Local recruitment: Water Data Manager

Summary

Position Title: Water Data Manager

Reports To: Director of Water Infrastructure Policy

Classification: Full-time employee

Location: Remote position, with some required travel

Salary: $85,000-$100,000

Background

EPIC’s Water Team was founded around the knowledge that solutions, innovations, capacity building, and policy changes can dramatically increase the speed and effectiveness with which we solve water problems. We believe we can play an important role in solving both persistent and emergent problems through legal and data analysis and policy reform to make change happen on a systems level and through direct work helping communities, especially historically under-resourced communities, secure support. 

EPIC seeks to hire a Water Data Manager with a strong skillset and passion to help develop data-driven policy solutions. The work will focus on water infrastructure programs, including the Drinking Water and Clean Water State Revolving Funds (SRFs), and other legal and policy frameworks relevant to funding of drinking water, wastewater, and stormwater infrastructure. Consideration of affordability, cost-efficiencies, workforce development, and other co-benefits of water infrastructure investments are central to our work. We identify and engage opportunities across the federal, state, and local levels to drive data-driven policy solutions, often in collaboration with a range of public, private, and non-profit partners. We believe that strong data analysis is central to achieving our goal of driving well-tailored and impactful policy reforms. 

About EPIC 

EPIC builds policies that deliver spectacular improvement in the speed and scale of environmental progress so people and nature can thrive. A national nonprofit, EPIC is committed to finding and highlighting the best approaches to scaling up results quickly. Learn about our water infrastructure work here. 

Position Description 

The Water Data Manager will play a key role in identifying, framing, and managing data science needs for the Water Team including the design and execution of data analysis projects in service of Water Team objectives. The Water Data Manager will conduct insightful data research and analysis to catalyze policy change that eliminates disparities in funding water infrastructure and achieves greater efficiency and community benefits. Data analysis for rapid-response work on emerging issues at the state and federal levels will also be expected. The primary topics this position would work on include: evaluation and analysis of Drinking/Clean Water State Revolving Funds, Lead Service Line Replacement, scaling up Green Stormwater Infrastructure, and Climate Resilience. Experience working on these topics will be valued, but is not strictly required. 

The Water Data Manager will collaborate closely with the Water Team’s policy analysts to frame key data science questions and identify and coordinate the team’s data science needs. In addition to implementing data science tasks directly, the Water Data Manager will also coordinate other EPIC data managers and external data managers contracted as needed, to meet Water Team objectives. 

Reporting to the Director of Water Infrastructure Policy, the Water Data Manager will also be aligned with EPIC’s Technology Team and expected to share learning and insights across the Water and Tech Teams. Learn about the work of EPIC’s Technology Team here.  

Responsibilities 

Data and Policy Analysis – 70%

• Lead analysis and application development of high-quality data and technology across water topic areas with an expected focus on Drinking Water/Clean Water State Revolving Funds, Lead Service Line Replacement, Green Stormwater Infrastructure, and Climate Resilience. 
• Demonstrate value and use of innovative tools that could support water team initiatives through the creation of light-weight interactive tools and static analyses. 
• Create well-documented and durable workflows for collecting data (including unstandardized data) to advance key projects on the Water Team and yield valuable insights for policy recommendations and implementation. 
• Generate analysis from the data to support research, policy analysis, technical assistance, and outreach efforts in various water projects, including policy reforms relating to green infrastructure, lead service line replacement, and SRFs. 
• Communicate findings, particularly by developing static and interactive visualizations from the data that inform the general public, decision-makers, and advocates. 
• Incorporate data findings, including through data visualization and other concise communication of key data findings and methodologies, to support policy analysis and recommendations in collaboration with others on EPIC’s policy team as part of reports, blogs, presentations, webinars, expert testimonies, public comments, and other written materials when needed. 
• Develop recommendations for better and more transparent collection, analysis, monitoring, and reporting on data relevant to water infrastructure funding and financing investments, how these investments are distributed, and outcomes from these investments.

