(Senior) Federal Policy Analyst/Advisor

(Senior) Federal Policy Analyst / Advisor

Location: Ability to be in Washington, D.C. at least three days per week, with flexibility on days to accommodate meetings with partner organizations, Executive branch officials, and Hill staff and members of Congress – the scheduling of which often is fairly last-minute. There will be weeks when in-person demands are greater than three days per week. If not currently based in/near DC, you must be able to relocate to the area (with relocation benefits benchmarked to the non-profit sector). 

Reports to: Policy Director, Lauren Lombardo

Status: Full-time

Compensation: $70-160K, plus competitive benefits. We’re deliberately recruiting at a variety of experience levels. Title (Policy Analyst, Senior Policy Analyst, Policy Advisor, Senior Policy Advisor) and salary will be informed by level and nature of relevant experience and other factors.

About the Recoding America Fund

The Recoding America Fund (RAF) is a new, bipartisan hybrid 501(c)(3)/501(c)(4) initiative to strengthen America by building the federal and state governments we need to compete globally and serve citizens effectively. RAF aims to restore the core capabilities of government and move to a new operating model—the right people, doing the right work, with purpose-fit systems and test-and-learn frameworks—so it can reliably deliver on its goals. The Fund seeks to help accelerate the growth and development of an ideologically diverse field of state capacity organizations, connect them to each other, fill in the gaps, and help them set ambitious common goals to drive transformational change across all levels of government in this time of unprecedented disruption. Change is coming to public institutions, and now is the time to shape that change in the public interest. That ambitious task cannot be the work of just one party or faction.

The Opportunity: Build Federal Government Capacity at a Critical Moment

We’re hiring up to three people at a variety of experience levels to join our Federal Policy team. These positions focus on the Fund's work to strengthen the federal government through bold, structural reform—not incremental tweaks. We collaborate directly with the Executive branch and Congress and make grants to independent organizations working to tackle root causes of weak government delivery capacity, such as catalyzing durable civil service reform, modernizing how the government procures and builds digital infrastructure, reducing procedural burden, and fostering more constructive feedback loops between those who make policy in Congress and those who implement it in agencies. These roles are for people who want to drive ambitious, systems-level change.

Driving ambitious change requires using a broad range of tools. A unique aspect of these roles: You'll be hired into RAF's 501(c)(3) but will work across both our c3 and c4 entities. This hybrid structure is a strategic advantage—it gives you access to a wider range of tools and levers to drive impact. Through the c3, you'll make grants, conduct research, and provide education. Through the c4, you'll engage in direct advocacy, lobbying, and policy campaigns. This structure enables more comprehensive and flexible approaches to advancing federal reform than a traditional single-entity nonprofit could pursue.

Depending on experience level, these roles will participate in and support all aspects of building, shipping, and scaling real change alongside federal state capacity ecosystem partners and government partners, including:

• Engaging directly with grantees and federal partners to shape policy proposals, strategize implementation, define success metrics, and track real-world impact
• Crafting reports, presentations, memos, toolkits, and other documents to move decision-makers and inspire action—for audiences ranging from the general public to federal partners, grantees, funders, and internal staff
• Contributing to strategic planning and problem-solving as part of a small, nimble, mission-driven team

Key Responsibilities

The specific balance of responsibilities will vary by experience level, with more senior hires taking greater ownership of strategy and stakeholder relationships, and earlier-career hires focusing more on execution and support. All team members will contribute across these areas:

Policy Development & Support

• Provide day-to-day support and coordination for RAF's policy and programmatic work, including the development of policy proposals and support materials
• Collaborate with ecosystem partners to translate policy proposals into tangible products, including draft legislation, proposed administrative changes (guidance documents, rulemaking, executive actions), and management practice reforms
• Attend ecosystem events, conferences, and meetings to represent RAF’s perspective 
• Coordinate with partner government affairs teams to elevate programmatic work and build traction for policy proposals with relevant stakeholders

Narrative Building & Stakeholder Engagement

• Develop materials that advance RAF's policy objectives, including briefs, case studies, explainers, and communications content
• Organize meetings, convenings, and events that support RAF policy objectives and facilitate collaboration across the state capacity ecosystem
• Coordinate ecosystem-wide gatherings that increase collaboration and communication and strengthen connective tissue within the ecosystem

Strategic Coordination & Grantmaking Support

• Identify opportunities to connect programmatic work with fast-moving policy windows, implementation opportunities, and change agents in government
• Build and maintain relationships with partners across the ecosystem to facilitate learning and collaboration and to strengthen programmatic and policy work 
• Support special projects and initiatives that advance RAF's mission and strengthen organizational and ecosystem capacity

We are a small, nimble team and expect the person who fills this role to handle anything else that needs to get done and provide flex capacity where it’s needed.

Ideal Candidate Profile

These roles are for you if you:

• Are a top-tier communicator—both in writing and in conversation. You can explain complex ideas simply, persuade skeptics, and adapt your message by audience. 
• Thrive in a fast-paced and fluid environment. At times, you will have a blank canvas to develop bold thinking. At other times, you will be called on to execute with precision under tight deadlines.
• Want high degrees of ownership. Depending on your experience level, you will be expected to develop high-quality materials or analysis with moderate to minimal guidance, and at times drive work products or processes from end-to-end.
• Are passionate about making government work better—not just theoretically but in practice, and are excited about the specific substance of improving the unglamorous yet essential ‘plumbing’ of federal government
• Bring at least one year of experience (for earlier-career roles) and up to ~7-10 years (for more senior roles) and a track record of delivering under pressure. More senior candidates will bring deeper policy expertise and stakeholder management experience.

• Enjoy working in ideologically diverse contexts with people and organizations that may have different ideological perspectives and ideas than you, but share your passion for state capacity.

We encourage anyone who is interested in these roles to apply, regardless of whether you feel you meet 100% of the qualifications. The top candidates will bring their own unique perspectives, experiences, and backgrounds from a variety of industries/sectors along with many but not necessarily all the qualifications listed above. We especially encourage candidates who feel they would bring ideological diversity to the team and ecosystem to apply.

Next Steps and Start Date

We’re building and need you fast. Please submit your application by Friday, February 20, 11:59pm ET. We’ll review applications on a rolling basis, so we encourage early submission. Candidates not selected at any stage will be notified promptly. We’re aiming for start dates by late March.

Reasonable Accommodations

We are committed to fostering an inclusive and accessible work environment. If you require any accommodations during the application or interview process, or to perform the essential functions of the role, please email us at [email protected] with the email subject “Accommodation Needed.” We will work with you to ensure reasonable accommodations are made to support your needs.