Job Opportunities

The NYU Furman Center is a joint center of the New York University School of Law and Robert F. Wagner Graduate School of Public Service that advances research and debate on housing, neighborhoods, and urban policy.

We are now hiring for the following positions (see full descriptions below):

1. Data Management Associate (accepting applications on a rolling basis)

2. External Affairs Manager (accepting applications on a rolling basis)

3. Legal Fellow (accepting applications on a rolling basis)

4. Graduate Student Researcher: Data Analyst  (accepting applications on a rolling basis)

5. Graduate Student Researcher: Policy and Communications (accepting applications on a rolling basis)

6. Legal Student Research Assistants (accepting applications on a rolling basis)

 

1. Data Management Associate

The NYU Furman Center seeks a Data Management Associate with strong data management and organizational skills to support the ambitious and diverse data work occurring across the Furman Center. The Associate will be a member of the data team, which is responsible for cleaning, organizing, maintaining, and sharing data that is relevant to the work and mission of the NYU Furman Center. In addition to daily operations and administrative tasks, this work includes responding to data requests from a wide range of stakeholders, including: the research community; media; elected officials; policymakers; and government agencies. The successful applicant will be an entrepreneurial, collaborative, solutions-oriented, and mission-driven individual who is as comfortable with cleaning, organizing, and maintaining data as they are creating technical documentation and navigating data agreements with private and government partners.

The Data Management Associate will report directly to the Furman Center Data Manager and will work with a dynamic and interdisciplinary team of lawyers, economists, urban planners, and policy and data analysts. They will help develop and maintain high-quality datasets and technical toolkits that will preserve and curate the Center’s institutional knowledge about a wide range of data sets about housing, zoning, real estate, health, education, and other urban policy focused issues.

Key responsibilities include:

• Participate in a range of data management activities, including:
  • Assemble, update, and maintain datasets that support research projects related to housing, land use, and neighborhood conditions.
  • Build tools to organize guides, documentation, and code at the NYU Furman Center and its Housing Solutions Lab.
  • Assist researchers with research tasks, including responding to technical questions and needs.
  • Work with NYU Furman Center staff and affiliates to develop and improve the data products produced by the Furman Center and its Housing Solutions Lab, prioritizing responsiveness and usefulness for a variety of audiences.
  • Work with project teams to draft data and code documentation, as well as guides that maintain institutional knowledge.
• Under the guidance of the Data Manager, assist with updates to flagship NYU Furman Center web-based tools, such as the State of New York City’s Housing and Neighborhoods, the Center’s annual neighborhood indicators report, and CoreData.nyc, a map of affordable housing developments in New York City.
• Manage both new and existing data use agreements, data storage security plans, and NYU Furman Center data products (for example, CoreData.nyc) with external vendors.
• Support the development of graduate student researchers and data-focused undergraduate office assistants with training, close collaboration, and supervision.

Minimum qualifications: A bachelor’s degree in policy, urban studies, statistics, or a related field, with at least one year of quantitative analysis experience and/or administrative experience (including research assistantship and internship). The ideal candidate will have a strong interest in ground-level data work, such as manual data cleaning, as a pathway to understanding cities, housing, and land use. The candidate should have basic work knowledge of R (Tidyverse). The ideal candidate will have the ability to multitask, respond to shifting priorities, and meet strict deadlines. They will be comfortable working both independently and collaboratively and have a willingness to take initiative, coupled with strong organizational skills and attention to detail.

Preferred qualifications: An advanced degree in public policy/administration, urban planning, economics, applied statistics, data science, or a related field. Familiarity with administrative data, especially land use and housing data sets. Additional technical experience in relational databases (SQL, AWS-RDS), geospatial data management and analysis (R, Python, QGIS, ArcGIS, PostGIS), or version control and collaboration with Git/GitHub. Knowledge about data ethics is a plus.

Benefits and Terms of Employment:

The position comes with a salary and a generous array of benefits, which include medical, dental, and vision. Further information regarding benefits can be found at: https://www.nyu.edu/employees/benefit/full-time/professional-research-staff.html.

In compliance with NYC's Pay Transparency Act, the annual base salary range for this position is $55,000 - $80,000. New York University considers factors such as (but not limited to) scope and responsibilities of the position, candidate's work experience, education/training, key skills, internal peer equity, as well as market and organizational considerations when extending an offer.

The NYU Furman Center currently follows a hybrid schedule, with three days per week required in our New York City office. This position is expected to start spring/early summer 2023.

