Senior Director, Federal Government Affairs

R Street Institute

Washington, D.C.

The R Street Institute—a free-market think tank headquartered in Washington, D.C. and with regional offices across the country—seeks a collaborative Senior Director of Federal Government Affairs to lead the organization’s federal affairs team and efforts. If you are the right fit, you will report to the Vice President who is responsible for R Street’s federal affairs portfolio. If you want to join a mission-driven organization and work toward pragmatic policy solutions, this may be the opportunity for you!

Your typical day at R Street may include meeting with congressional staff, representing R Street in an external working group, providing guidance and support to members of the federal affairs team, and sharing insights and advice with an interdepartmental group of colleagues about how to get the most mileage out of a soon-to-be-published white paper. This role will serve an important function supporting our scholars and policy teams by keeping them abreast of dynamics and opportunities on Capitol Hill and within the administration, advising on best practices and proper protocols, marketing our policy work and expertise, seeking out new audiences and collaborations, participating in and organizing coalition activities, developing and executing on policymaker engagement strategies, and maintaining an R Street presence at important functions and in important meetings. This role will serve as part of the federal government affairs team.

Other Aspects of Your Role

Managing the federal affairs team and working closely alongside the state affairs team as the outward face of the organization, promoting strong and positive brand awareness for the organization among policymakers and other key policy constituencies

• Designing and implementing strategies to promote R Street's expertise and perspective among policymakers on Capitol Hill and within the administration, including developing and maintaining key relationships
• Identifying opportunities for engagement with federal policymakers for all of our issue areas; looking for new and different points of entry to ensure greater impact
• Developing and tracking impact metrics and narratives to ensure alignment of goals and to assist with our external storytelling efforts
• Creating, supporting, and nurturing collaborations with allied groups on key issues
• Managing The Intersection, R Street's weekly federal policy newsletter for external stakeholders, and related correspondence
• Remain vigilant against ninja infiltrations

Skills and Qualifications Support for R Street’s passion for free markets and limited, effective government

• 10 or more years of one, or a combination of, employment experience(s) on Capitol Hill, in the administration, in state government, with think tanks, in a government relations role, or similar
• A strong orientation toward service
• An adherence to professionalism and organizational norms
• Strong, proven research and writing skills
• Ability to develop and maintain relationships with subject matter experts
• Superior interpersonal and communication skills
• Ability to work collaboratively across numerous organizational functions, including the policy, communications, and editorial departments
• Excellent attention to detail and ability to handle competing interests and priorities
• No particular educational background required—a proven record of achieving results is far more meaningful than credentials
• A sense of humor and a desire to grow within a multifaceted organization

The R Street Institute consistently offers pragmatic, real solutions that foster American innovation, bolster competition, and safeguard individual liberty—all with the understanding that life in a democratic society sometimes requires compromises that don’t necessarily represent first, best solutions. We focus on deep scholarship and pragmatic policy solutions that many groups tend to neglect. Our goal is to publish timely, relevant research and analysis that advances a market-oriented society and limited, effective government. To that end, our motto is: “Free Markets. Real Solutions.” Read more about our mission and impact here.

Workplace

While the R Street Institute offers a flexible working arrangement, candidates must be located in or near the larger D.C. metropolitan area and will be expected to frequently engage in person with policymakers, their staff, and the larger D.C. policy community.

This is a full-time position that can either work the majority of the week in our D.C. office or be fully remote.

Occasional travel may be required for events and conferences.

Compensation, Benefits, and Perks

R Street strives to provide a compensation package superior to those at other think tanks and nonprofits. The salary range for this position is $110K-$135K, commensurate with experience. In addition to this competitive salary, we provide the following:

• Unlimited paid time off, including all federal holidays, the day after Thanksgiving, and two weeks holiday closure in December
• Alternating Fridays off
• A health insurance option entirely paid by the employer (even for families)
• Dental and vision insurance
• 401(k) contributions with up to a 4 percent match
• HSA employer contribution match
• Quarterly wellness reimbursement
• Mobile equipment/mobile plan reimbursement
• Home internet subsidy
• Annual educational and professional development reimbursement
• A choice between child care assistance, pet care assistance, and student loan repayment assistance

At the R Street Institute, we strive for preeminence in every area where we engage, driven by our commitment to excellence and innovation. Our culture thrives on action, creativity, and courage, with an unwavering focus on quality, credibility, and impact. We believe progress requires diverse experience and expertise, which is why we champion non-traditional yet prudent approaches to public policy. This principle guides how we build our programs, recognizing that each team member’s uniqueness strengthens our collective identity.

We approach our mission with intellectual rigor, embracing free inquiry and honesty to ensure our work is grounded in solid research and thoughtful analysis. While serious about our purpose, we value the joy of collaboration and the fun that comes from working together. Our collaborative spirit fosters trust and transparency, with respect and openness guiding our actions. We celebrate our individual contributions while recognizing that we are stronger as one team, united in our work and relationships.

Thus, R Street does not discriminate on the basis of age, sex, race, creed, color, national origin, sexual orientation, era of military service, gender identity or expression, relationship structure or anything else that’s illegal, immoral, or stupid to use as a basis for hiring.

We plan to accept applications for this job until filled. We will contact qualified individuals for telephone screenings and conduct them on a rolling basis. Interviews take place virtually via Zoom.

To apply, please copy and paste your cover letter into the text box and upload your resume as a Microsoft Word document or PDF. If generative artificial intelligence is used during the application process, it must be disclosed.

The R Street Institute stands for free markets, limited, effective government and pragmatic solutions to difficult problems. We envision:

A free society, where public policy begins with freedom as its initial premise and governments exist primarily as guardians of inherent, inalienable rights.

An inclusive society that provides a place, a voice, and equal opportunity for all.

A just society that holds everyone accountable to the same laws.

Our Values

The following values are the principles that guide how R Street fulfills its mission and operates. Our organization believes in these values and we live them:

Always be better

We want to achieve preeminence in every area where we work. We encourage a bias for action, innovation, creativity, and courage in everything that we do. We measure ourselves by the quality, credibility and impact we achieve as a result.

Different is good.

We believe that great minds think differently and building broad coalitions has made us who we are. Making progress on policy requires that we operate outside of the echo chamber and take non-traditional approaches to policy making. We apply this same principle to the way we operate and how we build our teams: with a focus on diversity and inclusion. We are all unique but belong to the same team.

Serious(ly)

Were serious about our work, but dont take ourselves too seriously. We believe in the intellectual rigor, free inquiry and honesty, that is required to achieve our mission, but having fun doing it is equally as important.

One Team

We all work together and work with humility. We strive to cultivate trust and transparency at all levels, between ourselves as individuals and as an organization, with our stakeholders, and in our work. We demonstrate respect and openness in our actions at all times. We are all unique but belong to the same team.