Director of Policy

About the organization

Founded in 1981 in partnership with whistleblowers, the Project On Government Oversight (POGO) is a nonpartisan independent watchdog that works to expose waste, corruption, abuse of power, and other instances where the government fails to serve the public. We champion reforms to achieve a more effective, ethical, and accountable federal government that safeguards constitutional principles. POGO has an over $7 million annual budget that supports a staff of over 50 employees.

About This Role

POGO is looking for a talented Director of Policy to advance POGO’s policy agenda with Congress and the executive branch. This role supervises POGO’s policy teams spanning congressional and judicial oversight, government ethics, whistleblower protection, executive power and national security law, federal spending transparency, defense programs, and surveillance policy. They work closely with our advocacy team and other subject-matter experts to translate policy expertise into advocacy solutions that correct systemic corruption, abuse of power, and waste. The Director identifies topics and opportunities to further organizational goals or create new ones.

This is a leadership and management role, not a subject-matter-specialist role: the Director is not expected to be the deepest expert in every issue area. They must be able to guide, prioritize, and elevate the work of specialists, and demonstrate experience managing teams of policy professionals. This position reports to the Senior Vice President of Policy, Advocacy, and Capacity Building.

We encourage potential applicants to apply even if they only have experience or familiarity in some of the areas described below. We fully recognize that many great candidates will not have experience in all of the areas we list, or may have relevant experiences and skills that we have not listed or considered.

Core Responsibilities

• Establish and oversee work on POGO's policy recommendations, including directing and assisting Policy Team members in setting short- and long-term policy goals, promoting POGO recommendations, identifying key civil society allies and opponents, identifying advocacy targets in Executive Branch agencies, distributing POGO’s investigative reporting to relevant officials, and recording the progress of advocacy meetings.
• Supervise the team managers from the Constitution Project (TCP), the Center for Defense Information (CDI), the Effective and Accountable Government Program (EAG), and the policy senior researcher.
• Oversee all aspects of POGO’s original policy research production processes, including reviewing and approving project methodologies, timelines, and logistics for quality control reviews, and collaborating with colleague directors to ensure public-facing policy products meet POGO's standards for evidence and rigor.
• Provide the organization with recommendations on POGO’s public positions for legislation and executive branch programs and initiatives.
• Set priorities across a broad portfolio, balancing staff bandwidth against emerging opportunities and threats, and help identify and resolve coverage gaps so specialist knowledge is retained and institutionalized.
• Advise policy team managers and staff on research sources and methods, including government and non-government data, white papers and reports, FOIA requests, and proper protocols for soliciting, receiving, and sharing whistleblower information.
• Provide the organization with recommendations on POGO’s public positions for legislation and executive branch programs and initiatives.

Required Qualifications

• Minimum of 10 years of relevant experience.
• Minimum of 5 years of proven experience managing subject-matter specialists or technical staff, including setting priorities, protecting focus and bandwidth, and providing substantive feedback.
• A strong working knowledge of Congressional and/or administrative procedures.
• Knowledge of government ethics, judicial matters, federal spending, and/or whistleblower protection issues.
• Experience executing research projects and developing data and information-driven policy recommendations.
• Demonstrated experience building and managing coalitions of external stakeholders and translating policy expertise into legislative or public pressure through Hill relationships, media engagement, and public testimony.
• Demonstrated commitment to working in a collaborative, respectful manner demonstrating a strong commitment to POGO’s justice, equity, diversity, and inclusion principles.

Preferred Qualifications

• Congressional experience preferred.
• Experience testifying before Congress or serving as a media spokesperson on government accountability issues.

POGO is committed to a diverse and inclusive workforce and provides equal employment opportunities (EEO) to all employees and applicants for employment without regard to race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, national origin, age, disability, or genetics. We encourage all interested and qualified individuals to apply.

• Health, dental and vision insurance
• 403(b) employee investment plan available, with employer contribution once eligible
• Life insurance, short-term and long-term disability coverage
• Paid holiday, vacation, and sick leave