To apply: Applicants should submit a cover letter, resume/CV, writing and/or data visualization sample, names and contact information of three references, and salary requirements. Send application materials and questions to [email protected] Please include “Data Management Associate” in the subject line. Review of applications will begin immediately. Only candidates selected for an interview will be contacted.

2. External Affairs Manager

The NYU Furman Center invites applications for an External Affairs Manager. The External Affairs Manager will lead external relations for the NYU Furman Center, including its Housing Solutions Lab, and will be responsible for developing and implementing a range of strategies to communicate the Center’s research to target audiences. This involves translating, disseminating, and synthesizing research, as well as policy and data analysis for key stakeholders that include policymakers, practitioners, media, and the public. The successful applicant will help lead the Furman Center’s strategic thinking about new directions and modes for disseminating the Center's work.

Key responsibilities include:

Elevating Debate

• Help assemble content and identify/invite participants for policy-relevant panel events
• Determine/assist in public messaging through email communications and social media
• Work with researchers across the center to originate relevant content, including timely analysis of newly-released data, or contextualizing research findings for important policy conversations

Stakeholder Engagement

• Respond to outreach from legislators, advocacy organizations, research organizations, social service providers, and the many other groups who want to interact with our team
• Meet with policymaker staff to discuss research/policy issues
• Organize and host webinars and training sessions on CoreData.nyc and other topics
• Work with the executive director and data team to respond to external requests

Media Relations

• Directly respond to press requests (data/facts and figures)
• Coordinate interviews between members of the press and faculty/staff
• Proactively seek opportunities to engage with members of the press who would report on our research
• Communicate with members of the press about topics of interest, and position the NYU Furman Center as a resource either on- or off-the-record in their work

Management

• Oversee communications-focused Graduate Research Assistants on preparation of presentations, blog posts, social media posts, Housing Starts news digest emails, Housing Solutions Lab monthly newsletter emails, periodic Lab on-line features and calls for applications, and other external content
• Serve as brand steward for the organization, working with other staff to maintain the NYU Furman Center’s website and style guide, and to ensure that all public-facing content meets the organization’s rigorous quality and design standards 
• Work with a graphic designer to manage design aspects of NYU Furman Center research projects, including reports, presentations, data visualizations, and website content

Qualifications: Master’s degree in urban planning, public policy, journalism, or related field, and 2 years work experience in communications, external affairs, public relations, or similar positions, or bachelor’s degree and 5 years relevant work experience, required. The successful applicant will be entrepreneurial and organized, with a mix of housing policy knowledge and excellent problem-solving, project management, and verbal and written communication skills.

The ideal candidate will also have experience with integrated communications planning, particularly media relations; and comfort communicating complex quantitative findings and legal concepts to a diverse audience.  

The position comes with a salary and a generous array of benefits, which include medical, dental, and vision. Further information regarding benefits can be found at: http://www.nyu.edu/employees/benefit/full-time/Professional-Research-Staff-Code-103.html.

In compliance with NYC's Pay Transparency Act, the annual base salary range for this position is $70,000 - $125,000. New York University considers factors such as (but not limited to) scope and responsibilities of the position, candidate's work experience, education/training, key skills, internal peer equity, as well as market and organizational considerations when extending an offer.

To Apply: Applicants should submit a cover letter, resume/CV, a publication sample, names and contact information of three references, and salary requirements. Send application materials and questions to [email protected] Please include “External Affairs Manager” in the subject line. Review of applications will begin immediately. Only candidates selected for an interview will be contacted.

3. Legal Fellow

The NYU Furman Center at New York University invites applications for a post-graduate legal fellowship. The NYU Furman Center, jointly housed at NYU’s School of Law and its Wagner Graduate School of Public Service, is a leading academic research center devoted to the public policy aspects of land use, real estate development, and housing. The Furman Center’s legal fellowships are designed for promising legal scholars with a strong interest in housing, local government, real estate, or land use law.

The Fellow’s time is shared equally between independent research on topics of their choice in preparation to enter the academic job market, and Furman Center research projects, conducted jointly with faculty members, graduate students, and staff.

In recent years, legal fellows have worked on projects addressing the legal impediments to the development of micro and accessory dwelling units in New York and other cities; an empirical and legal analysis of the use of transferable development rights in New York City; the economics of and legal issues surrounding mandatory inclusionary zoning; a number of projects addressing fair housing requirements; and an analysis of exclusionary zoning. The Legal Fellow is invited to participate in faculty workshops, colloquia, and other scholarly forums at the NYU School of Law. 

Qualifications include a J.D. degree, superior academic achievement, excellent writing skills, initiative, and a demonstrated interest in and commitment to scholarship. 

