ABOUT US

The Aspen Institute is a global nonprofit organization committed to realizing a free, just, and equitable society. Since its founding in 1949, the Institute has been driving change through dialogue, leadership, and action to help solve the most critical challenges facing communities in the United States and around the world. Headquartered in Washington, DC, the Institute has a campus in Aspen, Colorado, and an international network of partners.

ASPEN POLICY ACADEMY

The Aspen Institute’s Policy Academy helps community leaders and experts across the political spectrum elevate their voices, influence key decisions, and strengthen democracy from the ground up. We believe that the people closest to problems are best positioned to come up with solutions, so we work to empower citizens to have a say in the decisions that affect them. Our innovative training programs and resources equip people across sectors – from tech to the environment, science to civic engagement – with the skills to shape critical policy efforts. With nearly 20,000 people registering for our programs in the last 18 months, we’re building an America where everyone is engaged in our democratic process—and has the power to make a difference.
ABOUT THIS ROLE

We are looking for a Policy Advisor who loves to teach, mentor students new to policy, and run policy programs. Our policy advisor should be a highly organized, strong communicator who likes switching between teaching, advising, reviewing work, and keeping programs running smoothly. This role is a particularly good fit for candidates transitioning out of policy or advocacy roles who have a strong passion for teaching, performing, and telling stories about their work based on an existing curriculum.

The Policy Advisor will 1) tailor and teach portions of our existing policy curriculum in a variety of formats, such as public webinars, virtual short courses, and our in-person fellowship; 2) mentor trainees on policy projects, including by providing guidance on project substance and editing project products such as policy memos; 3) support program operations, such as overseeing curriculum preparation for a course, identifying and coordinating guest speakers, supporting program recruitment and selection, and evaluating program effectiveness; and 4) meet with external stakeholders such as government agencies and funders to help coordinate policy projects and partnership relationships. The Policy Advisor will also have an opportunity to work on thought leadership projects like our annual staff policy report.

Note that this role focuses largely on updating, improving, tailoring and teaching existing curriculum; developing new curriculum is not a primary responsibility of the role. Having teaching experience is strongly preferred, though a candidate with public speaking experience and an interest in teaching may also qualify.

The Policy Advisor will report to the Academy’s Associate Director of Programs, who reports to the Academy’s Director. The salary range for this role is $105,000-$115,000. Bay Area-based candidates are preferred. Remote candidates must be willing to work mostly Pacific hours and to relocate to the Bay Area for up to a month every summer to help run our in-person fellowship program.
WHAT YOU WILL DO

Teaching and Tailoring Curriculum

• Teach policy sessions for our training programs focused on teaching community leaders and subject matter experts the policy process. Sample teaching topics include: Policy 101, Communicating for Policy, Scoping a Policy Problem, Stakeholder Mapping, Executive Branch Policymaking, Legislative Branch Policymaking, and Corporate Policymaking. You can see a full list of our current courses here;

• Moderate panels with policy experts as part of training programs. Past speakers for our programs have included Tom Kalil, Ann Mei Chang, and Neil Chatterjee; and

• Support Academy curriculum development, including enhancing existing curriculum based on trainee feedback and adding new examples.

Program and Project Management

• Oversee the program operations for Academy courses, including managing operations staff, curriculum preparations, teaching scheduling, and program operations;

• Coordinate speaker outreach for programs and events, identifying potential policy speakers, sending out invitations, and coordinating their participation;

• Manage the development of multiple fellow policy projects simultaneously over a 3-month period;

• Manage backend operations for teaching sessions; and

• Support recruitment and selection for assigned programs.

Policy Advising and Fellow Support

• Provide extensive mentorship support to fellows, meeting with them on a weekly basis, assisting them with career plans, and connecting them to relevant policy leaders as needed;

• Provide detailed feedback on policy memos, public comments, pitch sessions, and other exercises trainees participate in as part of our program;

• Provide supervision and feedback on fellow work products, including but not limited to policy memos, wireframes, and app demos; and

• Provide writing and design edits on fellow work products to ensure that all projects formally published meet high standards of professionalism.

Other

• Support development of long-form Academy thought leadership pieces such as the Getting Through To Governments guide we recently published;

• Meet with external stakeholders such as funders and program partners; and

• Support other Academy projects, as needed.

WHAT YOU WILL NEED TO THRIVE

Required

• Bachelor’s degree;

• 5+ years of professional experience;

• 3+ years of professional experience or the equivalent working in policy or related field;

• Strong, demonstrable writing and editing skills;

• Strong teaching and storytelling skills, including the ability to effectively share policy stories from personal experience;

• Strong program management skills;

• Passion for helping grow and mentor the next generation of policy leaders;

• Interest in our priority areas (science & technology, the environment, or civic engagement);

• Superior attention to detail and ability to manage multiple projects;

• Professional and polished interpersonal skills; and

• A desire to learn, sense of humor, flexibility, and resourcefulness.

Preferred

• Graduate degree in law, public policy, business, or a similar field;

• 2+ years working in one of our priority areas: science and technology, the environment, or civic engagement;

• 5+ years professional experience in public policy or related field;

• 2+ years of professional experience working in government at any level in the United States;

• Direct experience teaching large groups complex materials;

• Experience developing curriculum;

• Experience with mentorship; and

• Experience with philanthropic fundraising.

HOW TO APPLY

Applicants must submit a cover letter and resume to be considered. In your cover letter, please include an explanation of why you are passionate about teaching and describe your previous teaching or related experience. Applicants without a cover letter will not be considered.

Since strong writing skills are a key qualification for this role, candidates who heavily rely on generative AI to prepare their cover letters may not be a good fit.

For various reasons, amazing talent hesitate to apply for positions for which they could potentially be a great fit. We strongly encourage you to apply for this position if it aligns with your career interests and skill set, even if you are not sure whether you meet all of the qualifications.

Our first review date for applications will be March 23, 2026. Applicants who apply by this date will be given priority review.

ADDITIONAL INFORMATION

The Aspen Institute offers a generous benefits package including health, dental, vision, and prescription benefits, retirement benefits, and paid leave.

The Aspen Institute is an Equal Opportunity Employer and complies with all District and federal laws. All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, color, religion, sex, national origin, or protected veteran or disabled status and will not be discriminated against.

The Aspen Institute welcomes individuals with disabilities to participate in its programs, including the interview process. If you would like to request accommodations or have questions about accessibility, please email hrsupport@aspeninstitute.org or call 202-736-2127 in advance of your visit. Requests for ASL or CART services should be made at least two weeks in advance when possible. We will make every effort to fulfill requests, subject to availability