Senior Research Associate - Hybrid/California

Supervisor:                          Associate Research Director
Status:                                  Full-Time, Non-exempt
Location:                            San Francisco (preferred). Los Angeles or Sacramento (considered)
Salary:                                $48.07 to $52.88 an hour (Annual equivalent: $100,000 to $110,000)
Application Deadline:         June 29, 2026. Or until position is filled. 

This is a hybrid position that requires a minimum of one day per week in the office.
ABOUT THE ROLE
A person in the Senior Research Associate (SRA) role should have experience in multifamily affordable housing research and policy or technical experience in a similar field with skills that can be applied to the housing sector. SRAs provide support to the Research and Policy Advocacy Teams and assist with 1) helping design and implement key research, policy analysis, and program evaluation efforts to improve federal, state, and local affordable housing policies and programs, and 2) adding to the technical capacity and experience base of the Research team. An SRA is expected to have experience that can inform the Partnership's policy and strategic political positions at the state and/or regional level, or experience that adds significantly to the Research Team's technical expertise.
PRIMARY DUTIES & RESPONSIBILITIES

• Conduct quantitative and qualitative research and author, co-author, and contribute writing and research to policy briefs, data tools, analyses, and articles.
• Develop and maintain Python-based workflows that automate data collection, cleaning, integration, quality assurance, and updates of large housing, demographic, economic, and geospatial datasets. 
• Design, maintain, and document updates for the Partnership’s public-facing data tools, dashboards, and research products. 
• Conduct quantitative and spatial analyses using Python, SQL, and/or GIS to evaluate housing affordability, housing need, preservation opportunities, and other policy issues.
• Contribute to the ongoing development of new quantitative and qualitative research methods to support our research agenda and in response to the needs of our partners.
• Respond to inquiries from government agencies, jurisdictions, nonprofit developers, and research institutions.
• Represent the Partnership through presentations to working groups, regional conferences, and other external settings.
• Provide data, technical assistance, and other information to the CEO and Director of Policy Advocacy to help the Partnership advance its policy agenda.
• Stay current with pertinent literature, developments, and data visualizations around issues of demographic change, housing supply, affordability, inequality, mobility, and equitable growth.
• Plan and execute segments of research/policy projects in consultation with and under the general supervision of senior staff.
• Perform routine administrative functions (e.g., submission of timesheets, participating in performance evaluations, etc.).

• Experience in affordable housing quantitative research: 
  • At least four (4) years of experience in affordable housing research, policymaking, or advocacy work, or substantially equivalent experience.
    • Bachelor's degree in a directly related field, such as public policy, political science, sociology, etc., may substitute for up to one (1) year of direct experience.
    • Master's degree in a directly related field, such as public policy, political science, sociology, etc., may substitute for up to two (2) years of direct experience.

• Commitment to addressing the housing needs of low-income Californians and advancing racial equity through housing policy and research.
• Intermediate Python (e.g. writing and editing code with little supervision, cleaning data in multiple data files, comparing variables within and between data files, etc.)
• Intermediate quantitative data analysis skills (e.g. cost analysis, regression analysis, etc.)
• Intermediate spatial analysis skills (ArcGIS or QGIS) (e.g., revising symbology of map layers, creating new variables within map layers, conducting overlay and buffer analysis of map layers, etc.)
• Strong organizational skills, including the ability to set priorities, juggle multiple tasks, and meet assigned deadlines.
• Strong writing skills, including being able to conduct social science literature reviews, write up results for quantitative study results, and communicate with colleagues about project findings, issues, and methodologies.
• Intermediate Proficiency with Microsoft Excel (e.g. pivot tables, vlookup formulas, etc.)
• Able and willing to travel within California.