Vice President of Policy and Government Affairs

Founded in 1981 in partnership with whistleblowers, the Project On Government Oversight (POGO) is a nonpartisan independent watchdog that works to expose waste, corruption, abuse of power, and other instances where the government fails to serve the public. We champion reforms to achieve a more effective, ethical, and accountable federal government that safeguards constitutional principles. POGO has an over $7 million annual budget that supports a staff of over 50 employees.

POGO is looking for a talented Vice President of Policy and Government Affairs (VPPGA) to develop, implement, and oversee the organization’s policy, advocacy, and government affairs work to ensure that it reflects long-term and short-term strategic priorities. The VPPGA is a member of the executive team and leads POGO’s policy teams to set strategic policy and advocacy goals. Teams overseen include Effective and Accountable Government, Center for Defense Information, The Constitution Project, Government Affairs, and Civic Engagement. The Vice President of Policy and Government Affairs reports directly to the Executive Director/President.

We encourage potential applicants to apply even if they only have experience or familiarity in some of the areas described below. We fully recognize that many great candidates will not have experience in all of the areas we list, or may have relevant experiences and skills that we have not listed or considered.

Responsibilities include: 

• In coordination with the executive director and the rest of the executive team, play a leadership role in the overall development, strategic planning, service delivery, and management of the organization’s policy work across multiple teams, including yearly and quarterly priority objective setting and evaluation.
• Create an effective reform advocacy strategy to engage policy makers, the media, and organizational stakeholders that reflect organizational priorities.
• Oversee the coordination, integration, review, and evaluation of policy areas and related services, promoting collaborative relationships between teams and ensuring that the expectations of the executive team and other relevant stakeholders are consistently met.
• Represent the organization in public forums as well as high level meetings with government officials.
• Directly supervise policy directors and team leads and work closely with staff to coordinate among all teams.
• Assist directors in creating and actively maintaining work plans and evaluation metrics.
• Oversee team projects to ensure alignment with organizational priorities and consistency across teams.
• Foster a highly effective work culture with strong leadership development to all staff through quality coaching and feedback.
• Promote justice, equity, diversity, and inclusion both internally and externally in POGO policy development and advocacy.
• Deploy resources efficiently and effectively toward organizational goals, working with staff to effectively balance workload and prevent burnout.
• Assist the cross organizational teams as needed or required.

Qualifications include:

• Minimum five years of senior leadership experience overseeing multiple policy and/or civic engagement programs in a nonprofit, governmental, or other philanthropic organization.
• Deep knowledge of federal government operations or programs.
• Experience managing a high-performing team in a multi-disciplinary structure, which included professional development and mentorship.
• Experience managing and balancing multiple work streams and work styles to ensure organizational priorities were met.
• Strong relationship builder with the ability to find common ground, build consensus where possible, and strengthen collaboration among organizational teams and diverse external stakeholders.
• Outstanding written and verbal communication skills.
• Capacity to bring innovative approaches to complex public policy challenges and deliver impact related to programmatic goals.
• Ability to deliver stakeholder buy-in for program goals.
• Strong focus on justice, equity, diversity, and inclusion in internal operations and program work.
• Sound judgement in handling sensitive and confidential matters.
• Limited travel may be required.
• Must be able to respond to urgent matters during evenings/nights/weekend as required.
• Deals with confidential information and/or issues using discretion and judgment for sources, methods, and advocacy.
• Commitment to an inclusive work environment.

Compensation, benefits, and other information:

This position is based in the Washington, DC region.

This is a full-time position and includes the listed benefits:

• Competitive nonprofit salary in the range of $122,000 - $140,000
• Health, dental, and vision insurance
• 403(b) employee investment plan available, with employer retirement contribution once eligible
• Life insurance, short-term and long-term disability coverage
• Paid holiday, vacation, and sick leave

To Apply: Submit a cover letter and resume. No phone calls please.

Application Deadline: October 16th, 2024

 POGO is committed to a diverse and inclusive workforce and provides equal employment opportunities (EEO) to all employees and applicants for employment without regard to race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, national origin, age, disability, or genetics. We encourage all interested and qualified individuals to apply.