Managing Director, Public Affairs

AIR is seeking a Managing Director of Public Affairs, a senior leadership role responsible for representing AIR’s strategic interests in advancing the generation and use of evidence across its key focus areas—education, health, and workforce development—both domestically and internationally. Reporting to the Chief Communications Officer, Senior Vice President of Communications & Public Affairs, the Managing Director is an experienced visionary, idea generator, and strategist who supports AIR’s positioning as an evidence broker. This role requires maintaining up-to-date knowledge of federal policies, processes, and key stakeholders, as well as tracking significant trends at the state level to proactively respond to field-identified needs. The Managing Director will lead, develop, and manage an experienced team of public affairs staff. This leader will work closely with AIR’s senior leadership to:

• Design and build an overarching AIR policy agenda.
• Communicate evidence that supports sound positions on select issues.
• Implement strategies that enhance AIR’s capacity to influence decision-makers and other stakeholders to adopt evidence-based practices that improve access and engagement in education, health, and workforce development, both domestically and internationally.

The Managing Director will ideate, design, and implement thought leadership initiatives that provide opportunities for AIR to engage in innovative and sustained policy efforts across sectors. These initiatives aim to enhance AIR’s reputation as a trusted and reliable source of information, particularly in its key focus areas. Additionally, the Managing Director will support the dissemination and translation of rigorous, impartial research and evidence-based insights to address pressing and recurring policy challenges. These efforts will help inform public understanding and guide federal, state, and local policy decisions.

This position is hybrid, based out of AIR's office in Arlington, Virginia.

About AIR:

Established in 1946, with headquarters in Arlington, Virginia, AIR is a nonpartisan, not-for-profit institution that conducts behavioral and social science research and delivers technical assistance to solve some of the most urgent challenges in the U.S. and around the world. We advance evidence in the areas of education, health, the workforce, human services, and international development to create a better, more equitable world.

Responsibilities:

Essential job functions include but are not limited to-

• Strategic Planning and Execution
• Design AIR’s public affairs strategy and role model the behavior needed to drive, lead, and define the space.
• Work with AIR senior leadership to implement a comprehensive public affairs strategy that helps fulfill AIR’s vision to inform evidence-based decision-making across education, health, and workforce development, while also helping to inform, shape and influence systemic change.
• In partnership with external consultants, maintain timely and thorough understanding and awareness of policy issues and developments across key topic areas to ensure regular transfer of that knowledge to senior staff.
• Direct and provide intelligence to advance AIR’s business and policy interests.
• Proactively position AIR to protect existing business, pursue new business, and expand understanding with key interest holders including policymakers, associations, and other key opinion leaders.
• Work directly with AIR divisions to align and integrate work into strategic plans to build intentional partnerships, inform policy, and support and promote AIR’s mission.
• Influencer Outreach and Engagement
• Develop and implement strategies to identify and engage the network of influencers that surround policymakers and decisionmakers.
• Provide an underlying rationale for policy outreach, education, collaboration, partnership, and advancement among policymakers and relevant organizations, including responding to and generating requests for information.
• Cultivate and maintain trusted relationships with relevant influencers, building a targeted list of digital, media, nonprofit and policy decisionmakers across education, health, and workforce development, domestically and internationally.
• Thought Leadership and Strategic Communication
• Lead strategic communications ef