Washington State Institute for Public Policy Profile
The Washington State Institute for Public Policy (WSIPP) is a nonpartisan public research group located in Olympia, the hub of Washington State government. WSIPP is a team of multidisciplinary researchers who conduct applied policy research for the state legislature in a creative and collaborative environment.

WSIPP is strongly committed to the core values of nonpartisanship, quality, and impartiality. Created in 1983, WSIPP has become nationally and internationally recognized for the design, depth, and quality of its research reports and benefit-cost analyses.

WSIPP conducts research at the direction of the state legislature or its Board of Directors. Research areas include public health, criminal justice, early learning, K-12 education, higher education, child welfare, behavioral health, and health care.

Research Associate IIs conduct research on public policy topics. The work primarily involves data analysis, meta-analysis, report writing, and presentations. In addition, Research Associate IIs may assist in or lead the design and implementation of outcome evaluations. The position involves frequent collaboration with WSIPP colleagues and occasional consultation with state legislative members and staff, state agency staff, and external researchers.

This position operates under general direction of WSIPP leadership and various project leads. The ideal candidate will have a broad interest in evidence-based public policy; be a self-starter; be comfortable with ambiguity; possess strong quantitative, communication, project management, and interpersonal skills; and have an eagerness to learn.

The successful candidate for the advertised position will be responsible for the management, manipulation, analysis, and visualization of a variety of large national and state datasets. This position is expected to be flexible and adaptable in supporting more than one of WSIPP’s current assignments and will likely need to pivot as new assignments are received. Current assignment support will likely include the ongoing evaluations of Initiative 502, which legalized recreational marijuana use for adults, and a variety of other projects.

Essential Functions

• Conduct and/or support sophisticated quantitative research, to include analysis of large state and national datasets, outcome evaluations, and meta-analysis as needed.
• Perform data processing and analysis tasks, such as data organization and management, monitoring data quality, developing documentation, applying statistical and/or data science methods, and creating data visualizations.
• Linking and managing multiple large datasets to answer research questions.
• Consult with legislative staff, state agencies, local governments, national experts, and stakeholders.
• Write reports and present findings to the legislature and other technical and lay audiences.

Full job posting here: https://evergreen.peopleadmin.com/postings/2501