Data Analysis Fellow

The mission of The DC Project is to advance economic and environmental justice by creating clean energy careers for people who need them most. The DC Project applies cutting-edge organizing tools and tactics to mobilize community interest in home weatherization, creating economic savings, environmental benefits, and new green jobs.

The DC Project is a "Think+Action Tank", testing and refining community-based demand creation methodology through its anchor program, WeatherizeDC, and developing models that can be replicated in communities across the nation to ignite the home energy efficiency market and move closer towards an equitable green economy.

WeatherizeDC, the anchor program of The DC Project, works with hundreds of D.C. residents to mobilize one of America's greatest assets-community leadership-to unlock the promise of the home energy efficiency industry for creating environmental benefits and good green jobs. WeatherizeDC recruits, develops, and trains community leaders and volunteers from neighborhood groups, faith-based networks and campus activists to engage, educate, and activate their communities to convince homeowners to invest in weatherization.

WeatherizeDC identifies homeowners interested in weatherization and passes them along to local home performance contractors, who deliver the home retrofit services.  WeatherizeDC leverages the increased business it creates-through its community organizing efforts-for partnering contractors to ensure that new jobs created translate into career-track, sustainable-wage work for District residents who are most in need of employment.

Position Overview:

The DC Project seeks a Data Analysis fellow to assist in refining its capabilities to target weatherization customers.  This project includes researching existing data sources on homeowners and the effectiveness and reliability of that data.  The project will conclude with a report that lists available data sources, explains the pricing and content of the information available through each source, and assesses each source's potential utility for The DC Project.

Qualifications:

The ideal fellow is highly motivated, with interests in energy consumption and the environment, community organizing, community development, and data analysis. Optimal candidates will have skills in the following areas: economics, statistics, data analysis, data mining, Microsoft Excel, and SPSS.

Qualified applicants will be able to:

• Engage actively in rich and challenging discussion and design
• Exercise strong verbal and written communication skills.
• Demonstrate knowledge of some of the following concepts: social enterprise, sustainability, economic justice, food systems, renewable energy, energy efficiency, transportation, education, and media

Graduate students in public policy, business, statistics and economics are preferred, but all interested candidates are encouraged to apply.  Individuals who hold a BA or BS in similar areas, as well as with graduate degree candidates in other programs, may also be qualified. Exceptional undergraduates will be considered.

Compensation: Fellowships with The DC Project are unpaid. Previous fellows and interns have received academic credit or work study for their work with the organization. For more information related to this, please direct inquiries to your respective school. If you are not from the Washington, D.C. area, please explore housing options with relatives or friends as soon as possible.  If you are unable to find and fund housing, precluding you from participating in the Fellowship Program, please inform The DC Project via email.

Both full-time and part-time fellows are encouraged to apply. Full-time fellows are expected to work 40 hours a week. Hours and workdays are flexible. Part-time fellows are expected to work 10-20 hours a week. As with full-time fellows, hours and workdays are flexible. Start and end dates are somewhat flexible, with a preference for a September 22 start date and a commitment of 2.5 months, or until December 17, 2010.  Please include your availability in your cover letter.  Application instructions follow.

To Apply:

Applicants should submit the following (include "Data Analysis Fellow"in subject line) no later than September 10th, 2010:

• Resume
• Cover letter
• 2 or 3 references
• Final product of your work, such as a writing sample, software applications, or designs/artwork

Use your application materials to explain your interest in WeatherizeDC and its mission; please highlight any exposure you have to the Washington, D.C. community and the dates of your availability over the fall.  Your cover letter should explain the skills, experience, and interests that qualify you to fulfill the expectations outlined above.  If you are applying for more than one fellowship with the DC Project, please rank your interests.