This two-year fellowship would begin in the spring/fall of 2023. In compliance with NYC's Pay Transparency Act, the annual base salary range for this position is $70,000 - $70,000. New York University considers factors such as (but not limited to) scope and responsibilities of the position, candidate's work experience, education/training, key skills, internal peer equity, as well as market and organizational considerations when extending an offer.

To Apply: Applicants should submit a cover letter, curriculum vitae, scholarly writing sample, law school transcript, and the names and contact information of 3 references. Send application materials and questions to [email protected] Please include “Legal Fellow” in the subject line. Applications will be given consideration until the position is filled. Review of applications will begin immediately and will be evaluated on a rolling basis. Only candidates selected for an interview will be contacted. 

4. Graduate Student Researcher: Data Analyst

The NYU Furman Center hires enrolled NYU graduate students to work as graduate researchers on a rolling basis throughout the year. We are currently accepting applications for a data analyst for Summer 2023, including from graduating students.

NYU Furman Center’s mission includes a commitment to train the next generation of urban policy leaders. In furtherance of this commitment, we strive to ensure that graduate students work on projects that help meet their longer-term academic and career goals. Graduate students are an integral part of the NYU Furman Center team and are engaged in all aspects of the Center’s work, including all-team brainstorming sessions, research, and public events. We also plan events throughout the year targeted to our student team, including skill-building sessions, research seminars, and alumni networking opportunities. We strive to ensure that graduate students work on projects that will help to meet their longer-term goals.

At the NYU Furman Center, our work is a reflection of the amazing people that make up our team, and we are committed to fostering a community that values diversity of backgrounds, perspectives, and experiences. All candidates should exhibit an interest in the Center’s research areas (housing, neighborhoods, and urban policy).

Day-to-day activities may include: data cleaning, data documentation, exploratory data analysis, data visualization, mapping and spatial analysis, database management, and general programming.

Qualifications and Skills: Applicants with one or more of the following qualifications are encouraged to apply:

• Data cleaning skills
• Statistical programming: R, Stata, SAS, or similar
• General programming: SQL, Python, or similar
• Data visualization tools (e.g. ggplot/Plotly/matplotlib/Tableau) and fusion tables

Please highlight relevant skills and your degree of proficiency in your resume or cover letter. The strongest applications include samples of prior work or other documentation demonstrating experience or aptitude in these areas. In particular, applicants without programming experience should demonstrate strong quantitative aptitude along with proficiency in general-use data applications (Excel, Access, Salesforce, etc.) or experience in quantitative and/or analytical environments, such as consulting, engineering, or financial management.

Newly-hired graduate researchers must commit 12-20 hours per week during the school year and may work up to 35 hours/week during summer and holiday breaks. At this point, we ask students to work hybrid remote/on-site hours, with at least two-thirds of their hours on-site in our office.  

Performance will be evaluated through informal and formal check-ins with their direct supervisor: either the Data Manager, a Data/Research Analyst, or the Director of Data and Policy.

In compliance with NYC’s Pay Transparency Act, the hourly base salary range for student employment positions are $15 per hour for undergraduate students and $27.50 per hour for graduate students. The hourly rate for graduate employees is based on the collective bargaining agreement with Local 2110.

To Apply: Interested candidates should email the required documents below as attachments to [email protected] with the subject line “Graduate Researcher (Data) Application.” Please also indicate in your application your spring semester availability and when you are available to begin working.

1. Current resume
2. Cover letter
3. Writing sample (1-3 pages)
4. Academic transcripts for undergraduate and past/current graduate degree work (unofficial copies of the transcript are acceptable)
5. Documentation/Code samples/Portfolio of relevant web-based, design, programming, or data work (not required)

5. Graduate Student Researcher: Policy and Communications

The NYU Furman Center hires enrolled NYU graduate students to work as graduate researchers on a rolling basis throughout the year. We are accepting applications for Summer 2023.

NYU Furman Center’s mission includes a commitment to train the next generation of urban policy leaders. In furtherance of this commitment, we strive to ensure that graduate students work on projects that help meet their longer-term academic and career goals. Graduate students are an integral part of the NYU Furman Center team and are engaged in all aspects of the Center’s work, including all-team brainstorming sessions, research, and public events. We also plan events throughout the year targeted to our student team, including skill-building sessions, research seminars, and alumni networking opportunities.  

The NYU Furman Center is also home to the Housing Solutions Lab (Lab), which helps small and midsize cities plan, launch, and evaluate evidence-based local housing policies that advance racial equity; increase access to opportunity; and improve long-term health and wellbeing for residents. In addition to contributing to the NYU Furman Center’s work, graduate student researchers also have the opportunity to work on tasks that advance the Lab’s goals. 

