Executive Analyst I/II - Economic and Policy Data Analyst

About the Office of Economic Development’s Business Development Division:

The Office of Economic Development & Cultural Affairs (OEDCA) Business and Economic Development Division is the primary contact for the City’s business and development communities with the primary mission of cultivating an ecosystem for thriving businesses. 

Annually, 12 full-time team members interact with hundreds of Silicon Valley’s most dynamic and innovative companies; provide leadership and management within the City’s Downtown and strategic neighborhood business districts; build relationships across the development and investment communities; manage a portfolio of business support programs for small, medium and large-sized businesses; and promote and market San José as a location for businesses and talent to continue driving growth in the local economy. In addition to these activities, the Division provides strategic leadership across the City’s Community and Economic Development City Service Area.

About the Position:

OEDCA is seeking an Economic Policy Data Analyst (Executive Analyst) to join the Business Development Division. This role will focus on the collection, analysis, and application of economic data to support policy development, business engagement and support and strategic initiatives that foster investment, development, jobs, revenue, and fiscal prosperity across the city. Familiarity with sourcing and analyzing demographic, socioeconomic, business and industry data including but not limited to areas listed below are fundamental to the position:

• Population characteristics: Information such as age, sex, race, income, number of years in business, etc. of workforce and business community.

• Labor force data: Statistics on employment, unemployment, and labor force participation rates.

• Income trends: Data on wages, salaries, and other forms of income.

• Industry trends: Information on the mix and trends of industries, including the number of jobs, occupancy rates, earnings, and revenue to the City by sector.

The Economic Policy Data Analyst will conduct advanced economic research and forecasting like those described above using data available from the federal government, the State of California, the City of San José, contracts the City has with outside vendors, and other sources. The position will work collaboratively with department colleagues, inter-departmental staff, and, at times, elected officials and their staff to track and provide data-driven insights about the economy that support the city's long-term planning and strategic action initiatives. 

Under general direction from the Deputy Director, the Economic Policy Data Analyst will work independently to support the Division as described above, as well as by building and maintaining models and dashboards, conducting statistical analysis, and tracking and reporting on the Division’s performance measures and other economic indicators.

Position duties and responsibilities include:

• Collecting, interpreting, and analyzing economic, demographic, and financial data to assess business trends, labor market shifts, consumer activity, and the overall performance of the San José and Silicon Valley economy.

• Providing data analysis and recommendations to support the objectives and key results outlined in the Department’s Economic Strategy Workplan, annual Budget performance measures, and Focus Area reporting.

• Executing and managing contracts for the City’s economic data needs.

• Designing and maintaining systems, models, and processes to evaluate, forecast, and visualize key economic indicators such as sales tax revenue, employment data, commercial and industrial occupancy, and economic impacts of development projects.

• Developing and maintaining internal data systems and tools to ensure the integrity, consistency, and usability of economic and operational datasets.

• Preparing and presenting clear, accessible reports, dashboards, and data visualizations to communicate findings to City leadership, elected officials, external stakeholders, and the public using tools such as business intelligence platforms and data storytelling techniques.

• Supporting policy development, strategic planning, and business attraction and retention efforts by providing technical analysis related to industry trends, innovation sectors, housing affordability, and workforce dynamics.

• Responding to data requests and developing reports for the Division, other Department divisions, and partner City departments (such as Housing, Planning, and Transportation); ensuring compliance with internal and regulatory reporting requirements.

• Working with nontechnical staff and internal clients to help them access, interpret, and effectively use data in decision-making processes; consistently provides high-quality support and consultation.

• Identifying and pursuing opportunities to expand data capabilities, adopt new analytical tools, and continuously improve internal processes and information systems.

• Proactively providing recommendations based on data analysis across and between all divisions in the Department. 

• Performing other related duties as required in support of the City and Department’s economic development mission.

Desirable Qualifications

A master’s degree in business development, economic development, data science, economics, data analytics or a related field, and two years’ experience in business development, economic development, data analytics, data interpretation or related fields is desirable.

The ideal candidate will possess a combination of the following skills and qualities to ensure success:

• Proficient in the use of GIS technology, big data (e.g. sales tax data, employment data) and data visualization tools (e.g. Power BI, Tableau) and with Microsoft Office products: Word, PowerPoint, Excel, and Outlook. 

• Experience building dashboards.

• Familiar with customer relationship management systems.

• Excellent interpersonal skills, specifically including the ability to identify new and build on existing relationships, build support, listen, and provide assistance. 

• Ability to demonstrate flexibility and advanced problem-solving amid evolving responsibilities, work processes, timeframes, performance expectations, and work environment in a fast-paced environment.

• Staying abreast of government, business, industry, and market information that may reveal opportunities for innovative services, actively seek out and identify opportunities to develop and offer new services within or outside the organization.

• Must be self-confident and professionally assertive, self-motivated, and able to work with a high degree of autonomy while also actively contributing to a high-performing team.

• Possess both outstanding written and oral communication skills and feels comfortable presenting data and the interpretation of data to non-technical internal and external colleagues.

The ideal candidate will possess the following competencies as demonstrated from past and current employment history. Desirable competencies for this position include:

• Job Expertise - demonstrates knowledge of and experience with applicable professional/technical principles and practices, Citywide and departmental procedures/policies and federal and state rules and regulations.

• Analytical Thinking - approaches situations by defining the problem or opportunity; identifies elements to consider; collects and analyzes data; uses logic and intuition to arrive at conclusions; demonstrates ability to make recommendations in difficult and complex situations and develops consensus.

• Collaboration - develops networks and builds alliances; engages in cross-functional activities; demonstrates ability to motivate others to adopt effective courses of action, and to stimulate and motivate individuals and groups to achieve desired goals.

• Creativity - addresses objectives and problems while questioning traditional assumptions/solutions in order to generate creative ideas and new ways of doing business; exhibits creativity and innovation when contributing to organizational and individual objectives; seeks out opportunities to improve, streamline, reinvent work processes.

• Initiative - exhibits resourceful behaviors toward meeting job objectives; anticipates problems, is proactive, and avoids difficulties by planning ahead; displays willingness to assume extra responsibility and challenges; pursues continuing education opportunities that promotes job performance.

• Communication Skills - communicates and listens effectively and responds in a timely, effective, positive and respectful manner; writes documents in a variety of styles that are accurate, well-organized, complete, clear, concise, and timely.