Careers: Research Associate/Senior Research Associate

About the Peterson Foundation

The Peter G. Peterson Foundation is working to secure a healthy, growing economy by addressing America’s long-term fiscal challenges. The Foundation partners with leading policy experts, elected officials, and the public to build support for solutions to put America on a sustainable fiscal path. As a nonpartisan organization, the Foundation engages in grant-making, partnerships, and research to educate and involve Americans from a variety of perspectives.

Department Summary

The Research Team is a group of policy specialists who investigate and write about budget and economic policies in the United States. The team also develops and oversees grants to a variety of external partners. In recent months, the team has published analyses of budget proposals before Congress, worked with leading policy analysts from think tanks across the political spectrum to develop analyses of major policy issues, and prepared primers for the public.

Position Summary

Reporting to the Vice President of Research, the successful candidate will bring an interest in federal fiscal policy as well as excellent writing and quantitative skills to the team. The job will be a combination of creating content for distribution by the Foundation and developing and managing grants to further the mission of the Foundation. The position title will depend on educational background and work experience.

Responsibilities

• Publishing analyses of fiscal policies and issues.
• Summarizing important economic and fiscal reports for a general audience.
• Creating visual representations of complex budget and economic data.
• Helping identify new areas for research and funding.
• Developing and managing relationships with potential and existing grantees.
• Integrating and overseeing monitoring and evaluation to enhance grant-making.
• Collaborating with colleagues from other departments on joint projects.
• Providing research support to the Foundation’s top leadership.
• Supporting events sponsored by the Foundation.

Qualifications

• Master’s degree in public policy, public finance, political science, economics, or related field preferred.
• 3+ years of work experience preferred.
• Knowledge about U.S. economic and budget policy preferred.
• Experience with grant-making, program evaluation, or project management preferred.
• Demonstrated research, analytical, and quantitative skills from academic or work experience, including the ability to gather, synthesize, and summarize large amounts of information and focus quickly on the essence of an issue.
• Excellent written and verbal communication skills, including the ability to translate technical information and concepts into accessible forms.
• Ability to think independently, strategically, and creatively.
• Ability to take initiative, manage multiple priorities, and organize time efficiently.
• Strong organizational and interpersonal skills with attention to detail.

To Apply

To apply, please send a brief letter summarizing your interest, a resume, and writing sample to careers@pgpf.org. Subject header on the e-mail should be: “Research Associate Application.”

The Peter G. Peterson Foundation is proud to be an equal opportunity employer and encourages candidates of all backgrounds to apply to our organization. We offer a welcoming community that respects each individual and fosters a diverse set of experiences, perspectives, skills and ideas. We are committed to building a workplace in which every team member can thrive personally and professionally and contribute to our mission.