Careers Job Description
General Description
CUNY Institute for State and Local Governance (ISLG): About Us
The CUNY Institute for State and Local Governance has a mission to improve the financing, delivery, and measurement of critical public services through research, technical assistance, and education. We lead projects aimed at reforming the criminal justice system, measuring urban inequality, expanding the reach of social service providers, and more. Each project has a dedicated team of research and policy experts who collaborate closely with internal and external organizations. ?For more information about ISLG, please visit www.islg.cuny.edu.
Our Goals for Diversity and Inclusion
We strive to foster an office environment and an approach to work that welcomes and respects different perspectives, backgrounds, and life experiences. We are working towards our goal of recruiting and retaining staff, interns and advisory group members who are diverse in terms of race, national origin, sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, age, religion, veteran status, socioeconomic status, disability, and justice system involvement.
Who we are looking for
ISLG is recruiting one (1) CUNY undergraduate and/or graduate student data science intern to support the John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation’s Safety and Justice Challenge (SJC), an initiative to reduce over-incarceration by changing the way America thinks about and uses jails. ISLG serves as the primary data and research partner for the SJC. Among ISLG’s responsibilities is providing data, measurement, and analytic support to participating cities and counties across the country. This support includes the collection, cleaning, validation, and management of administrative criminal legal system case-level data and contributes to the broader research and evaluation agenda of the Challenge.
The intern will contribute to the development of a comprehensive relational database by applying data science and engineering techniques to analyze linkages and standardize database schemas across administrative data files. The intern will additionally work closely with data and research staff to translate practical data processing needs into programming work – this may include 1) developing syntax to clean, validate, and standardize administrative data files and 2) conducting data diagnostics to assess data quality, identify discrepancies, and ensure consistency across datasets.
The core of this internship is creating community and peer-to-peer learning among ISLG interns across Institute departments; to foster community we will have bi-weekly, in-person convenings that will cover a range of topics such as relationship building, project management, etc.
We are hiring interns to work at ISLG from June 2nd to August 1st. Interns will have a hybrid work schedule and report to a designated ISLG staff member. Interns will work on a range of tasks within the project(s) listed above as well as others not listed here. Tasks that the interns may be responsible for include:
- Evaluate the quality of administrative criminal justice data and data linkages to inform the design and integration of a relational database;
- Perform comprehensive data diagnostics to assess data integrity, identify discrepancies, and ensure consistency;
- Develop and implement scripts to clean, process, validate, and standardize case-level administrative data;
- Document data management processes, technical methodologies, and key decisions;
- Create data visualizations to effectively communicate analytical findings and results;
- Assist with additional tasks as needed to support ISLG’s initiatives.
Other Duties
Qualifications
- Currently enrolled in one of the following degree programs at a CUNY school or have graduated from such a program within the last year: computer science, data analytics, data science, data/information management, economics, or related field.
- Possess demonstrated experience carrying out technical tasks related to the collection, management, and dissemination of complex source data (i.e., writing syntax to import, validate, normalize, merge, restructure, and/or clean disparate data files for analysis).
- Strong proficiency required in one or more of the following programming languages: Python (strongly preferred), R, and/or SQL.
- Ability to communicate technical work and with team members in an accessible manner.
We would love to hear from you, if you are/have:
- Ability to commit to a consistent schedule of approximately 35 hours per week for the internship period (i.e., June 2– August 1)
- Ability to attend peer-to-peer credentialed in-person weekly sessions on Wednesday’s from 9:00am-11:00am
- Excellent time management skills and experience working in deadline-driven environments
- Ability to prioritize and work on a number of tasks simultaneously
- Flexibility about projects and workflow
- Passion about equitable state and local policy solutions to pressing social issues
ISLG is open to flexibility on the requirements above, but we would expect candidates to fit most of the items described.
How to Apply
To apply for an internship, you will need to submit a cover letter describing your qualifications and interests and attach your curriculum vitae. Additionally, we ask that candidates submit the following materials:
- A cover letter that includes your area(s) of interest, how you hope to contribute to ISLG’s mission, and your proposed start and end dates and work schedule. (1 page limit)
- A resume or curriculum vitae. (1 page limit)
- The contact information for 2 references (preferably professors or former supervisors of employment relating to the work of ISLG).
- Unofficial transcripts (Strongly Recommended).
All application documents must be in English and submitted in a single PDF to info@islg.cuny.edu by the deadline listed below. Please use the subject line “Summer Intern Data Application.” Incomplete application packets will not be considered.
Application deadline will be March 31.
RFCUNY Benefits
RFCUNY Employee Benefits and AccrualsAbout the Research Foundation
The Research Foundation of The City University of New York (RFCUNY) is a nonprofit educational corporation founded in 1963 to provide post-award fiscal and administrative support for CUNY’s research and sponsored programs. RFCUNY’s services allow CUNY researchers, faculty, and staff to focus on their intellectual curiosity and scientific discoveries, on projects and programs that serve our local and global communities, proposing concrete solutions to society’s most pressing challenges.
RFCUNY serves as a fiscal agent and works closely with all the CUNY campus Grants Offices to perform the core functions of post-award financial management for CUNY research projects and sponsored programs. These functions include legal assessment and signing of agreements where RFCUNY is named as a fiscal agent; setting up award accounts; preparing sub-awards and assisting PIs in monitoring the work of the recipients of sub-awards; supporting project directors with hiring and managing research project and sponsored program staff; supporting the purchasing and paying for goods and services with grant and program funds; managing financial aspects of projects including accounts receivable, financial reporting, invoicing, budget monitoring, and cost compliance with uniform guidance; ensuring that sponsor financial requirements are met; monitoring compliance with applicable project and financial management rules and laws; supporting the management of independent and external audits and financial reviews; and providing data, information, management expertise, and other supports to CUNY’s research and sponsored programs.
Equal Employment Opportunity Statement
Key Features
CUNY Institute for State and Local Gover
Full Time
$20.00-$25.00
Mar 31, 2025 (Or Until Filled)