Data Reporting Specialist

at  State of Washington Office of the Secretary of State

DESCRIPTION

The Office of Secretary of State (OSOS) offers some of the most unique and diverse job opportunities in state government. Its critical responsibilities include: ensuring a fair and accurate elections process; connecting Washingtonians through the power of libraries; protecting our important government records; and registering corporations and charities. The Secretary of State also administers vital community programs that inspire giving, document our history, and assist crime survivors in avoiding further abuse. This independent office under the state Constitution operates from facilities in the Olympia area and statewide.
The OSOS is looking for top-performing employees who embody its core values of integrity, service excellence, visionary leadership, collaboration and teamwork. It is committed to both employee growth and work-life balance. The benefits of working in state government also include potential eligibility for the federal Public Service Loan Forgiveness program.
The Elections Division and its employees play a critical role in ensuring Washington’s democratic process is fair, accurate, accessible, and secure. Serve the voters of Washington and join our talented and purpose-driven team.

REQUIRED QUALIFICATIONS:

• Five years experience performing data analysis, statistics and/or research; or comparable education to substitute for experience.
• Ability to efficiently use a personal computer and applicable software to successfully perform the essential job functions of the position.

Preferred/Desired Qualifications:

• Bachelor’s Degree in business administration, public administration, political science, or related field.
• Experience designing, developing, and evaluating methods for data collection and sample selections.
• Experience working in SSQL and PowerBI.
• Experience with data visualizations for easy public consumption of data.

PLEASE READ: If you have gotten this far and are thinking you do not qualify, consider again. Studies have shown that members of historically marginalized and underrepresented communities, specifically women and people of color, are less likely to apply to jobs unless they clearly meet every single qualification.
At the Office of the Secretary of State, we are dedicated to building a diverse and authentic work force with a foundation of belonging. If you are excited about this role and have relevant experience and skills, but question whether your experience aligns perfectly with every qualification in the job description, we encourage you to apply regardless. You may just be the ideal candidate this office needs.

SPECIAL REQUIREMENTS

• This position is in a bargaining unit represented by the Washington Federation of State Employees (WFSE) and is subject to the terms of the Collective Bargaining Agreement between the State of Washington, The Office of the Secretary of State, and the WFSE.

How to Apply

• To be considered for this position, you must attach the following:
• Letter of interest describing how your experience and qualifications relate to the duties and qualifications of the position.
• Resume
• Three professional references. Personal references will not be considered.
• You must complete the supplemental questions at the end of this application. Incomplete responses such as “see resume” will not be considered. In addition, if the employer you identify in the additional information section is not included on your resume or work experience profile and/or you do not identify an employer, you will not receive credit.
• All veterans must include a copy of your DD214 or NGB-22/NGB-23 to receive preference in the hiring process. You must redact your social security number before attaching it to your application.

The Office of the Secretary of State is an equal opportunity employer (EOE). We do not discriminate on the basis of religion, age, sex, marital status, color, creed, national origin, political affiliation, military status, sexual orientation, or any real or perceived sensory, mental or physical ability. All interested candidates are encouraged to apply. Persons of disability needing assistance in the application process, or those needing the announcement in alternative format, should call (360) 704-5212.

TASKS INCLUDE:

• Provides senior level analysis, implementation of process solutions, maintenance and modification of complex research projects involving data collection and analysis for the external data reporting program for the elections division.
• Directs the complex collection, analysis and data management of aggregated administrative election data for all thirty-nine counties for Washington State’s report to the U.S. Election Assistance Commission in the form of the Election Administration and Voting Survey (EAVS) as required by federal statute. Presides over the statewide collaboration and research needed to produce error-free data reporting from which elections administration and voting access are measured.
• Presides over the statutorily required and comprehensive Washington State Annual Elections Report for the Legislature from which data-based decision-making is derived. Coordinates both written content and data collection from elected County Auditors and Elections Division departments to explain and visualize data for external stakeholders who include elected officials, policy directors, outreach organizations, media outlets, and academic researchers.
• Strategizes with and advises executive and division management about direction of external data reporting program including improvements to data compilation, data governance, analysis, visualizations, research projects based on new implementations of election laws, reports and any changes required by state and federal statutes.
• Using SQL and Excel, or other business intelligence tools, independently compiles, researches, and gathers data to ensure the accuracy of ballot return statistics, demographic data, voter registration data, and reconciliation information provided on the OSOS Elections public website
• Ensures reports are accurately written and visually accessible; makes reports readily available to external stakeholders.
• Manages protected data from the Risk Limiting Audit program. Establishes controls to safeguard protected voting system data while producing public reports for real time post-election audits. This can be accomplished with a project management focus to produce time-sensitive reporting to county election departments. Ensures the proper disclosure and retention of sensitive records.
• Develops and measures election data, represents the needs of Washington state, makes recommendations on behalf of executive leadership to the Election Assistance Commission (EAC) related to EAVS survey, and develops the survey as part of the national work group
• Designs and implements methods for the improvement of external data information management, compilation, maintenance, reporting, retention and the timeliness of receipt
• Independently researches and confers with county election staff regarding legislative data requests and reconciliation reports
• Supports OSOS website, presentations and publications with data visualizations, maps, and tables using Excel, Adobe InDesign, Azure business intelligence tools (BI), PowerBI or other data visualization applications
• Collaborates with Geography Information Systems elections staff to create map visualizations for reports
• Studies information and data received to ensure suitability and accuracy
• Designs complex surveys and analyzes data for legislative requests
• Monitors proposed or pending changes in federal programs, and state laws and rules relevant to the position.
• Directs the improvement of the data and reporting program to increase the clarity and transparency of election-related data in response to increased scrutiny and changing expectations from internal and external stakeholders.
• Using SQL queries, Adobe InDesign, Excel spreadsheets, or other Azure Business Intelligence tools, independently prepares statutorily and non-statutorily required reports with visualizations
• Supports the review and creation of VIS materials for voters and candidates, providing professional and technical advice to management.
• Supports the VIS team in the preparation of, filing candidates for office, reviewing and processing data as needed in the VoteWA database.
• Collaborates with VoteWA Support to monitor and remind counties to enter or update information in the database
• Presents research findings and recommendations to elected officials and outside organizations; Provides written summaries and testimony for legislative hearings.

TASKS INCLUDE:

• Assists and provides back up in the senior level analysis, implementation of process solutions, maintenance and modification of complex research projects involving data collection and analysis for the data integrity program for the elections division.
• Collaborates and provides backup to the data integrity program to ensure the ongoing accuracy of election results, voter data, candidate information, ballot return statistics and reconciliation data, in response to increased scrutiny and changing expectations from internal and external stakeholders. This includes compilation of reports related to, but not limited to, address validation, date validation, precinct assignment validation, identification validation, in-state duplicate registrations, cross-state registration notifications, and results reporting verification.
• Using SQL and Excel, or other business intelligence tools, independently compiles, researches, and gathers data to ensure the accuracy of ballot return statistics, demographic data, voter registration data, and reconciliation information provided on the OSOS Elections public website.
• Assists with and reviews methods of data mining, researching, analyzing, creating visualizations and processing integrity reports produced by state and county election systems.
• Collaborates, reviews and executes SQL queries for the modernized VoteWA database and legacy system.
• Supports analyzing and reporting voter data, candidate information, ballot return statistics, and complex statewide reconciliation data points (listed in RCW 29A.60.235).
• Assists with and reviews designs of required reconciliation forms, results tracking for Election Day unofficial results, and tools for reconciliation reporting.
• Monitors and reports on the progress of various data integrity reports as they are completed by counties. Provides support by ensuring reports are acted on by the deadline and that acknowledgement of completion is received from the county.
• Collaborates and assists with the improvement of the data and reporting program to increase the clarity and transparency of election-related data in response to increased scrutiny and changing expectations from internal and external stakeholders.
• Identifies problems and recommends revisions or solutions for data integrity.
• Responds to requests for in depth election data analysis from Leadership, Communications Team (media requests) and the Legislature; provides data to inquirers in a variety of ways, such as email, reports, flowcharts and verbally.