Career Opportunity

SFDA Senior Research Analyst (1823-Senior Administrative Analyst)

Recruitment: RTF0141806-01096447X

Published: November 06, 2023

Apply using SmartRecruiters, the City and County of San Francisco's application portal.

About:

Pertinent Recruitment Information:

• This is a Position-Based Test conducted in accordance with CSC Rule 111A.
• Application Opening: November 6, 2023
• Application Deadline: Applicants are encouraged to apply immediately as this recruitment may close at any time, but no earlier than close of business November 17, 2023.

Role description

About the Office: The San Francisco District Attorney's Office (SFDA) is one of the premier law enforcement organizations in the United States. Our mission is to collaborate with the City’s diverse communities and law enforcement agencies to make San Francisco one of the safest cities in America. Our office engages in public education and crime prevention efforts while maintaining the traditional role of investigating, charging, and prosecuting all criminal violations occurring within the City and County of San Francisco. The unparalleled opportunities for challenging, meaningful, and sophisticated work have consistently drawn top candidates to our office over the years.

About the team: As a sub-team within the SFDA’s Policy Team, the Data and Analyst Team is a multidisciplinary group of researchers, crime analysts, and data scientists that leads a range of analytic projects in support of the office’s larger mission and vision. Projects range from partnerships with academic institutions to conduct primary research into issues related to criminal justice reform to internal and external reporting via data dashboards to tactical crime analysis to support community safety initiatives.

About the Position: Under general direction in the Director of Data, Research, and Analytics, the SFDA Senior Research Analyst is responsible for conducting qualitative and quantitative analytical work in support of the SFDA’s policy and research agenda.  Essential duties include but are not limited to:

• Collaborate with internal and external partners to develop, oversee, and implement research and evaluation projects related to key issues in criminal and juvenile justice, such as diversion, pretrial detention, victim services, hate crimes, and other;
• Design and implement complex qualitative and quantitative research projects to support internal operational improvements and policy priorities.
• Assist in development, prepare and present written reports, presentations, and statistical reports, including charts, graphs and other data visualizations to attorneys, criminal and juvenile justice system partners, and City of SF decision-makers;
• Assist development and maintain performance measurement metrics and dashboards for managers and executive staff;
• Study current literature on prosecutorial performance measurement, research methodology, criminology, law enforcement issues, juvenile justice, etc. and make appropriate recommendations for improvements in data-driven prosecution practices;
• Perform related duties and responsibilities as assigned.

How to qualify

Education: Possession of a baccalaureate degree from an accredited college or university; and

Experience: Three (3) years full-time equivalent experience performing professional-level analytical work. Qualifying professional-level analytical work includes analysis, development, administration, and reporting in major programs and functions of an organization in the areas of budgets, contracts, grants, policy, or other functional areas related to the duties of positions in the 182X Class series.

Substitution: Possession of a graduate degree (Master's degree or higher) from an accredited college or university with major coursework in specialized subject matter areas such as public or business administration, management, business law, contract law, public policy, urban studies, economics, statistical analysis, finance, accounting or other fields of study closely related to the essential functions of positions in the Class series may be substituted for one (1) year of required experience.

Additional experience as described above may be substituted for the required degree on a year-for-year basis (up to a maximum of 2 years). Thirty (30) semester units or forty-five (45) quarter units equal one year.

Applicants must meet the above minimum qualification requirement by the final filing date unless otherwise noted.

Desirable Qualifications: The stated desirable qualifications may be used to identify candidates advancing to the interview process and/or to identify job finalist(s) at the end of the selection process when referred for hiring.

• Experience with data management and analysis using Microsoft Excel, SQL, R, STATA, SPSS, or similar programs; ability to manipulate large data sets (100,000+ rows).
• An understanding of how to design meaningful data visualizations and clearly present analytical results using Excel, Power BI, Tableau, or similar software.
• Ability to identify, research, and gather relevant information from a variety qualitative, quantitative, and text-based sources; read and interpret complex written materials; analyze and evaluate data, procedures, interrelated processes, and other information; formulate conclusions and/or alternatives and develop effective recommendations.
• Skill to prepare and present written reports, memos, presentations, and detailed statistical reports, including charts, graphs, and exhibits to trial attorneys, law enforcement partners, and decision-makers.
• Organizational ability to manage multiple projects, meet deadlines and expectations, and weigh resources and time bandwidth of current and upcoming responsibilities.
• Comfort with working both independently and as part of team.
• Ability to build relationships and work collaboratively with internal and external partners including law enforcement professionals and decision-makers.
• Strong interpersonal and communication skills, specifically the ability to communicate technical concepts to a non-technical audience.

