COORDINATED ENTRY RESEARCH ANALYST

About the role

The Human Resources Administration (HRA) is dedicated to fighting poverty and income inequality by providing New Yorkers in need with essential benefits such as Food Assistance and Emergency Rental Assistance. As the largest local social services agency in the country, HRA helps more than three million New Yorkers annually through the administration of more than 15 major public assistance programs.

Housing Services Administration is a division of New York City’s Department of Social Services that oversees housing stability and rehousing efforts. HSA administers rental assistance, housing supply, and placement programs to help individuals and families exit shelter, prevent homelessness, and secure safe, affordable housing across the city.

The Office of Supportive Housing and Specialized Services helps formerly homeless clients succeed in the community by providing access to permanent housing with support services. Supportive Housing and Specialized Services works closely with other divisions of DSS/HRA/DHS and with other governmental and non-governmental providers to create new programs and to integrate and refine existing services so that clients experiencing homelessness and those at risk can move into safe, affordable housing that best supports their stability and integration in the community.

Program areas under Supportive Housing & Specialized Services purview include the Coordinated Entry Unit which oversees the Coordinated Assessment and Placement System (CAPS). CAPS serves as NYC’s Coordinated Entry system per the HUD mandate to ensure that localities use a coordinated system to assure systematic and timely referral and placement of homeless and at-risk clients into the most appropriate permanent housing programs.

CAPS includes assessment services for individuals/families potentially eligible for supportive housing or rental assistance programs; an application system to determine supportive housing eligibility; a rapid-rehousing request, referral and enrollment module; an electronic referral component; and a vacancy control system to verify and monitor placements.

The Office of Supportive Housing and Specialized Services is recruiting for one (1) City Research Scientist II to function as a Research Analyst who will support the Director of Coordinated Entry and the Senior Research Analyst by providing research and evaluation to inform the development and implementation of the CAPS Coordinated Entry system and who will:

• Perform evaluation and research using descriptive, process and outcomes data from CAPS to identify operational efficiencies, assess model fidelity, and inform the development of operational performance measures; this includes extracting CAPS information by writing non-automated SQL and SPSS code and reviewing, quantifying, and analyzing data using various research methodologies.
• Support DSS/HRA supportive housing policy directives and respond to data and analytic requests from leadership and external stakeholders by: designing, executing and analyzing analyses of CAPS data; developing non-automated ad hoc SQL code for extraction and analysis of complex data sets; designing, preparing and presenting data visualizations; and disseminating research findings beyond the unit through writing memos and reports including Local Law submissions and creating and delivering presentations.
• Monitor administrative CAPS data for survey, application, determination, rapid-rehousing, and vacancy control modules; make and record observations, including developing new recording systems; design and prepare visualizations and communicate findings to internal and external stakeholders.
• Prepare responses to legal and media requests, including creating non-automated SQL code to extract and analyze CAPS data.
• Support Federal reporting to HUD; validate, troubleshoot, and upload file sets extracted from CAPS into NYC's HMIS data warehouse; collaborate with the Office of Business Strategies and Solutions to refine file generation logic as needed.
• Conduct data sharing in support of intra- and interagency research and evaluation efforts.
• Perform literature and data reviews to evaluate the validity and reliability of prior studies and reports to be used in formulating research questions and future report methodologies.
• Perform other related duties as directed.

Hours/Schedule: Monday-Friday 9am-5pm

Qualifications & Requirements

• For Assignment Level I (only physical, biological and environmental sciences and public health) A master's degree from an accredited college or university with a specialization in an appropriate field of physical, biological or environmental science or in public health.

To be appointed to Assignment Level II and above, candidates must have

• A doctorate degree from an accredited college or university with specialization in an appropriate field of physical, biological, environmental or social science and one year of full-time experience in a responsible supervisory, administrative or research capacity in the appropriate field of specialization; or
• A master's degree from an accredited college or university with specialization in an appropriate field of physical, biological, environmental or social science and three years of responsible full-time research experience in the appropriate field of specialization; or
• Education and/or experience which is equivalent to "1" or "2" above. However, all candidates must have at least a master's degree in an appropriate field of specialization and at least two years of experience described in "2" above. Two years as a City Research Scientist Level I can be substituted for the experience required in "1" and "2" above.

NOTE: Probationary Period

Appointments to this position are subject to a minimum probationary period of one year.