Position Summary:
The New York County District Attorney’s Office has an immediate opening for a Drug Trends Analyst to be assigned to the New York/New Jersey High Intensity Drug Trafficking Area (NY/NJ HIDTA), located at 250 Vesey Street, New York, NY; and detailed to one or more law enforcement partners located in lower Manhattan.

HIDTA is a program of the Office of National Drug Control Policy (ONDCP), and HIDTAs across the country focus on reducing drug trafficking and its harmful consequences, particularly drug abuse and drug-related crime. To accomplish this, the NY/NJ HIDTA builds innovative and effective partnerships with federal, state, and local law enforcement agencies operating in the region. In 2011, the NY/NJ HIDTA established the Drug Trends Group (DTG) to gather, analyze, and distribute drug use indicator data; develop and support innovative data-driven policy and programming initiatives; and facilitate interagency, public health-public safety collaboration in the region.

DTG’s current work focuses on addressing the challenges posed by the increase in trafficking and abuse of opioids (including heroin, fentanyl and prescription opioids). DTG analysts support several key initiatives aimed at reducing opioid overdoses in the NY/NJ HIDTA region and beyond. Specific examples include the NYC RxStat initiative jointly led by the NYC Department of Health and Mental Hygiene and the New York Police Department, as well as the CDC-led Heroin Response Strategy which involves collaboration across 20 states in eight HIDTA regions.

DTG works closely with multiple public health and law enforcement partners in New York and New Jersey, and a DTG Analyst may be detailed to a partner agency to serve in an analytical capacity. This position will be based out of the NY/NJ HIDTA Drug Trends Group but will be detailed to work with one or more law enforcement partners based in NYC. While the responsibilities of the position will vary somewhat by project and agency assignment, the primary role of the Analyst will be to track trends in the trafficking, sale, and use of drugs in New York City, with a specific focus on opioids (to include heroin, fentanyl, fentanyl analogues and other emerging synthetic opioids, and prescription opioids).

Responsibilities include but are not limited to:

• Conduct in-depth, independently-guided analysis of data related to drug use, possession, sale and trafficking from law enforcement and public health sources.
• Address and fill gaps in collection and availability of public health and law enforcement data on drug use and the illicit drug market via partnerships with federal, state, and local agencies.
• Perform research, analysis and evaluation of drug enforcement intelligence information and data in support of strategic analytical products for use by drug enforcement personnel.
• Collaborate with federal, state and local law enforcement partners to produce written strategic intelligence products.
• Provide briefings to senior level managers.
• Develop, manage, and implement new initiatives and projects with partner organizations.
• Assist preparation of the annual NY/NJ HIDTA Threat Assessment -- a comprehensive analysis of available data on drug trafficking and use -- to be delivered to the HIDTA Director, HIDTA Executive Board and to the White House Office of National Drug Control Policy (ONDCP).
• Respond to requests from ONDCP, government officials, and HIDTA partners for information regarding data analyses and/or trends in drug use.
• Prepare and edit reports, presentations, and communications for internal and external purposes.
• Other administrative duties as needed.

Qualifications:

• Strong interest in the fields of drug policy and drug overdose prevention.
• Strong understanding of and experience with applying statistical analyses, research methods, and data interpretation.
• Exceptional research and writing skills (writing sample will be requested).
• Excellent communication/interpersonal skills and strong presentation skills.
• Must be self-motivated and comfortable working independently.
• Must be detail-oriented, organized, and able to multi-task.
• Strong command of Microsoft Excel (e.g., writing Excel Formulas).

Educational Requirements:

• Bachelor’s degree required.

Preferred Requirements:

• Two (2) or more years of work experience, or Master’s degree in Criminal Justice, Public Policy, Public Health, Public Administration, Economics, or other relevant field preferred.
• Experience conducting research projects in fields of public health, public policy, or law enforcement a plus.
• Experience with GIS/mapping and statistics-related programs a plus.
• Familiarity with drug use-related data, criminal justice data, or public health data a plus.