioeconomic forecasting and modeling, land use monitoring, and routine community data and performance indicator tracking and reporting. Leads medium- to large-scale projects. Work is performed under the limited supervision from the Principal.

ESSENTIAL FUNCTIONS:

• Oversees development and maintenance of tools, techniques, and inventories utilized in agency long-range socioeconomic forecasting efforts, including regional demographic and economic projections as well as disaggregated projections at a localized scale using the UrbanSim land use model.
• Manages the Community Data Snapshots (CDS) project, which summarizes and communicates select demographic, economic, housing and transportation datasets at local geographies for municipal and neighborhood partners.
• Aids in data development projects which support agency socioeconomic forecast and modeling activities, including but not limited to: land use and development monitoring, employment estimation, and U.S. Census operations and products.
• Maintains CMAP’s role as a Census State Data Center (SDC) coordinating agency, serving as primary contact/liaison with state lead agency.
• Coordinates agency efforts to support the SDC program in the areas of municipal outreach, new geography delineation, data dissemination, and public promotion of Census activities.
• Conducts or leads complex analyses and investigations using GIS, scripting, statistical analysis, and other innovative techniques related to large urban datasets to inform internal and external decisions.
• Conducts advanced work to automate the production of data tables, maps, graphs, and other business intelligence products for a variety of audiences.
• Writes technical reports on demographic trends and projections for public consumption.
• Attends internal department meetings and internal and external committee meetings, outreach events, and workshops as assigned.
• Participates in other project teams as needed.

NON-ESSENTIAL FUNCTIONS:
Attends internal department meetings and internal and external committee meetings, outreach events, and workshops as assigned.

EDUCATION AND EXPERIENCE REQUIRED (an equivalent amount of training, education and experience will be considered)

Required: A Bachelor’s degree in Demography, Economics, Social Science, Data Science, Statistics, Urban Planning, or a related discipline; exposure to and experience with data collection, large urban datasets, research, and quantitative analysis, through coursework, internships and/or professional experience; a minimum of three years of professional experience.
Preferred: A Master’s degree or a PhD in Demography, Economics, Social Science, Data Science, Statistics, Urban Planning, or a related discipline; a minimum of one year of professional experience.

KNOWLEDGE, SKILLS, AND ABILITIES including competencies that may be representative but not all-inclusive of those commonly associated with this position.

• Excellent ability to perform data processing, analytical tasks, and data visualization on large urban datasets using Esri ArcGIS, QGIS, Python, R, SQL, and/or other scripting tools.
• A sound understanding of demographic techniques (including cohort-component methods) and employment estimation concepts (e.g., Quarterly Census of Employment and Wages, NAICS classifications).
• Comprehensive knowledge of U.S. Census Bureau products and programs as well as other demographic data sources.
• Excellent skills in principles of research, data collection and analysis, and preparation of technical reports.
• Excellent ability to communicate technical information clearly and effectively to external and internal audiences orally, in writing, in data visualizations, and in presentations.
• Demonstrated ability to lead complex projects and work as part of a team is required.
• Sound proficiency in business technology, including communication and collaboration tools used in remote work environment (Teams, Zoom, etc.)

DESIRED QUALIFICATIONS:

• Three years of professional experience analyzing and presenting demographic data.
• Highly proficient programming skills.
• Expert level knowledge of one or more statistical or geospatial software programs such as: R, Python, ArcGIS, ArcGIS Pro, ArcGIS Online or QGIS, and the ability to use the software independently to develop tools and devise methods and processes to resolve complex issues.
• Demonstrated project management experience seeking continuous improvement.
• Proficiency with Microsoft Word, Excel, and PowerPoint.
• Excellent graphics, technical writing, and general writing skills including thorough documentation of all work products.

WORK ENVIRONMENT (environmental and atmospheric conditions commonly associated with the performance of the functions of this job.)
Work is typically performed in cubicles in an office environment, or remotely under limited supervision.

The Program in Health Disparities (PriHD) Research at the Sheps Center is in need of a predoc trainee. The goal of this PriHD Predoctoral Trainee Position at the Sheps Center is to offer research and research skill-building opportunities for one student with an interest in health disparities research. The student would participate in tasks related to our Interdisciplinary Seminar in Health Disparities: Healthcare Delivery in the Age of COVID-19 seminar series over the course of a 10 to 13-week spring semester. The position offers a monthly salary.

This skill-building research experience will be under the guidance of Dr. Cene and her PriHD staff working with a focus on disparities faced by home health workers as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Our main objective is to develop a grant proposal with the following aims:

• Profile and/or describe the demographics, tasks, patient condition, and resources and supports of home health workers in NC
• Understand spatial characteristics of COVID-19 and spread in NC
• Understanding the COVID-19-related impact to the home health workforce in NC

General list of duties:

• Support the grant writing process through conducting literature searches and annotating bibliographies, drafting sections of the research proposal, compiling bio sketches and other documents needed to support the proposal
• Assist with identifying funding opportunities
• Coordinating and scheduling meetings with research team members and attending meetings and taking minutes
• Other duties as assigned by the PriHD Research team

Position availability: There is 1 position available that includes a small stipend paid in monthly installments. No tuition remission will be provided.

Eligible students must meet the following criteria:

• Be enrolled as a doctoral candidate at a college or university in the United States
• Be seriously considering an academic research career focused on health disparities

How to apply
Interested students may reach out via email (healthdisparities@email.unc.edu) with a brief introduction, their CV or resume, and availability (hours per week for example) by February 23rd 2021.