Summer 2024 - Research Intern, Unlocking Potential & Opening Doors

Who you are:

Opening Doors is an initiative that works to increase access to safe, stable, and affordable housing for people with a conviction history through technical assistance, advocacy, policy development, and research.

Unlocking Potential is an initiative at Vera that promotes access to life-changing education by supporting the scale and quality of college programs and developing strategies that reduce racial inequities in college access and completion rates.

The Research Intern will participate in one or more different research projects, focusing on quantitative data cleaning, management, and analysis, with opportunities to contribute substantively to projects. The Research Intern will also provide additional research and programmatic support for the Opening Doors and Unlocking Potential teams on an ad hoc basis. This is a supporting role, ideal for someone transitioning from an early career position within another organization or Vera, and who has emerging methodological and project management skills. In this role, researchers develop their skills and start to work more independently, with support, mentorship, and supervision from more experienced researchers. 

What you'll do:

Data collection, management, and analysis 

• Clean, code, and manage quantitative data and codebooks, instruments, or other research materials 
• Support data collection and sharing under the supervision of senior research staff 
• Support quantitative analysis of data, including OLS/linear regression, logistic regression, survival analysis, and longitudinal data analysis with unbalanced panels.

Write up / presentation of research  

• Conduct background research and compile materials, including literature reviews 
• Prepare quantitative data, statistics, or data visualizations for reports and other communications products 
• Prepare format of reports, factsheets and other communications products, including citations

What qualifications are we looking for?

Required:

• Bachelor’s degree or a demonstrated commitment to and experience with advancing systems of change through research 
• Commitment to race, equity, and inclusion  
• Some experience using research methods in academic or applied settings

Preferred:

• Current or recently graduated Master’s or PhD student  
• Familiarity with the US criminal justice system and/or with US housing policies  
• Relevant lived experience 

Knowledge, Skills, & Abilities you'll bring: 

• Knowledge and experience with data cleaning and management methods and processes, including the use of codebooks, data interoperability procedures, merging, appending, and reshaping or manipulating data, creating variables, etc.  
• High level of organization 
• Ability to be self-directed, to independently problem-solve, and to take initiative 
• Strong orientation towards learning 
• The ability to analyze and think critically, to actively collaborate with coworkers, to develop and exercise judgement and make substantive contributions  

Technical knowledge we need you to be prepared to use:

• Proficient with Microsoft Office Suite, particularly Word, Excel, and PowerPoint 
• Proficient with Stata, R, or Python statistical software (with a preference for Stata)

Location:

Please note this role will report to our Washington, D.C. office. Vera interns and employees adhere to a hybrid schedule and are in-office on an alternating schedule. Full-time positions generally amount to 10 days per month. Part-time positions generally amount to 5 days per month.

Schedule:

The intern should be available to work up to 35 hours per week during the summer. The dates will be between June 3rd and August 9th, with some flexibility to accommodate personal and academic schedules.

Compensation:

The compensation range for internships is $16.00 - $25.00 per hour. Actual compensation will vary depending on factors including but not limited to experience and performance. Applicants may choose to receive academic credit. For those who need to earn academic credit, Vera will gladly assist in working with the school or program to make arrangements and meet requirements.

How to apply:

Please submit cover letter and resume. In your cover letter, please explain why you are passionate about criminal justice reform and what you hope to gain from this internship.

Applications may also be faxed to:

ATTN: People Resources / Research Intern
Vera Institute of Justice
34 35th St, Suite 4-2A, Brooklyn, NY 11232
Fax: (212) 941-9407
Please use only one method (online, mail or fax) of submission.
No phone calls, please. Only applicants selected for interviews will be contacted.

In order to ensure a healthy and safe work environment, Vera Institute of Justice is requiring all employees to be fully vaccinated and provide proof of their COVID-19 vaccine before their start date. Employees who cannot receive the vaccine because of a disability/medical contraindication or sincerely-held religious belief may request an accommodation (e.g., an exemption) to this requirement.

Vera is an equal opportunity/affirmative action employer. All qualified applicants will be considered for employment without unlawful discrimination based on race, color, creed, national origin, sex, age, disability, marital status, sexual orientation, military status, prior record of arrest or conviction, citizenship status, current employment status, or caregiver status. 

Vera works to advance justice, particularly racial justice, in an increasingly multicultural country and globally connected world. We value diverse experiences, including with regard to educational background and justice system contact, and depend on a diverse staff to carry out our mission. 

For more information about Vera, please visit www.vera.org.