Special Instructions to Applicants: All interested applicants should attach a cover letter and a resume in the Supporting Documents section of the application. We suggest the documents be in a PDF format to avoid formatting issues.

Position Summary

The Kinder Institute for Urban Research (KIUR) aims to improve lives through data, research, engagement, and action. The institute is currently expanding to build out five research centers focused on key aspects shaping the social and cultural landscape of the Houston area. The five research centers will conduct research on housing, education, public health, economic mobility and inequality, and population dynamics. KIUR uses a research-practice partnership (RPP) model to jointly design, develop, and do research that values diversity in expertise and centers the community in identifying the most pressing questions and challenges facing Houston.

The Kinder Institute for Urban Research houses a data library that hosts datasets focused on the Greater Houston Area and seeks a Data Librarian who is primarily responsible for cataloging datasets in an online catalog. The Data Librarian will also respond to inquiries, especially about the data and data access.

This position is offered as a hybrid role, combining both in-office and remote work to provide flexibility and support collaboration. Per Rice policy 440, work arrangements may be subject to change.

This is a full-time, benefits-eligible position, and the salary is between $55,000 - $58,000, contingent upon qualifications and experience. Exempt (salaried) positions under FLSA are not eligible for overtime.

Minimum Requirements

• Bachelor’s Degree
• One or more years of experience in academic research or applied coursework (e.g., capstone project) 
  • In lieu of the experience requirement, additional related education, above and beyond what is required, on an equivalent year-for-year basis may be substituted
• Skills
  • Ability to describe datasets in a clear and concise manner
  • Basic knowledge and demonstrated experience in using and applying analytical software, database management system software, database reporting software, database user interface, and query software
  • Ability to collect public data using a variety of methods to improve or expand database
  • Basic knowledge of HTML or willingness to learn
  • Ability to use logic to calculate data
  • Ability to work with data of varying levels of quality and validity
  • Demonstrated ability to produce data in a clear and understandable manner, meeting user requirements
  • Ability to work well in a fast-paced environment and adaptable to change 
  • Excellent communication and interpersonal skills, both oral and written 
  • Demonstrated ability to work effectively in a collaborative and/or team environment

Preferences

• Master’s degree in library/information science or related fields or another relevant advanced degree
• Academic research experience in a social science
• Experience with using a variety of data analysis, visualization, and mapping tools (especially ArcGIS) 
• Experience with relational database, RDBMS, and SQL
• Experience in data management and scholarly communication
• General understanding of data privacy regulations

Essential Functions

• Describes and catalogs existing datasets into a custom online catalog. This involves:
  • Exploring data files or data tables in order to identify or compute metadata such as number of records, spatio-temporal extent and resolution, creation date, etc.
  • Communicating with dataset creators, dataset curators, and/or dataset owners to obtain details about their datasets
  • Registering digital object identifiers for datasets.
  • Establishing relationships between datasets
  • Categorizing datasets according to predefined categories
• Responds to inquiries from internal researchers, external researchers, and the general public regarding specific datasets within the catalog, access to data, and use of the online data catalog.
• Develops and produces dashboards, key performance indicators, trends and other recognized metrics used to monitor and report performance
• Researches and reconciles data discrepancies occurring among various information systems and reports
• Participates in the implementation of data standards and common data elements for data collection
• Identifies new sources of data and methods to improve data collection, analysis and reporting
• Performs other duties as assigned.
• Performs verification for datasets curated by other team members
• Acquires datasets from public sources

Rice University HR | Benefits: https://knowledgecafe.rice.edu/benefits 

Rice Mission and Values: Mission and Values | Rice University

Rice University is an Equal Opportunity Employer committed to diversity at all levels and considers for employment qualified applicants without regard to race, color, religion, age, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, national or ethnic origin, genetic information, disability, or protected veteran status.