At the NYU Furman Center, our work is a reflection of the amazing people that make up our team, and we are committed to fostering a community that values diversity of backgrounds, perspectives, and experiences. All candidates should exhibit an interest in the Center’s research areas (housing, neighborhoods, and urban policy). 

Day-to-day activities may include: conducting policy scans and literature reviews, reviewing and editing policy documents, developing communications such as blogs, press releases, and social media and email content, assisting with media relations, and planning events. In addition, the role may involve contributing to policy and research activities focused on housing issues in small and midsize cities, which may include monitoring the national policy landscape for issues and trends in cities, drafting policy briefs and presentations, and assisting with preparation and follow up of meetings with networks of city officials.

Qualifications and Skills: Applicants with one or more of the following qualifications are encouraged to apply:

• Research and writing
• Policy tracking and analysis
• Project management and organization
• Event planning and coordination
• Development of communications materials (social media content, blogs,  presentations, fact sheets)
• Mailchimp or other email marketing systems
• PowerPoint and presentation development
• Materials design with Adobe Creative Suite 
• Experience with web/digital marketing analytics (i.e. Google Analytics, Hootsuite, etc.)
• Wordpress (HTML knowledge a plus)

Please highlight relevant skills and your degree of proficiency in your resume or cover letter. The strongest applications include samples of prior work or other documentation demonstrating experience or aptitude in these areas.

Newly-hired graduate researchers must commit 12-20 hours per week during the school year and may work up to 35 hours/week during summer and holiday breaks. We are currently asking students to work at least two-thirds of their hours in-person at our office; students may choose to work the rest of their hours in-person or remotely. 

Performance will be evaluated through informal and formal check-ins with the Director of Data and Policy or another designated full-time staff member of the Furman Center and its Housing Solutions Lab.

In compliance with NYC’s Pay Transparency Act, the hourly base salary range for student employment positions are $15 per hour for undergraduate and Law students and $27.50 per hour for graduate students. The hourly rate for graduate employees is based on the collective bargaining agreement with Local 2110.

To Apply: Interested candidates should email the required documents below as attachments to [email protected] with the subject line “Graduate Researcher Application: Policy and Communications.” Please also indicate in your application your fall availability and when you are available to begin working.

1. Current resume
2. Cover letter
3. Writing sample (1-3 pages)
4. Academic transcripts for undergraduate and past/current graduate degree work (unofficial copies of the transcript are acceptable)
5. Portfolio of relevant web-based, design, or data visualization work (not required)

6. Legal Research Assistants

The NYU Furman Center seeks NYU Law students to work as research assistants (RAs). Opportunities are available during the academic year, as well as during winter and summer recesses. The NYU Furman Center is a joint center of the New York University School of Law and Robert F. Wagner Graduate School of Public Service that advances research and debate on housing, neighborhoods, and urban policy.

The Center seeks part-time legal RAs to work on projects related to housing law and policy, including rent regulation, fair housing, and the conversion of commercial space into housing post-COVID. RAs may be tasked, among other responsibilities, with case law, statutory, and regulatory research, helping to draft model legislation, and tracking recent developments in relevant housing laws across jurisdictions.

RAs will also have opportunities to participate in brainstorming sessions with the Furman Center’s dynamic interdisciplinary team of lawyers, economists, and urban planners, and will have access to informal and formal extracurricular training opportunities and networking. Ideal candidates exhibit an interest in or passion for housing, urban policy, and/or poverty law. These RA positions are flexible and RAs may work remotely. 

To Apply: NYU Law students should submit the following four items:

1. Current resume
2. Cover letter
3. NYU Law academic transcripts (unofficial copies of the transcript are acceptable)
4. Writing sample

Email these four documents as attachments to [email protected] with the subject line “Law RA Application.” Please indicate your expected availability. Applications are accepted on a rolling basis. In compliance with NYC’s Pay Transparency Act, the hourly base salary at NYU Law School for student employment positions is $15 per hour.

NYU is an Equal Opportunity Employer and is committed to a policy of equal treatment and opportunity in every aspect of its recruitment and hiring process without regard to age, alienage, caregiver status, childbirth, citizenship status, color, creed, disability, domestic violence victim status, ethnicity, familial status, gender and/or gender identity or expression, marital status, military status, national origin, parental status, partnership status, predisposing genetic characteristics, pregnancy, race, religion, sex, sexual orientation, unemployment status, veteran status, or any other legally protected basis. Women, racial and ethnic minorities, persons of minority sexual orientation or gender identity, individuals with disabilities, and veterans are encouraged to apply for vacant positions at all levels.

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