Director of Worker Power and Economic Security

What You’ll Do

Reporting to the Principal Economist, the Director, Worker Power and Economic Security will serve as Roosevelt’s primary resident expert on labor markets and worker organizing, driving internal strategy and representing Roosevelt in the media, among advocacy groups, with funders, and with elected officials. Working with think tank and Roosevelt leadership as well as colleagues in other specialties, the Director will develop Roosevelt’s overall posture in pushing the boundaries on policy and research in service of greater worker power and security.

The Director’s work will combine day-to-day management, long-range strategy development, and research and writing. Their time will be divided roughly as follows: 40 percent personal research and writing, 30 percent managing the research and writing of fellows and contract authors, 20 percent promoting the work of the program, and 10 percent administrative and management tasks—for example, supporting the development team. Included in the time devoted to research and writing and fellows’ research and writing may involve helping research associates and program managers support the program’s work.

This is an individual contributing, nonmanagement, nonunionized role

Essential Functions and Responsibilities

Program Strategy and Leadership:

• Working with the Principal Economist and in conjunction with the government relations, development, and communications teams, develop a research agenda on worker power and economic security with the goal of demonstrably moving the needle on outcomes for workers. This will include identifying areas for new long-range thought leadership as well as for near-term policy change.
• Partner with government relations and communications teams to develop overall programmatic goals and materials and promote work in service of those goals.
• Where appropriate, represent the organization’s program work with press, government officials, funders, and allied organizations.
• Collaborate with ecosystem partners to gather ideas, move ideas forward, and develop coalitions in favor of coalesced thought leadership and policy movement.
• Partner with the development team to articulate clear goals, strategies, and deliverables for proposals to support program work, and to track and report out on progress.

Research and Writing:

• Research and author reports and issue briefs on topics such as workers’ labor market power, worker organizing, social insurance, and workforce development.
• Author products accessible to a wide variety of audiences based on above research, for example op-eds, blog posts, and testimony.
• Engage with fellows, external partners, and outside experts to support research work.

Management:

• Build and lead a team of part-time fellows and contract experts, aligning them around goals, overseeing research product development, and ensuring that the whole of the program’s work and products is greater than the sum of its parts.
• Oversee consistent product pipelines for the program area and ensure all products meet the highest research standards, are positioned to drive strategic outcomes, and are delivered on time.
• Manage and review the research and writing of fellows, contractors, and staff to ensure quality and rigor across all projects as well as timeliness for projects when near-term opportunities arise.
• Partner with the Think Tank Director to guide research by junior staff in support of program goals.

What You’ll Have

• Advanced degree in economics, sociology, political science, public policy, or other related degree strongly preferred
• 8–10 years progressive experience developing program strategies, policies, and analysis regarding worker power and labor markets
• Exceptional writing, editing, and communication skills
• Experience writing and/or communicating about labor and the economy to a wide audience
• Deep knowledge of labor economics and/or labor policy and worker organizing
• Demonstrated success managing researchers from a variety of backgrounds across topics—including balancing the needs of multiple stakeholders and priorities (e.g., academic and research experts, advocacy and media goals) and ensuring timely delivery of projects
• Excellent project management skills
• Experience collaborating with teams across an organization to develop and execute program strategies, as well as troubleshooting and course-correcting as needed
• Experience designing and implementing research projects using or supervising the use of quantitative methods
• Passion for the Roosevelt Institute’s mission and strategy of intervening at the level of paradigm shift