Condition of Employment: Security Clearance. Candidates for employment with the District Attorney’s Office are required to undergo a background investigation to determine suitability for employment in the classification and Office. Failure to maintain security clearance may be the basis for termination from employment with the District Attorney’s Office.

Selection Procedure:

Written Core Examination: (Weight: 100%)

Candidates meeting the Minimum Qualifications will be invited to participate in the online Administrative Analyst Core Exam. Candidates will be sent a web link via email that will allow them to take the online Administrative Analyst Core Exam that is designed to measure knowledge, skills, and/or abilities in job-related areas which have been identified as critical for positions in the Administrative Analyst classification.

This computer-administered test can be taken at home or at a time and location of one’s convenience, but only within the time period specified on the test notification. Candidates must have access to a computer and reliable internet connection to participate in this exam.

Score Banking:

Scores attained on the Administrative Analyst Core Exam will be “banked” for three years, starting from the date of the examination. This means that, during this three-year time period, candidates need not take this test again. Rather, if another announcement you applied to and are deemed qualified for requires the Administrative Analyst Core Exam and is held within one year of your Administrative Analyst Core Exam date, your score will be automatically applied to that announcement. However, after one year, a candidate has the option to either (a) apply their test score to the other announcement or (b) re-take the test. Re-testing is permitted no sooner than one year from the date of the test and only in association with a candidate’s eligibility for another announcement to which the candidate has applied and is deemed qualified. If a candidate opts to re-test, the re-test score becomes the candidate’s official score since it is the most recent.

If a significant modification is made to this exam in the future, the application of “banked” scores may no longer be appropriate. In such a rare circumstance, candidates with “banked” scores would be required to re-take the exam sooner than the three-year period specified above should they apply to another job opportunity where the modified exam is used.

Eligible List/Score Report:

A confidential eligible list of applicant names that have passed the civil service examination process will be created and used for certification purposes only. An examination score report will be established, so applicants can view the ranks, final scores and number of eligible candidates. Applicant information, including names of applicants on the eligible list, shall not be made public unless required by law. However, an eligible list shall be made available for public inspection, upon request, once the eligible list is exhausted or expired and referrals resolved. The eligible list/score report resulting from this civil service examination process is subject to change after adoption (e.g., as a result of appeals), as directed by the Human Resources Director or the Civil Service Commission.

The duration of the eligible list resulting from this examination process will be twelve (12) months and may be extended with the approval of the Human Resources Director.

Certification: The certification rule for the eligible list resulting from this examination will be Rule of Ten Scores. Additional selection processes may be conducted by the hiring department prior to making final hiring decisions.

All your information will be kept confidential according to EEO guidelines.

What else should I know?

Terms of Announcement:

Applicants must be guided solely by the provisions of this announcement, including requirements, time periods and other particulars, except when superseded by federal, state or local laws, rules or regulations. Clerical errors may be corrected by posting the correction on the Department of Human Resources website.

The terms of this announcement may be appealed under Civil Service Rule 111A.35.1. The standard for the review of such appeals is ‘abuse of discretion’ or ‘no rational basis’ for establishing the position description, the minimum qualifications and/or the certification rule. Appeals must include a written statement of the item(s) being contested and the specific reason(s) why the cited item(s) constitute(s) abuse of discretion by the Human Resources Director. Appeals must be submitted directly to the Executive Officer of the Civil Service Commission within five business days of the announcement issuance date.

Additional Information Regarding Employment with the City and County of San Francisco:

• Information About The Hiring Process
• Conviction History
• Employee Benefits Overview 
• Disaster Service Worker
• ADA Accommodation
• Veterans Preference
• Seniority Credit in Promotional Exams
• Right to Work
• Copies of Application Documents

The City and County of San Francisco encourages women, minorities and persons with disabilities to apply. Applicants will be considered regardless of their sex, race, age, religion, color, national origin, ancestry, physical disability, mental disability, medical condition (associated with cancer, a history of cancer, or genetic characteristics), HIV/AIDS status, genetic information, marital status, sexual orientation, gender, gender identity, gender expression, military and veteran status, or other protected category under the law.

The City and County of San Francisco encourages women, minorities and persons with disabilities to apply. Applicants will be considered regardless of their sex, race, age, religion, color, national origin, ancestry, physical disability, mental disability, medical condition (associated with cancer, a history of cancer, or genetic characteristics), HIV/AIDS status, genetic information, marital status, sexual orientation, gender, gender identity, gender expression, military and veteran status, or other protected category under the law.