Senior Director of Policy

Who We Are:

The States Project (TSP) connects the importance of state legislatures to every aspect of our lives and brings together communities to help build a healthy, sustainable, and prosperous future for all. 

Our electoral work focuses on winning governing majorities in the states by making state legislative campaigns more effective and better funded. Our policy work provides nonpartisan tools and resources that connect a diverse community of state lawmakers committed to improving lives for the people they serve.  We do it because we believe that state legislatures are the strongest force for change in this country.

We encourage you to find out more about our values here.

Senior Director of Policy, The States Project

LOCATION:  National. 100% Remote, with 20-25% of expected travel for in-person team meetings and events. 

DEADLINE TO APPLY: January 15, 2025.

Position Details:

This is a full-time, exempt at-will position. The team currently operates remotely, with occasional in-person team retreats, etc. Some travel will be required. Additional evening and weekend hours are occasionally required to fulfill the duties of this position. 

TSP is committed to the safety of our employees and has a communicable disease policy in place.  If you have any questions about our safety protocols, please contact us.

The Opportunity:

The Senior Director of Policy at TSP will lead a small team working to identify, assess, and develop strategic, innovative, and impactful state level policy ideas to advance America’s Goals and achieve the American Promise. The SD will lead efforts to significantly expand TSP’s policy work including building a library of hundreds of the most popular, responsive, and impactful state level model policy ideas and identifying promising solutions to the most pressing issues state lawmakers are facing. Building on a strong foundation, this is an exciting opportunity to be part of leading the next phase of TSP’s policy work. 

The SD will oversee processes to identify, assess, and develop policies for TSP’s model policy library and to ensure policy resources are sufficient to meet internal and external needs and help achieve America’s Goals in principles-aligned ways. SD will also help establish, oversee, and provide ongoing improvement to assessment processes. Such work will include managing additional staff or consultants that the SD may also be involved in hiring.

We value diversity at TSP. Women, people of color, trans/genderqueer people, individuals with disabilities, and veterans are especially encouraged to apply. This position will report to the Vice President of Lawmaker Engagement. 

• Principal activities will include but not be limited to: 

• Develop and oversee processes to identify and evaluate state-level policy ideas most likely to advance America’s Goals, including building out strategies to generate innovative ideas from diverse sources (including but not limited to lawmakers, experts, academics, practitioners, advocates, other countries, federal opportunities, think tanks, TSP staff, press/media coverage, existing state legislation, etc.).
• In collaboration with VP of Lawmaker Engagement, oversee external stakeholder tracking for policy partners, and manage a set of key partner relationships. Evaluate and prioritize new policy ideas and translate them into model policies and lawmaker resources that advance America’s Goals and align with TSP’s principles.
• Analyze and assess policy ideas from a communications risk lens, focusing on how policies may be perceived and what impact they may have in differing state legislative landscapes.
• Identify opportunities to expand the effectiveness, innovation, and reach of potential model policies and lawmaker resources,  including through media scanning and engaging with external partner programming. 
• Identify and contribute to strategic opportunities to disseminate policy work to key stakeholders, including presenting to supporters and external partners as needed.
• Contribute to all Lawmaker Engagement products, programming, and resources that feature TSP policies (TSP agenda, seminars, briefings, task forces, fellowship, etc.).
• In collaboration with internal teams, ensure that TSP’s work is responsive to the needs of lawmakers in priority states as well as responsive to changes in the national political environment (including changes in federal landscape, shifts in federal funding, Supreme Court decisions, etc.). 
• Lead rapid response policy development work as needed. 
• With the Director of Lawmaker Communications and outside consultants, oversee public opinion polling, and ensure use of insights and data in policy development processes.
• With other members of Lawmaker Engagement, Communications, and Research teams, oversee tracking policy trends and major landscape updates based on news, academic research/journals, thought leaders, peer orgs, and global activity and ensure such trends are accounted for in policy development activities.
• Oversight and responsibility for quality control, consistency, and excellence across all TSP policies throughout different stages of development.
• Ensure that all research and policy development work follows research best practices, effectively/strategically utilizes data, and aligns with internal standards.
• Oversee and occasionally directly draft model policy language.

• Strategically identify ways to fill gaps in existing model Policy Library and resources in order to advance progress toward America’s Goals.
• In collaboration with VP of Lawmaker Engagement, provide updates to the senior team, including developing and overseeing a process for updating internal teams on ongoing policy development and assessment activities. 
• Oversee process for monitoring states’ introductions and enactments of policies to ensure accuracy within the TSP Policy Library. 
• Working with VP of Lawmaker Engagement, set and manage overall strategy, goals, and metrics of success for all policy development related priorities. 

• Manage team of full-time staff policy staff and consultants to translate policy ideas into actionable policy solutions that advance America's Goals in principles-aligned ways. 
• In collaboration with VP of Lawmaker Engagement, train and coach direct reports on organizational and programmatic systems, processes, norms, and best practices. 
• Propose and lead new cross-team initiatives to advance TSP’s policy work. 
• Provide strong day-to-day management and support of full-time staff and consultants, including ensuring the policy team can be sustained over time through strong systems, processes, training, and infrastructure. 
• Ensure that policy development and assessment activities meet goals and metrics in equitable, inclusive, and organizationally-aligned ways.
• Collaborate with other internal teams on policy development as well as keep internal stakeholders informed on key policy decisions. 

• Education: MA, MPA, MPP, or MS or a JD
• At least five years of progressively responsible professional experience working in politics, policy, or government
• Three to five years of experience managing full-time staff 
• Passion for and alignment with the organization’s mission, vision, and theory of change.
• Commitment to diversity, equity, inclusion, and belonging
• Highly collaborative approach
• Capable of independently managing/prioritizing time and tasks associated with a fast-paced organization
• Innovative thinker, with a track record for translating ideas into policy solutions
• Demonstrated track record of strong stakeholder management and experience representing an organization/office with diverse audiences
• Excellent written and verbal communication skills
• Extensive successful policy research, writing, and editing experience (including legislative drafting and analysis of legislative language and legal text)
• Excellent judgment and creative problem solving skills, including negotiation and conflict resolution skills
• Experience with or substantial knowledge of U.S. state legislatures and/or state policy, ideally with direct experience working with state lawmakers and/or staff 

• Experience working in partnership with communications and public affairs teams on how best to translate policy work

Benefits:

The position offers a competitive benefits package. Benefits currently offered include 75% paid coverage of medical, dental, and vision for individuals and dependents, basic life insurance, an employee assistance program, unlimited PTO, 401(k) matching, annual professional development, wellness, and work-from-home stipends and paid family leave.

Compensation:

The salary for this position is  $164,025 - $173,138 per year*. Salary offers are made based on the market rate and the candidate's demonstrated level of proficiency, experience, and credentials.

*The pay rate or range noted for this position is in compliance with NYC’s Pay Transparency Act and other state and local laws.

TSP does not discriminate based on gender, gender identity, sexual orientation, race, ethnicity, disability, veteran status, or any other characteristic protected by law. TSP values diversity and strongly encourages women, individuals with different ethnic and racial backgrounds, sexual orientations, gender identities, abilities, religious beliefs, and military backgrounds to apply.

TSP complies with federal and state disability laws and makes reasonable accommodations for applicants and employees with disabilities. If reasonable accommodation is needed to participate in the job application or interview process, please contact People & Culture,  Logan Booker at Logan@statesproject.org.

What You Can Expect During the Recruitment and Hiring Process:

All applicants will submit a resume and cover letter. Selected applicants will be moved forward to a phone screen. The next steps will include interviews with staff and leadership.