Policy Associate

JOB DESCRIPTION

The Scholars Strategy Network (SSN) seeks a Policy Associate focused on impact litigation. As a matchmaker and coach, the Associate will help scholars convey their research to litigators, civic organizations, policymakers, and the public in ways that can inform litigation outcomes and public policy. This is designed as an early-career position for an individual with an interest in how the judicial system uses research expertise. The ideal candidate is motivated to build relationships between university-based researchers, impact litigation organizations, and civic organizations involved in the judicial process or policymaking.

The Policy Associate is a full-time position with a starting salary between $58,000-$66,000, based on the candidate’s qualifications, experience, and location. SSN’s competitive benefits include generous time off, health insurance, professional development opportunities and resources, and a 403B retirement plan with an employer match. This position falls within the SSN employee union and is covered under the terms of the collective bargaining agreement.

SSN currently operates in a remote-first, hybrid work environment, but this role may be available as a fully remote position for a qualified candidate. For employees located in Massachusetts, SSN provides the option to work at SSN’s main offices, located at 501 Boylston St., Boston, MA 02116. Employees located out of state will be expected to participate in person for annual staff gatherings. The person in this position will be part of SSN’s Policy team and reports directly to SSN’s Director of Policy. This is a grant-funded position ending in December 2027. Although the grant is expected to end in December 2027, the intention is that SSN will obtain additional funding to extend employment.

RESPONSIBILITIES

SSN has a productive Policy Team that supports and creates opportunities for a large and growing network of over 2,000 members who work at more than 330 colleges and universities across the US. SSN also supports a network of 40 chapters led by volunteer members in 33 states. Much of the Associate’s work will focus on impact litigation, but the Associate’s work-related tasks may include other topics too, depending upon both their own interests and SSN’s organizational needs. Among other tasks, the Policy Associate will:

Engage and support scholars interested in using research in the judicial arena

• Support scholars in SSN’s network: The Associate will support the policy and judicial engagement work of scholars in the SSN network.

• Recruit new scholars & support chapters: The Associate will develop a robust and inclusive roster of SSN-supported scholars by encouraging scholars with research relevant to ongoing or upcoming impact litigation to join the SSN network and then supporting their subsequent chapter and/or individual projects.

Connect scholars to litigating organizations, civic organizations, and policymakers

• Broker relationships: The Associate connects scholars and their research to litigating organizations, civic organizations, and policymakers at the federal, state, and local levels. The Associate will do this by cultivating their own relationships with these collaborators, advising scholars on how to reach out, and soliciting and responding to requests from relevant policy actors.
• Seize opportunities: The Associate identifies opportunities for research to inform litigation, judicial, and policy decisions, activates scholars around those opportunities, and advises scholars on how to engage audiences outside academia. To do this, the Associate tracks policy debates, legislation, regulation changes, and impact litigation; and builds their own relationships with policymakers, litigating organizations, and other civic organizations to source requests for scholar expertise.
• Coach and support: The Associate coaches and supports scholars on how to engage in the policy and litigation processes. They provide advice on relationship building, how to approach editing and giving feedback to collaborators on written documents like amicus briefs, research briefs, and expert testimony, and training on the relevant processes. The Associate also supports researchers as they conduct meetings with policymakers, litigators, and other civic organizations.
• Edit and translate: The Associate will help scholars translate their academic writing into accessible language that is intelligible to broad public audiences and effectively communicative to the full range of policy actors SSN works with, including elected policymakers, civic organizations, agency staff, litigating organizations, and other partners. This translation process includes editing policy writing for content and style and advising on framing and messaging.
• Facilitate SSN trainings: Along with other SSN staff, the Associate will, on occasion, facilitate various in-person and online policy engagement, litigation, and communications trainings for scholars.

QUALIFICATIONS

The successful candidate will be a self-starter with a deep interest in making research matter and improving the use of research evidence in the judicial process, broadly conceived. The ideal candidate for this position would be:

• An individual with 1-3 years of experience in litigation, advocacy, or organizing, or at least 1 year of experience and a relevant advanced degree (such as a JD, LLM, or PhD).
• Someone with a solid understanding of judicial and policymaking processes (e.g., legislative processes, administrative/agency processes, implementation and evaluation, etc).
• Comfortable -- and ideally have experience -- working with litigators and/or judicial actors, as well as policymakers on both sides of the political aisle.
• Experienced in or willing to learn how to do basic research, especially judicial, legislative, or policy research.
• An excellent writer and proofreader, capable of translating complex concepts into easy-to-understand language.
• A good facilitator, and excited to teach others new skills and information.
• Comfortable with occasional travel.
• Proficient in Microsoft Office, Salesforce, Asana, Google Docs, Dropbox, virtual meeting channels like Zoom, and content databases.
• Committed to SSN’s mission and fully understand how to make use of SSN’s structure as a voluntary, federated network of member researchers.

SSN is an Equal Opportunity Employer and does not discriminate on the basis of age, class, color, disability, ethnicity, faith, gender, national origin, race, sexual orientation, or gender identity. People of color, people with disabilities, LGBTQ individuals, and women are strongly encouraged to apply. Candidates considering a career transition or whose skills and experience fulfill some, but not all of the qualifications above are encouraged to apply.