Senior Director of Government Affairs (Job ID: 2025-3626)

Overview

Join one of the most influential, most quoted and most trusted think tanks!  

The Brookings Institution is a nonprofit public policy organization based in Washington, DC. Our mission is to conduct in-depth research that leads to new ideas for solving problems facing society at the local, national and global level.  

  

We bring together leading experts in government and academia from all over the world, rooted in open-minded inquiry and representing diverse points of view, who provide the highest quality research, policy recommendations, and analysis. Research topics cover a full range of public policy issues in economics, foreign policy, development, governance and metropolitan policy. 

  

With fair and transparent business practices, clear communication, mutual respect, and a collaborative atmosphere that offers both professional and personal development opportunities, Brookings offers an inclusive and welcoming workplace that values the efforts of all contributors. 

 

The mission of the Office of Communications is to provide the tools, strategies, products and programs to support the brand and its content, and to continually grow Brookings’s impact and effectiveness as a change agent for public policy in the United States and around the world. This purpose is realized if we help our scholars raise awareness, set the agenda and shape the debate around the public policy issues they choose to address. 

 

Position Location: This position is hybrid. Hybrid positions combine regular in-person presence at our Washington, DC, office with the option of two days of remote work each week.

Responsibilities

Ready to contribute to Brookings success? 

 

The Senior Director of Government Affairs is a seasoned public affairs professional with deep expertise in policy and stakeholder engagement. The Senior Director drives the Institution's nonpartisan engagement with policymakers and decisionmakers in the public, private, and civic sectors through data-informed decision making and strategic leadership. Reporting to the Vice President of Communications and Public Affairs, the Senior Director will use their strong network in Washington, DC, and track record of successful public affairs campaigns to foster productive relationships between Brookings and government bodies and stakeholders in all sectors.

 

Strategy Development and Execution (80%)

• Lead development of sophisticated strategies to reach key stakeholders including policymakers, industry leaders, and decisionmakers, with Brookings’ broadly disseminated work, including events, briefings, testimony, digital communications, collateral, etc.

• Forge and nurture relationships with public officials, policymakers, and key stakeholders at all levels, leveraging existing and new relationships to broaden our impact.

• Serve as a strategic advisor to senior leadership, using knowledge of federal, state, and local policy operations and trends to identify and recommend engagement opportunities.

• Provides timely analysis and recommendations on legislative, regulatory, and political developments that impact Brookings.

• Work with internal, cross-functional teams to integrate public affairs priorities and audience insights into overall organizational objectives.

• Draft impactful communications to support government affairs work.

• Oversee the creation of systems to track, measure, and optimize our government affairs impact.

• Collaborate with Brookings scholars and research programs communications staff to support the broad dissemination of their research and recommendations effectively contributing to public discourse.

 

Team Management & Internal Support Strategies (20%)

• Collaborate with peer directors across Communications and Public Affairs to ensure cohesive strategy implementation so that work is high-impact internally and externally.

• Collaborate with internal teams to identify opportunities to promote and broadly disseminate Brookings work to stakeholders via various channels such as written materials, print collateral, presentations, , digital and multimedia media, etc.

• Serve as an internal consultant to subject matter experts on public affairs and audience engagement strategies.

• Establish team processes and workflows.

• Mentor a high-performing, cross-functional team

• Actively contribute to internal team and/or organizational work that shapes our systems and our culture.

• Other duties as assigned

Qualifications

Ready to make an impact? In this role, you will support Brookings values of collegiality, respect, inclusion, d