Senior Policy Advisor

If you’re passionate about building a better future for individuals, communities, and our country—and you’re committed to working hard to play your part in building that future—consider WGU as the next step in your career.

Driven by a mission to expand access to higher education through online, competency-based degree programs, WGU is also committed to being a great place to work for a diverse workforce of student-focused professionals. The university has pioneered a new way to learn in the 21st century, one that has received praise from academic, industry, government, and media leaders. Whatever your role, working for WGU gives you a part to play in helping students graduate, creating a better tomorrow for themselves and their families.

The salary range for this position takes into account the wide range of factors that are considered in making compensation decisions including but not limited to skill sets; experience and training; licensure and certifications; and other business and organizational needs.

At WGU, it is not typical for an individual to be hired at or near the top of the range for their position, and compensation decisions are dependent on the facts and circumstances of each case. A reasonable estimate of the current range is:
 

Grade: Professional 313

Pay Range: $119,400.00 - $185,100.00

Job Description

The Senior Policy Advisor is responsible for managing WGU’s public policy stewardship, analysis, and coordination processes. This position reports to the Director of Strategy, Policy, and Insights within the Strategy & Ventures Group.

 

Job Summary

The Senior Policy Advisor is responsible for managing WGU’s public policy stewardship, analysis, and coordination processes. This position reports to the Director of Strategy, Policy, and Insights within the Strategy & Ventures Group.

Responsibilities

Policy Stewardship & Institutional Credibility

• Develop timely, credible, and consistent policy products—including position statements, policy briefs, comment letters, and legislative memos—that articulate WGU’s perspective to policymakers and external stakeholders.
• Oversee disciplined internal review and alignment processes for policy products, ensuring quality, consistency, and appropriate consultation with relevant leaders.
• Safeguard WGU’s reputation and credibility by ensuring policy positions are analytically sound, transparent, and responsibly framed.

Policy Analysis & Sensemaking

• Monitor and interpret public policy developments that may affect WGU’s strategic positioning, growth, or operating environment in higher education and workforce.
• Conduct policy analysis that surfaces implications, tradeoffs, risks, and opportunities for institutional decision-making.
• Synthesize information from legislation, regulatory activity, media, think tanks, and advocacy organizations into concise, decision-relevant insights for internal stakeholders.
• Direct the development and use of AI-enabled tools and analytic systems to enhance policy scanning, regulatory analysis, and opportunity mapping.

Strategic Translation & Coordination

• Partner closely with Strategy and Insights leaders to translate institutional priorities, research, and foresight into coherent policy positions and narratives.
• Collaborate with Government Relations to translate approved policy positions into effective engagement and advocacy strategies.
• Support identification of policy-aligned partnerships by working with internal teams to assess alignment with WGU’s mission and strategic objectives.
• Contribute to broader thought leadership efforts by articulating WGU’s perspective on higher education and workforce policy issues in coordination with Institutional Advancement.
• Coordinate with leaders across WGU to provide policy expertise, as needed.

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Qualifications

Knowledge, Skills, and Abilities

• Knowledge of higher education, workforce, and related public policy domains, including legislative and regulatory processes.
• Knowledge of how public policy intersects with institutional strategy, growth, and reputation in complex, mission-driven organizations.
• Skill in distilling complex policy developments into concise, decision-relevant updates for senior leaders and cross-functional stakeholders.
• Skill in managing internal review processed to ensure policy products are accurate, consistent, and aligned with institutional priorities.
• Ability to exercise sound judgment in navigating policy issues that carry reputational, strategic, or political sensitivity.
• Ability to op