Sr. Data Scientist - Evaluation Agenda Manager (N383)

Salary Range: $9333.00 - $12576.46 Monthly

SUMMARY

Housing for Health (HFH) is a program office within Community Programs a division under the Los Angeles County Department of Health Services (DHS). HFH was created and put into implementation in support of the Los Angeles County Homeless Initiative recommendations in response to and in support of the Countys effort to address and combat homelessness in the communities residing within Los Angeles County. Our organization follows a hybrid work structure where employees work both remotely and from the office as needed.

On November 5 2024 LA County voters approved Measure A a ballot initiative to implement a half-cent sales tax to fund homelessness solutions. Measure A is expected to generate over $1 Billion annually in perpetuity 1.25% of which is distributed to Accountability Data and Research. Among the required research activities is the establishment and management of an Annual Evaluation Agenda (AEA) which will produce internal and external evaluations to test the causal impact of Measure A investments on desired outcomes. Those evaluations will include third-party evaluators selected through requests for proposals and must include voices with relevant lived experience. They are intended to shape decision-making around Measure A investments and drive continuous improvement and innovation.

The Evaluation Agenda Manager reports to the Director of Data Analytics and Evaluation at Community Programs and is responsible for managing the AEA and the evaluations connected to it. For an evaluation professional this is an opportunity for large measurable impact to improve the lives of Los Angeles Countys most vulnerable people. The Measure A AEA represents a once-in-a-generation opportunity to improve how the County uses millions of dollars dedicated to housing people and preventing homelessness. With equity accountability and innovation at its core the agenda will shape how Los Angeles County learns from its investments adapts its strategies and delivers on its promise to address homelessness systemically and transparently.

This role requires an experienced strategic project manager with a strong understanding of quantitative and qualitative evaluation design causal inference methodology contracting processes and public sector stakeholder engagement and communication. The ideal candidate will have a strong background in evaluation methodology and be detail-oriented communicative and able to manage multiple streams of work simultaneously. A commitment to establishing strong community partnerships is equally important and knowledge of homelessness services systems and programs is desirable.

ESSENTIAL FUNCTIONS

• Lead the coordination and management of the Measure A Evaluation Agenda supporting the Director of Data Analytics and Evaluation in developing maintaining and updating the agenda in alignment with Measure A requirements.
• Review and assess causal impact evaluations ensuring research designs are capable of answering the questions they pose in terms of statistical precision and causal identification.
• Manage the planning scheduling and facilitation of community and stakeholder engagement processes including executive governance bodies County departments and agencies community-based organizations and people with lived experience of homelessness.
• Drive forward the publication of the AEA helping bring together diverse recommendations for its direction develop actionable research questions and research strategies in response to community and leadership input and prioritize questions around a timeline and roadmap for implementation.
• Support the procurement and management of evaluation contracts: draft requests for proposals scopes of work monitor deliverables provide technical feedback on interim deliverables (such as analysis plans and draft reports) to contractors escalate issues when needed.
• Track and report on progress across multiple ongoing evaluations synthesizing findings and presenting updates to leadership and the community. These summaries of findings should identify pathways for action and impact to improve system performance.
• Coordinate the development and execution of Data Sharing Agreements (DSAs) Memoranda of Understanding (MOUs) Institutional Review Board (IRB) reliance agreements and other legal and institutional agreements required for evaluation work.
• Draft revise and publish version-controlled evaluation agenda documents annually in collaboration with evaluation staff contractors and external stakeholders.
• Contribute to the design and oversight of internal evaluation initiatives.
• Ensure that all evaluation work reflects Measure A principles of equity transparency accountability and innovation.

JOB QUALIFICATIONS

Option I: Two (2) years of experience carrying out complex data science projects that included independently developing and applying methods to identify collect process structure and analyze data using statistical prediction inference and optimization to support data-driven program design and management at a level equivalent to the Los Angeles County class of Data Scientist.

Option II: A Bachelors degree from an accredited college or university in a field of applied research such as Data Science Machine Learning Mathematics Statistics Business Analytics Psychology Public Health or Public Administration that included 12 semester or 18 quarter units of coursework in data science predictive analytics quantitative research methods or statistical analysis -AND- Six (6) years of experience including two (2) years in a lead capacity applying and overseeing the application of machine learning predictive analytics data management and hypothesis-driven data analysis to make actionable recommendations to support program policy and operational decision-making. A Masters or Doctoral degree from an accredited college or university in a field of applied research such Data Science Machine Learning Mathematics Statistics Business Analytics Psychology Public Health or Public Administration may substitute for up to two (2) years of experience.

Education/Experience

• Masters degree or Ph.D. covering quantitative causal inference and evaluation methods strongly preferred (political science public policy public administration sociology public health economics etc.)
• Familiarity with homeless services systems and programs
• Demonstrated experience with contract management and project coordination including writing scopes of work overseeing vendors and tracking deliverables
• Strong understanding of causal inference and evaluation design including power analysis quasi-experimental methods randomized trial design and meta-analysis
• Familiarity with additional evaluation methodologies including qualitative methods process-tracing focus groups participatory research principles implementation science preferred
• Familiarity with public-sector contracting and procurement processes
• Experience managing stakeholder engagement including close community engagement with marginalized populations
• Experience coordinating DSAs / MOUs / IRB protocols a plus
• Experience writing policy or evidence briefs summarizing research findings for non-technical decision-makers
• Commitment to advancing equity and using data to support transparency and continuous improvement
• Ability to translate complex evaluation findings into actionable insights that inform policy and countywide strategic planning
• Familiarity with continuous process improvement and related project management methodologies

Certificates/Licenses/Clearances

• A valid California Class C Driver License or the ability to utilize an alternative method of transportation when needed to carry out job-related essential functions.
• Successful clearing through the Live Scan process with the County of Los Angeles.

Other Skills Knowledge and Abilities

• Knowledge of homeless services systems housing programs and County governance structures
• Proficient in data visualization tools (e.g. Power Bi Tableau etc.)
• Familiarity with project management tools (e.g. Jira Trello Airtable etc.)
• Familiarity with statistical software (e.g. R Stata Python SAS etc.) and cloud-based analytic tools (e.g. Databricks Redshift Bigquery)
• Familiarity with statistical power analysis and proficiency in statistical reasoning
• Strong facilitation skills for multi-stake holder discussions with government community-based organizations and individuals with lived experience of homelessness

PHYSICAL DEMANDS

Stand: Not Applicable

Walk: Not Applicable

Sit: Frequently

Reach Outward: Occasionally

Reach Above Shoulder: Occasionally

Climb Crawl Kneel Bend: Occasionally

Lift / Carry: Occasionally - Up to 15 lbs

Push/Pull: Occasionally - Up to 15 lbs

See: Constantly

Taste/ Smell: Not Applicable

Not Applicable Not required for essential functions

Occasionally (0 - 2 hrs/day)

Frequently (2 - 5 hrs/day)

Constantly (5 hrs/day)

WORK ENVIRONMENT

General Office Setting Indoors Temperature Controlled

EEOC STATEMENT

It is the policy of Heluna Health to provide equal employment opportunities to all employees and applicants without regard to age (40 and over) national origin or ancestry race color religion sex gender sexual orientation pregnancy or perceived pregnancy reproductive health decision making physical or mental disability medical condition (including cancer or a record or history of cancer) AIDS or HIV genetic information or characteristics veteran status or military service.

Required Experience:

Manager