OFFICE OF THE MAYOR
POSITION AVAILABLE – INNOVATION TEAM DATA SCIENTIST
OPPORTUNITY TO INNOVATE
The City of Los Angeles was one of 14 cities selected to participate in Bloomberg Philanthropies’
Innovation Teams program. Innovation Teams (i-teams) function as in-house innovation change-agents,
moving from one mayoral priority to the next. The Data Scientist is a core member of the i-team with
high-level exposure to City government leadership, departments, and stakeholders.
The first challenge the i-team will be charged with addressing is non-inclusive revitalization. As with
many large cities across America, Los Angeles has seen remarkable examples of neighborhood
revitalization over the last decade. Vibrant street life and robust business growth fueled economic
development and rising property values in a process that is both celebrated and demonized as
“gentrification.”
Yet despite staggering employment growth and investment in some neighborhoods (hundreds of
thousands of new jobs, and billions in construction investment), Los Angeles remains the most povertychallenged big city in America. 19% of LA residents lived in poverty in 2012, a share that has only been
growing since the end of the recession. Due to rising housing costs, Los Angeles has also become the
most housing-burdened market in the country, with median rent equivalent to 47% of median income.
How can Los Angeles assist in bringing the benefits of revitalization to a broader range and scale of
neighborhoods and the lower-income residents who currently call many of these communities home?
This is the question that members of the innovation team will be tasked with answers using tools ranging
from citizen engagement and outreach to data and technology.
ABOUT THE ROLE
The past few years have shown that cities’ use of data is essential to effective service delivery; worldclass data scientists have joined local governments to help improve outcomes in key civic areas such as
public safety, health, and education.
The Los Angeles I-team is recruiting a Data Scientist will drive the usage of data address the critical
challenges the I-team will address, starting with neighborhood revitalization and poverty reduction.
Responsibilities for the this role will range from gathering and understanding data to better understand the
key problem to developing sophisticated analysis and models to determine a solution; additionally, given
the city’s commitment to data-driven decision-making, there will be an ongoing need to assess impact and
be continually responsive to needs-on-the-ground.
Beyond the core role on the i-team, the Data Scientist -- working with the broader Mayor’s staff and the
Chief Data Officer -- will have the opportunity to set a new standard for the way in which the City of Los
Angeles, and other cities around the county, use serious data science to measure, assess, and improve
service delivery to the public.
As a Data Scientist, you will have three main roles:
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Drive the development of data science and research analysis projects to glean insight into
pressing local issues and policy areas.
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Work hand-in-hand with department leadership to understand the data that they have to be
leveraged for improving outcomes.
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Be an integral member of a data and policy team, providing the expertise to support data-driven
decisions and policy in government.
Responsibilities for the position include, but are not limited to:
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Participating in the development of the vision for data / analytics tools, architecture and workflow
across the government.
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Creating, modeling, and implementing new data architecture and analytics solutions.
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Identifying delivery obstacles to improve transactional performance within departments and
working with them to overcome those obstacles; leading efforts to develop scalable, innovative
approaches to extracting, managing and analyzing data from users.
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Establishing data policies, standards, organization and enforcement of data governance.
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Presenting ideas and solutions in external conferences, speaking engagements, and whitepapers.
THE CANDIDATE
The ideal candidate possesses a passion for making meaningful, sustainable change in Los Angeles and is
ready to work in a high-energy, openly collaborative work environment.
The Data Scientist will need to simultaneously balance adherence to an innovation process and protocol
that is critical to delivery, and also think creatively and asymmetrically and bring abstract concepts to
practical implementation in a time constrained environment. Additionally, the Analyst brings a strong
desire and interest in place-making, poverty reduction, and/or neighborhood revitalization strategies.
The candidate must also demonstrate the following:
Characteristics:
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Passion for public service and making a difference in the lives of city residents.
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Track record of delivering results in a high-pressure environment with multiple work streams.
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Ability to create comprehensive plans that identify all tasks, resources and deliverables required
to achieve the desired results.
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Experience in data analysis including both detailed data manipulation and interpretation of
broader implications (experience with data visualization is a plus).
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Problem solving skills with an ability to anticipate problems and develop solutions on deadline.
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Understanding of the mechanics of city government and familiarity and knowledge of public
sector innovation (experience with open innovation techniques is a plus).
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Ability to thoughtfully communicate with and respectfully engage diverse stakeholders around a
shared vision for achieving results.
Personal Skills/ Attributes:
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Energetic self-starter who inspires others to their best work
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Problem-solver and change agent
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Highly ethical; likable and trustworthy
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Articulate and an excellent communicator
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Innovative and flexible
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Experienced in dealing with senior government officials and business people
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Able to bring together public, private and nonprofit organizations
Education:
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Undergraduate degree required, advanced degree preferred, ideally in computer science,
statistics, math or data science.
COMPENSATION
Salary will be commensurate with experience, along with additional benefits.
START DATE
Between March and April 2015
Qualified candidates should email a cover letter and resume to:
Miguel Sangalang
Executive Officer for Budget & Innovation
Office of LA Mayor Eric Garcetti
[email protected]
This is an exempt, at-will position. The individual appointed to this position will not accrue any civil
service tenure, contractual employment rights, or due process rights. The incumbent may be removed,
without any finding of cause, by the hiring authority.