The State of North Carolina - Elections is seeking a Data Analyst to support the State Board of Elections with data-driven decision making. In this Wake County, NC onsite role, you will build business intelligence capabilities, analyze election-related data for integrity and irregularities, and deliver reports and dashboards for internal and external stakeholders.
You will also help maintain data quality and support investigation, audits, and (as needed) database and GIS-related technical activities, contributing to operational oversight, fiscal transparency, and compliance.
Responsibilities
- Develop and manage the agency’s business intelligence strategy, emphasizing data integrity validation, operational assessment, and detection of irregularities across election-related systems.
- Analyze incoming data for completeness, accuracy, expected behavior, fiscal accuracy, resource utilization patterns, and compliance; investigate inconsistencies and determine root causes.
- Create complex, dynamic reports for internal and external stakeholders using verified, reliable, and actionable information.
- Maintain and enhance data visualization platforms including Power BI, Tableau, SSRS, and MS Report Builder to support investigative workflows, oversight, fiscal transparency, and public communication.
- Build and refine data models that reflect source systems and surface potential data quality, compliance, fiscal, and operational risk.
- Collaborate with agency units to define information needs and design dashboards that reveal trends, anomalies, operational bottlenecks, financial variances, and emerging risks.
- Research and develop predictive analytics, operational performance indicators, fiscal analytics, auditing enhancements, and advanced visualizations to strengthen decision making and oversight.
- Analyze operational data such as workflow timing, submission patterns, throughput measures, and county processing performance to identify inefficiencies or noncompliance.
- Review and validate fiscal data tied to election operations, including reimbursements, expenditures, county claims, budgetary activity, and other financial records to identify anomalies or inconsistencies.
- Participate in pre- and post-election audits and statistical evaluations, including contest audits, geocode audits, list maintenance audits, risk-limiting audits, Bayesian audits, and fiscal audits, using investigative methodologies to uncover irregularities and support corrective action.
- Serve as an internal consultant to help staff interpret analytic findings, identify root causes, improve operational processes, validate fiscal information, and develop solutions that enhance election administration and compliance.
- Support data quality, integrity, and accessibility for all departments, including defining information needs and designing solutions aligned to operational and programmatic goals.
- Analyze data from multiple sources to support agency-wide performance measurement and improvement.
- Assist with database administration and management of GIS databases and related applications (as needed).
- Develop SQL solutions and queries to automate administrative tasks, monitor infrastructure health, and generate alerts when data behaviors or system activities deviate from expected norms (preferred, not required).
- Maintain documentation for procedures, investigative findings, and database configurations; communicate database-related issues with relevant teams.
- Recommend and use third-party database tools to improve efficiency and support investigative, fiscal, and operational analyses.
Requirements
- Bachelor’s degree in Computer Science or an IT-related field (or related curriculum) from an appropriately accredited institution, plus one (1) year of experience in programming and applications analysis including the design and maintenance of an integrated database system; or
- Associate degree in Computer Science or an IT-related field (or related curriculum) from an appropriately accredited institution, plus two (2) years of experience in programming and applications analysis including the design and maintenance of an integrated database system; or
- High School or GED, plus five (5) years of experience in programming and applications analysis including the design and maintenance of an integrated database system; or
- An equivalent combination of education and experience.
- Strong analytical and problem-solving skills applicable to a range of agency functions (elections, finance, HR, operations, compliance).
- Ability to communicate data insights effectively to technical and non-technical stakeholders.
- Experience with data visualization tools (Power BI, Tableau, Excel) and reporting for multiple departments.
- Collaborative mindset; able to work across teams and support agency-wide initiatives.
- Familiarity with data quality, integrity, and compliance standards.
- Ability to manage multiple projects and adapt to changing priorities.
- Ability to synthesize information from multiple sources and departments.
- Ability to work an irregular schedule occasionally to accommodate periodic system updates/upgrades, maintenance, and/or emergency needs.
Technology
- Power BI, Tableau, Excel, SSRS, MS Report Builder, SQL, GIS, ETL
Location: Wake County, NC (onsite)
Salary: USD 81,504 - 101,881 per year
Recruitment Range: $81,504 - $101,881
- This position is federally funded for a period of up to three (3) years.
- Continued employment is contingent upon the availability of federal funding.
