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Position: Data and Learning Specialist

Hiring Range: $61,357 - $72,184
Schedule: Monday through Friday, 9 am to 5 pm. Eligible for one regular remote work day per week.

In 2022, the Durham Community Safety Department (DCSD) launched four 911 crisis response programs—collectively known as HEART (Holistic Empathetic Assistance Response Teams)—to meet the needs of people in crisis with compassionate care and behavioral health expertise. In the first twelve months of operation, and having responded to over 6,000 calls, HEART continues to demonstrate that alternative 911 responses are safe and effective. The Data and Learning Specialist will join a department dedicated to enhancing community safety through approaches to prevention and intervention that do not necessarily require a law enforcement response. Interested applicants can visit our website, watch this clip from CNN’s Sanjay Gupta, listen to this segment on NPR (WUNC), or read this piece from The Assembly to learn more about our department.
Data sits at the core of DCSD’s work, and the Data and Learning Specialist will be charged with managing and advancing our data systems and analysis. In addition to managing our current systems, they will be encouraged to develop new and innovative analytical approaches to solving key operational challenges, more deeply understanding the people DCSD serves, and assessing how we might better serve our neighbors in need. They will also provide crucial administrative support on departmental budgeting, a critical component of program-building that requires detail-oriented thinking, quantitative skills, and a shared vision of the department’s priorities and future.

How will you know that you’re a good fit?

• 
  You are energized by working with others to create a world where all people feel safe and cared for in their community.
• You enjoy navigating complex systems while applying practical steps and creative methodologies that bring people together to move work forward with tangible, evidence-based results.
• You are driven by empathy, active listening, and a desire to hold space for challenging and vulnerable conversations so that meaningful change can occur.
• You respect and appreciate the diversity of perspectives and expertise required to challenge and improve upon the status quo, shift power, and center equity in the program improvement process.
• You are unafraid of working through ambiguity, to experiment in the spirit of learning, and to shift gears when evidence demonstrates the need to pivot.
• You understand that real change doesn’t happen in a vacuum, or by the hands of the few. You believe in the lasting power of using data with community to better the world.

Data

• 
  Design innovative approaches to data-related questions on our services and neighbors using Power BI, R, ArcGIS, or other data-related tools.
• Spearhead the development of our current data systems, including public dashboards, internal facing dashboards, cleaned and transformed datasets, and core databases.
• Provide technical oversight and maintenance of our clinical management software and support operational work on our Computer-Aided Dispatch system (CAD) as needed.
• Develop monthly public data briefs centered on key HEART performance measures that capture both progress and areas of growth.
• Ensure data is of excellent quality by running frequent quality assurance checks, working closely with each program area to train and support staff on data input, and identifying processes and methods by which data quality can be improved.
• Collaborate closely with the Community Centered-Designer and Business Services Analyst to design and support systematic learning processes that are enriched and informed by data.

• Provide ongoing analytical support and biweekly reports on the departmental budget to the Assistant Director and Director.
• Contribute to the accomplishment of core administrative tasks in regards to invoices and payments on purchases related to software and/or analytics.
• Maintain accurate and up-to-date documentation as required by program deliverables and local, state, and federal policy and requirements.

• Develop highly collaborative, trusting, and productive relationships with HEART crisis response team members and administrative staff.
• Develop and maintain clear, open, timely, cooperative, and collaborative communication and working relations with all staff, clients, community partners, and partner agencies.
• Contribute to strategic planning activities and conversations regarding the performance and direction of the department, particularly in regard to crisis response and departmental culture.

• Bachelor’s degree or equivalent in public policy, geography, sociology, mathematics, statistics, or related field.
• Five years of related professional information technology experience.
• Fluency in at least one statistical or data visualization software (e.g. R, Python, Power BI, Tableau, etc.)

• 
  One year of relevant experience.

• Master’s degree in public policy, geography, sociology, mathematics, statistics, or related field.
• Fluency in Power BI and SQL.
• Some experience with or exposure to crisis response work, particularly as relates to behavioral health.
• Strong knowledge and experience with service delivery documentation (including counseling/treatment planning), HIPAA/Confidentiality standards, utilization review, and data management.
• A commitment to, knowledge of, and affection for Durham and its communities, which could include living in Durham.
• A track record of demonstrating initiative and sound judgment when handling ambiguity.
• Ability to maintain confidentiality, and particularly HIPAA confidentiality, at all times.
• Must be able to travel to and from worksite and other locations within Durham
• A commitment to and interest in the mission of the department: to enhance public safety through community-centered approaches to prevention and intervention as alternatives to policing and the criminal legal system.
• A commitment to equity, which could include having already attended racial equity trainings.

Benefits – General Full-Time Employees

• 11-12 paid holidays per year
• 12 standard work days of vacation per year
• 12 standard work days of sick leave per year, which accumulates indefinitely; sick leave may be used toward early retirement
• 2 weeks paid military leave per year
• Medical, dental, vision, and supplemental life insurance plans
• State and City retirement plans
• Short and long term disability plans
• Paid temporary disability leave for specified conditions
• City contribution of 10.15% into the N.C. State Retirement System
• Paid funeral leave
• Employee Assistance Program - personal and family counseling
• Paid life insurance equal to annual salary
• 48 hours for volunteer work each year*
• 4 hours parental leave each year
• Workman's Compensation Insurance
• 457 Deferred Compensation Plans

• 401(k) retirement plan (5.0% of salary)
• State retirement plan

• 401(k) retirement plan (5.0% of salary)
• State retirement plan
• Health Insurance