Senior Vice President of Research (Job ID: 2025-3624)

Overview

Russell Reynolds Associates has been exclusively retained for this search. Prospective candidates are invited to send their CV and a cover letter to BrookingsSVP@RussellReynolds.com.

 

The Brookings Institution is a nonprofit, nonpartisan public policy organization based in Washington, DC. Its mission is to conduct in-depth research that leads to new ideas for solving problems facing society at the local, national, and global levels. Brookings brings together leading experts in government, business, civil society, and academia from all over the world who provide the highest quality research, policy recommendations, and analysis on a full range of public policy issues. Brookings’ research agenda and recommendations are rooted in open-minded inquiry and represent diverse points of view.

 

Research is conducted by approximately 100 scholars in five major Research Programs: Brookings Metro, Economic Studies, Foreign Policy, Global Economy and Development, and Governance Studies. These programs include 16 Centers and numerous special projects and initiatives, designed to be nimble and responsive to changing local, national, and global issues.

 

One of the world’s most cited and influential think tanks, Brookings also produces and manages several external communications channels, including a website, social media and multimedia platforms, a book publishing imprint, and more than two hundred public events produced in 2024 (either in-person or hybrid). Brookings’s events and Brookings-hosted learning networks often feature experts alongside policymakers, business, and community leaders, and provide an opportunity to highlight original scholarly research while exchanging ideas on how to solve complex policy issues.

 

With an annual operating budget of around $100M and over 400 employees, Brookings has more than a century of producing high-quality insights and recommendations that help decision makers, news media, and the public to understand and tackle important challenges at the local, national, and global levels.

 

Based in Washington, D.C., reporting to Brookings President Dr. Cecilia Rouse, and seated within the Executive Office, the Senior Vice President (SVP) will serve as a principal partner to the President in all matters pertaining to research, scholars, impact planning, and multi-scholar initiatives. The SVP will be crucial in overseeing and interacting with the work of the five Vice Presidents of Research (RVPs), maintaining standards for research quality, and supporting scholar culture and success. The SVP will collaborate with the President to set and implement strategic priorities and enhance cross-program collaboration. They will work to identify areas of synergy across the programmatic portfolio and work to foster collaboration where appropriate.

Responsibilities

Among the key responsibilities for this position, we would highlight the following:

• Advance the goals of the strategic plan in partnership with research vice presidents (RVPs and scholars)

• Work with RVPs to identify and support multi-scholar impact opportunities

• Maintain and regularly review quality standards and work with the Office of the General Counsel to keep scholar-related policies current and relevant

• Oversee quality review

• Oversee concurrence of Senior Fellows and conduct Center and Research Program reviews

• Work closely with institutional advancement and communications/external affairs VPs to create and foster strong, productive links among these functional areas

• Supervise institutional initiative directors and serve as executive sponsor on other institutional research/policy efforts

• Establish and use a deep understanding of Brookings’ scholars, research agendas, workplan creation, funding, and pathways to policy impact to support scholars’ impact; work with the leadership team to achieve same

• Oversee research support services such as the library and data/quantitative analysis support

• Run point on programmatic risk management discussion with RVPs (and scholars as needed), Office of the General Counsel, SVP of finance and COO, and VP of institutional advancement

• Conduct administrative reviews and sign offs as delegated by the president  Work with development staff and RVPs/scholars on the programming of International Advisory Council (IAC) engagement

• Serve as executive sponsor for research- or scholar-based institutional partnerships

• Represent Brookings to external partners engaged in institutional projects  Cultivate and/or steward selected institutional funders, especially but not limited to those who support institutional initiatives

• Establish and maintain Board of Trustees relationship