Careers at FREOPP: Director of State & Local Initiatives

(This position has been filled. Please visit jobs.freopp.org to learn about our open positions.)

About FREOPP

The Foundation for Research on Equal Opportunity (FREOPP), founded in 2016, is a non-profit, non-partisan think tank focused on expanding economic opportunity to those who least have it, using the tools of individual liberty, free enterprise, and technological innovation. All research conducted by FREOPP considers the impact of public policies and proposed reforms on those with incomes or wealth below the U.S. median.

FREOPP is headquartered in Austin, Texas, and also has offices in Washington, D.C. For more information, please visit FREOPP.org.

About the position

Historically, FREOPP has focused on federal policy, because so many of the reforms we need to achieve require acts of Congress. Federal reforms are routinely blocked by partisan disagreements and institutional inertia, and FREOPP’s unique mission is designed to overcome these obstacles.

We have found, however, that much of the work we do is of great relevance to policymakers at the state and local levels, especially in health care, housing, education, energy, and criminal justice. As a result, we have experienced increasing demand from state and local policymakers for our expertise in addressing policy challenges in their jurisdictions.

Hence, we need to hire a Director of State & Local Initiatives to serve as the point person for our work with state and local policymakers and stakeholders. We are looking for someone who has demonstrated success at the state and local levels in advancing market-based reforms that expand economic opportunity, and who is interested in taking that success to as many of the 50 states as feasible.

The ideal candidate will have good people skills, so as to build relationships with key policy influencers in both parties; and strong writing ability, as demonstrated by op-ed writing.

The Director of State & Local Initiatives will report to FREOPP’s Director of Communications and Government Relations, Kara Jones, and to FREOPP co-founder and president, Avik Roy, who National Review has called one of the nation’s “sharpest policy minds.”

The Director of State & Local Initiatives will be based in FREOPP’s headquarters in Austin, Texas or Washington, D.C., pending adequate resolution of the COVID-19 pandemic. FREOPP will cover reasonable relocation costs for highly qualified candidates.

Responsibilities

The Director of State & Local Initiatives’ responsibilities will include:

• Developing and building relationships with key state policymakers and influencers (legislators, governors, executive branch policymakers, staff, major newspaper editorial pages, etc.)
• Providing rapid-response technical and policy advice to policymakers on relevant legislation and regulatory initiatives
• Conduct original state & local policy research and writing, including op-eds, in collaboration where appropriate with FREOPP scholars
• Over time, oversee the build-out of a team to manage state & local policy
• Estimated travel: 25%; will vary based on experience and qualifications and location of the candidate, and the evolution of the COVID-19 pandemic (the safety of our team comes first)

Candidate attributes

The ideal candidate for the Director of State & Local Initiatives role will possess the following attributes:

• 5+ years of professional public policy experience (i.e., excluding schooling)
• Dedication to improving the lives of Americans whose incomes or wealth are below the U.S. median
• Significant experience writing op-eds that have been published in major mainstream regional newspapers (e.g., the Detroit News or the Arizona Republic) or national newspapers (e.g., the Wall Street Journal, the Washington Post, or the New York Times)
• Strong people skills; ability to develop strong, long-term relationships with policymakers and influencers of both parties and all ideologies
• An entrepreneurial mindset and the willingness to challenge the status quo
• Self-directed and unrelenting work ethic, capable of delivering without being micro-managed
• Desire and ability to work collaboratively with FREOPP staff

How to apply

Qualified candidates should submit the following application materials in one PDF document:

• Résumé
• Cover letter detailing the reasons why you are a strong candidate for this position, your geographic preferences and salary requirements
• At least three op-eds authored by the candidate and published in major mainstream regional or national newspapers
• Three references, including email addresses, telephone numbers, and relationship to the candidate

Applications should be submitted at this link. Questions can be directed to Katelynn Barbosa (katelynn@talentmarket.org), who is assisting with the search. Only direct applications will be considered. No phone calls, please.