Senior Director of Policy and Research

The Economic Security Project (ESP) is seeking a Senior Director of Policy and Research to help lead its policy team. This is a senior leadership role in which the Senior Director will partner closely with the Vice President of Policy and Research to manage the department, from setting strategy and priorities to overseeing the budget and developing program managers.

Responsibilities

Oversee the workflows that create research and policy products and events and manage several program managers responsible for executing that work; Set short-term and long-term priorities across the team's portfolio toward the highest-impact work; Coach, mentor, and develop program managers, including through regular feedback and support for their career growth; Serve as a member of the Senior Team, working as a connector across the organization, including campaigns, communications, and development; Build an inclusive, mission-driven team culture, modeling ESP's core values; Develop team strategy, helping align work for maximum impact in the short term while aiming towards longer-term change over three to five years; Propose, plan, and execute projects to advance work at the federal and state level; Oversee commissioned policy and research projects with external research partners; Support ESP colleagues in producing and understanding research, including synthesizing external research and producing research, policy briefs, and factsheets; Support the ESP team in writing or preparing for events or media opportunities related to research; Work with executive and development teams to support fundraising via writing and meeting with funders; Ensure methodological quality, analytical rigor, and strength of arguments in what is produced; Develop and lead initiatives to advance new economic policy ideas, with emphasis on building external support across partners; Build and sustain partnerships with academics, think tanks, advocacy organizations, community-based groups, and peer organizations; Provide technical assistance to policymakers and partner groups on policy impacts and policy design; Partner with the ESP events team to host workshops, convenings, and meetings that bring partners together around the agenda; Propose original research, policy briefs, and factsheets; Oversee a research fellowship program

Requirements

Solid track record in leading projects and developing colleagues; readiness to take on formal management of a diverse team; Policy expertise in economic security, with familiarity with the economics and evidence on fixing broken markets (regulation, competition) and broken incomes (social insurance, taxes, wages); Careful editor and persuasive writer capable of distilling complex ideas for policy and public audiences; Proven track record of leadership and moving people on issues; Extensive experience liaising with policy experts, legislative staff, and government officials on economic policy issues; Familiarity with quantitative methods and experience working in a statistical programming language (e.g., R, Stata, Python); On top of the most current trends and debates on the economy; Strategist who enjoys seeking out new opportunities and is proactive in forming the right partnerships to advance our goals; familiarity with the economic policy, think tank, and advocacy community in Washington, DC; Excited to shift conventional wisdom on economic issues and develop ambitious ideas to improve people's lives; Experience managing a departmental or project budget, with the ability to strategically allocate resources to maximize programmatic impact; Previous roles analyzing research, legislation, and white papers to identify the most important information and translate implications for different bodies of work; Collaborative team player who is strategic and solutions-oriented; Proactive self-starter who follows through, cares about outcomes and results, and approaches their work with rigor; Comfort with public speaking and presentations on policy topics

Benefits

Comprehensive benefits package; Flexible remote work; Regular office closures; Five-year sabbatical program; Investment in professional development