Research & Data Analyst

Come work for a former investigative reporter and continue using your data journalism skills in public service. We are looking for a qualified and experienced individual to join our Marketing department who will under general supervision, lead the Marketing department’s research needs in priority areas, including customer experience, ridership growth and marketing campaigns. This position will collaborate across departments and use data to identify, develop and communicate key performance indicators, trends, forecasts and business opportunities.

The position works on-premises at our waterfront headquarters in Bremerton, Wash., a 30-minute fast ferry ride from downtown Seattle.

Essential Duties:
Leads marketing research to understand customer needs and develops strategies for the growing use of Kitsap Transit’s services. Uses a wide range of research methods, data processing techniques and rigorous analysis to describe and monitor sources of demand, demand patterns, customer pain points, ridership growth opportunities and challenges.

Analyzes marketing efforts to optimize effectiveness of strategies used to reach and engage target audiences. Studies market trends to determine how best the agency can respond to emerging trends and patterns. Analyzes customer feedback, survey data and other data sources to monitor and evaluate impact of marketing activities and service changes on customer satisfaction, customer experience and community relations.

Identifies data requirements for research projects, collects the required data, performs ETL (extract, transform, and load) processes and uses statistical and analytical techniques to answer business questions, inform field research, and develop insights to assist the agency in decision making. Data sources may include and is not limited to surveys, field observations, focus groups, interviews, website analytics, internal data sources, census data, geospatial data, and external data sources (including web APIs).

Produces and maintains databases, data warehouses and data products using tools such as SQL, R, Python, and/or PowerBI. Creates maps and GIS data products using ArcGIS Pro, QGIS or equivalent. Produces interactive data visualizations and dashboards using Tableau, PowerBI or equivalent.

Collects, analyzes and presents data on paid, earned, shared, and owned (PESO) media; transit agency ridership; service quality/performance; customer feedback/satisfaction; customer-journey maps; market demand; and channel performance; and other priority areas as assigned., with an eye towards recommending changes to improve performance and customer experience.

Knowledge, Skills and Abilities:

Following are some highlights of the knowledge, skills and abilities required to be successful in this position.
- Strong problem-solving skills, strategic thinking, and the ability to frame business questions into data analysis problems and informed decision-making.
- Strong proficiency in data manipulation (i.e., cleaning, filtering, aggregation, joining, preprocessing data) and analysis using Excel, SQL, and Python/R. Competent in data cleaning and validation techniques.
- Intermediate proficiency in GIS software like ArcGIS, QGIS, or equivalent to create maps and perform geospatial joins and analysis.
- Proficiency in basic statistical concepts such as mean, median, mode, variance and standard deviation, and descriptive analysis. Knowledge of hypothesis testing and p-values and understanding of probability distributions.
- Inferential statistics knowledge and skills are desirable (i.e., correlation, regression, clustering, hypothesis testing, factor analysis, conjoint analysis, cross-tabulation, TURF analysis).
- Ability to create basic data visualizations using tools like Excel, Tableau or R. Intermediate to advanced skills desirable in data visualization and dashboard creation using tools like Tableau, PowerBI, R, Python or similar.
- Experience with processing JSON data from Facebook, Google Map, and other web APIs is desirable.
- Experience with intercept interviews, customer-journey mapping, marketing research and/or customer segmentation analysis is desirable.
- Strong attention to detail and problem-solving skills.
- Willingness to stay abreast of the evolving state of practice in data analysis and continuous learning to improve knowledge, skills and abilities.
- Ability to work independently and as part of a collaborative team and prioritize workload to accomplish tasks with defined timelines in a fast-paced environment.
- Ability to communicate complex technical information to diverse audiences through reports and presentations.
- Proficient in Microsoft Office suite including Word, Excel, Outlook and PowerPoint.
- Experience with Smartsheet is desirable.

A Bachelor’s degree in business analytics, marketing, planning, social science, computer science, data science, data analytics, statistics, math, physics, human-centered design and engineering, transportation engineering, engineering, economics, environmental studies, geography, or a closely related field AND two years of increasingly responsible experience in data analysis, digital marketing/advertising, demographic/behavioral research, transportation planning, consulting, or business development; OR at least six years of demonstrated experience in any of the fields listed above which provides the applicant with the knowledge, skills and abilities required to perform the work effectively and efficiently.

Licenses and Certifications: Any of the following certifications are highly desirable:

Tableau Certified Data Analyst
Google Data Analytics Professional Certificate
Meta Marketing Analytics Professional Certificate
Microsoft Power BI Data Analyst Professional Certificate
ESRI ArcGIS Pro Professional Certificate
Microsoft Azure Data Fundamentals Certificate
Data Engineer Associate Certificate