Research Analyst

Full Job Description

Welcome to South Carolina. The new headquarters of American innovation.

The South Carolina Department of Commerce (S.C. Commerce) is committed to maintaining the state’s long-term competitiveness while building a modern economy — one that is diverse, supporting businesses at every phase of their lifecycle, while allowing people to live and work where they love.

As one of 22 cabinet agencies, S.C. Commerce is the state’s lead economic development agency.

Its mission is to create economic opportunities to increase choices for all South Carolinians, which it does by supporting new and existing businesses and partnerships that fuel emerging industries such as life sciences, headquarters, and advanced energy.

To drive the state’s advanced energy potential and global impact, S.C.

Commerce helped organize the SC Nexus for Advanced Resilient Energy (SC NEXUS), designated as one of 31 federal Technology and Innovation Hubs in 2023.

A national leader in foreign direct investment, South Carolina extends its international reach with representation in Europe and Asia, ensuring the state remains a top, global business destination from launch to legacy.

Job Purpose:

This position supports South Carolina’s economic development mission by transforming complex economic, workforce, trade, and cost-of-living data into accessible, well-structured analytical products.

The purpose of this role is to support data-informed decision-making by developing and advancing the Agency’s analytical and research capabilities, including fostering a deep understanding of the data, its context, and the methodologies that inform analysis of business activity, competitiveness, and regional performance.

Job Responsibilities:

• Serve as the subject-matter expert for the Research Team's self-service analytical products and the primary contributor responsible for developing, maintaining, and improving the Research Team’s dashboards in support of South Carolina’s economic development mission.
• Lead the development, refinement, and interpretation of analytical dashboards and statistical reporting tools that support major Agency initiatives and inform leadership and Agency staff on business activity, wages, labor market conditions, trade activity, cost of living, and competitiveness metrics.
• Design and produce advanced statistical visualizations, dashboards, maps, and infographics that clearly interpret complex economic and workforce trends and communicate analytical findings to technical, non-technical, and executive audiences.
• Identify and analyze recurring analytical and reporting needs, and in collaboration with the Research Manager, develop standardized analytical frameworks, automated reporting solutions, and durable visualization products that support major research and strategic projects.
• Apply advanced principles of statistical visualization, information design, and data presentation to improve interpretability, support sound decision-making, and ensure analytical products effectively convey findings and implications.
• Independently conduct statistical and exploratory data analysis (EDA) to interpret trends, validate indicators, support dashboards and applied research, and forecast future trends, with attention to indicator definitions and appropriate interpretation.
• Collaborate with members of the Research Team, Data Management, and IT to develop expert level subject-matter understanding and ensure analytical products align with trusted data sources, enterprise infrastructure, and available team capacity.

Requirements

A bachelor's degree with statistical courses and experience in statistics.

Qualifications

• Bachelor’s or Master’s degree in GIS, data analytics, economics, geography, public policy, or a related field.
• Experience with spatial analysis concepts and GIS software (e.g., ArcGIS Pro).
• Interest in applied economic development, workforce analytics, or public-sector research.
• Demonstrated commitment to continuous learning, including engagement with professional literature, documentation, or training related to data measurement, analytics, or visualization.
• Experience designing dashboards or visual products with an emphasis on usability, layout, and user experience.
• Comfort with comparative metrics, benchmarking, and basic index construction used in dashboards and spatial analysis.
• Experience working with data warehouses, APIs, or structured enterprise data systems.
• Familiarity with scripting or analytical tools (R, Python, SQL) is a plus.

Additional Information

The South Carolina Department of Commerce offers an exceptional benefit package for full-time and temporary grant positions that include:

• Health, Dental, Vision, Long Term Disability, and Life Insurance for Employee, Spouse and Children.
• 15 days annual (vacation) leave per year.
• 15 days of sick leave per year.
• 13 paid holidays.
• State Retirement Pension and 401K Plans
• Deferred Compensation Programs
• Paid Parental Leave