Internal Communications and Project Management – 20%

• Manage ongoing projects, including the SRF Funding Tracker, through a variety of project management tasks (e.g. framing key questions and tasks to ensure project adaptation and success, drafting project communications including with consultants and other partners)
• Communicate data methodologies, findings and value-adds. 
• Support coordination between EPIC’s Water and Tech Teams on water data science topics and tasks, and resource needs and allocation. 
• Identify and lead areas for collaboration and develop initiatives which serve dual team missions. 
• Coordinate with Data Science and Applications Lead (Tech Team) and with the Director of Water Infrastructure Policy on project management, goals, and staffing to ensure the Water Team’s data needs and opportunities are adequately and efficiently identified, scoped, prioritized, resourced, and implemented. 
• Prepare for, attend, and assist with follow-up for internal team/programmatic meetings, organization-wide meetings, and external meetings

• Maintain shared files on projects you are working on 
• Keep updated on relevant news and internal conversations on Slack
• Coordinate with both internal and external colleagues on data collection and organization and maintain internal project tracking systems using communication platforms such as slack, email, and mobilize, and project management tools such as Airtable, and Hubspot. 

External Communications and Outreach – 10%

• Stay abreast of relevant data or technology approaches to further Water Team mission and goals.
• Write blogs and case studies, and collaborate with Water Team policy analysts to provide data insights and visualizations for reports and other materials to advance the visibility and importance of EPIC’s water policy efforts.
• Develop networks of collaborators, peers and contacts who advance our work and whose work we help advance too, because of your initiative in building those relationships.
• Participate in work groups, webinars, convenings, coalitions, and public events.
• As needed, provide support on interviews, cold calls, outreach to potential partners, nonprofits, government officials, funders and other interested parties to understand and vet technology and insights on barriers to equitable water infrastructure investments.

Required Qualifications 

• Bachelor’s degree; a relevant advanced degree or equivalent experience is a plus.

• 5+ years experience in one or more of the following areas: water, environmental policy, public policy, policy implementation, data analysis.
• Demonstrated experience researching, analyzing, and communicating data to advance policy goals, preferably around water quality, water affordability, environmental equity, infrastructure financing, and/or climate resilience.
• Ability to explain complex policy ideas and data analysis clearly through written word, data visualizations, and verbal communications.
• Robust experience pulling publicly available datasets from federal and state providers, e.g. Safe Drinking Water Information System, ECHO Facility Database, etc. 
• Proficient in statistical programming and spatial analysis using tools like R (preferred), Python, ArcGIS, QGIS, and GeoPandas.
• Experienced in developing both static and interactive visualizations using ggplot, R Shiny, D3, Plotly, and Matplotlib.
• Ability to collaboratively code via GitHub and managing data on cloud platforms such as AWS and Google Cloud.

• Demonstrated strong commitment to equity and environmental justice. 
• Demonstrated leadership and skill and knowledge development by becoming a source of data insights, hypotheses, and policy reform ideas. 
• Demonstrated ability to synthesize information and effectively teach others the most important things you’ve learned. 

Desired Qualifications

• Experience in drinking water, wastewater, or stormwater management, finance, technical operations or policy. 
• Direct engagement with communities on water quality, water affordability, water equity, or other environmental equity issues. 
• Experience in using research and analysis for narrative building or advocacy, including in legislative, regulatory, community organizing, or other political settings.
• Exposure to environmental justice tools like EJScreen or the Climate and Economic Justice Screening Tool (CEJST). . 

Location 

This is a remote position, with most work done at the candidate’s home. Office space is also available at EPIC’s College Park, MD office. Some national travel is required to attend  meetings, conferences, and other events. It is anticipated that this position will travel approximately 10  days or less per year. 

Salary Range 

$85,000 – 100,000 annually, based on experience and qualifications.

Staff Benefits

EPIC offers an excellent benefits package that includes health, dental, and vision care; matching 401k contributions up to 5% of salary; and five days of flexible “wellness” leave in addition to sick leave and four weeks of paid time off.  

Application Process and Guidance 

Qualified candidates should email Valerie Nguyen at valerie@policyinnovation.org with “Water Data Manager” in the subject line. Please include a resume and a cover letter labeled with your last name followed by the document type (e.g., “Ibrahim_Resume”). 

Interested candidates are encouraged to apply as soon as possible, as applications will be reviewed on a rolling basis and the position will close as soon as a suitable candidate has been secured. 

We believe that including more people from diverse backgrounds, including people of color, people from working-class backgrounds, women, and LGBTQ people, is essential for achieving our vision. We strongly encourage applications from people with these identities or members of other underrepresented communities. 

We know there is not one ideal candidate who has all the qualifications listed. If you have a mix of interests, skills, and experience related to the above – and a passion for this work – please do not let a gap in your strengths stop you from applying for this role or reaching out. 

Thank you for your interest in working with EPIC!