California Legislature Analyst's Office - Sacramento, California

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The Legislative Analyst’s Office

The LAO is the nonpartisan fiscal and policy advisor to the California Legislature. Its mission is to reduce the cost of state government and/or to increase its efficiency. Established in 1941, the LAO is the oldest office of its type in the country, and maintains a national reputation for its nonpartisanship and its high-quality staff and analyses. The office maintains a professional, collegial work environment that strives for an appropriate work/life balance.

The office does the following three main types of work for the Legislature:

·         Analyzes the Governor’s annual budget proposal, testifies at legislative hearings, and conducts legislative oversight throughout the year.

·         Responds to requests from Members of the California Legislature on programs and finances.

·         Produces independent, self-generated reports to assist the Legislature in addressing the major fiscal and policy issues facing California. For example, we have recently published reports on (1) trends and issues in the state’s child welfare system, (2) the new formula for allocating funding to K-12 school districts, and (3) governance and financing of a resources conservation plan.

Positions Advertised

Fiscal and Policy Analyst. The FPA’s primary responsibility is to be the LAO’s expert in a specific policy area. Policy areas are: State and Local Finance; Education; Health and Human Services; and Corrections, Transportation, and Environment. A complete description of the FPA position can be found at: http://www.lao.ca.gov/laoapp/Careers/job_announcements/general_job_info.aspx.

Summer Internships. The LAO operates a 12-week summer internship program that provides a rigorous analytical experience for individuals who (1) have completed the first year of a two-year graduate program that provides both a quantitative and policy analytical curriculum and (2) are interested in becoming a full-time FPA after graduation. The internship pays $2,650 per month. Additional information on the program is available at: www.lao.ca.gov/laoapp/Careers/summer_internships.aspx.

Application Process

Individuals interested in the FPA or internship position should e-mail a cover letter, resume, and three references (names, phone numbers, and relationships only, not letters of reference) to lao.employment@lao.ca.gov. The deadline for receipt of applications is December 20, 2013. We will respond to all applicants by the end of January. As part of this year’s recruiting process, we will conduct a limited number of on-campus interviews in January and February 2014.

We will review the resumes to determine which schools to visit for on-campus, first-round interviews. The decision will be based on the quality and perceived “fit” of the applicants as indicated by the resumes and whether there are enough interested and qualified applicants to warrant a visit. We will also conduct phone or Skype interviews with those selected for interviews from schools that we will not visit this year.

A second round of interviews, if appropriate, will take place in Sacramento in March 2014. Decisions and offers will be made no later than April 2014. Typically, FPAs begin work at the LAO in August or September, while interns begin in May or June.

The LAO anticipates hiring from six to eight FPAs during the recruiting cycle and two or three summer interns. At this time, we do not know what policy areas will be vacant when new hires report next summer and fall. Consequently, we are not recruiting for specific policy areas. Our assignment process takes into account existing vacancies, the needs of the office, and the interests of the new hires.