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The Pew Charitable Trusts · 2 days ago

Project Director, Philadelphia Research and Policy Initiative

Philadelphia, PA

Full-time

Hybrid

Director/Executive

$159K/yr - $178K/yr

10+ years exp

The Pew Charitable Trusts is focused on improving the community of Philadelphia through research, policy, and civic engagement. The Project Director will lead the Philadelphia Research and Policy Initiative, driving policy recommendations and implementation strategies that support community safety, economic mobility, and cultural vitality in Philadelphia.

CharityNon ProfitWildlife Conservation

No H1B

Responsibilities

Foster a work environment that inspires excellence, values impact, encourages transparency, builds mutual trust and respect, embraces and values diversity, and is collaborative, caring and compassionate

Partner with the Project Director for Research on the development of strategies that combine Pew’s research, local and national expertise and convening capacity to address key policy topics affecting the city of Philadelphia

Lead, manage and mentor staff including development of annual performance plans; employing various approaches to improve staff skills and technical knowledge; and providing regular feedback for individual performance

Create opportunities for continued team learning, including monitoring and identifying emerging urban policy issues that are relevant to Philadelphia and to the priorities of the initiative, as well as increasing exposure to, engagement with, and responsiveness to community-based perspectives

Oversee day-to-day policy operations, including managing convenings, stakeholder outreach and external communications strategy and calendar. Manage the initiative’s engagements with outside partnerships, including key policy organizations, as well as external consultants supporting program deliverables

Develop and maintain active and responsive public engagement with policymakers and civic stakeholders to enhance understanding of the issues in Philadelphia, build trust with decision-makers and identify influential leaders ready to advocate for policy change with a focus on successful completion of project deliverables. These should include partnerships and outside experts; and developing, leading and participating in internal and external convenings, committees and working groups

Engage city leadership and decision-makers through regular closed-door briefings, on task forces, in testimony and through technical assistance agreements and other activities to bring expertise and deliver durable and evidence-based policy solutions to the initiative’s issue areas. Create and sustain pathways for ongoing policymaker and stakeholder feedback during the research and policy recommendation generation process

Lead key high-profile projects with regional and national partners. Lead, develop and support future partnerships that increase Pew’s impact in Philadelphia, including related to emerging peer city learning opportunities

Establish effective and collaborative relationships with other key units at Pew. Collaborate with Pew’s state and local government performance programs and other D.C.-based policy teams to leverage their research, expertise and national networks of experts to facilitate achievement of goals. Contribute to and participate in broader Pew-related projects and activities

Ensure that the team maintains a clear grasp of IRS, Philadelphia and Pennsylvania lobbying laws, adheres to Pew guidelines, accurately tracks all contacts with government officials and provides consistent engagement with and timely reporting to Pew’s government relations team

Serve as spokesperson on policy topics to cultivate and engage the public and key constituencies on core issues. This includes representing Pew at meetings, conferences, and/or on expert panels/groups, authoring articles and other communications and providing interviews to outside sources. Represent Pew before policymakers, civic, business, and nonprofit organizations and the media

Partner with Pew’s communications and the PRPI Project Director for Research to shepherd research to publication and develop an effective dissemination plan through media interviews, public convenings, online communications strategies and presentations. Contribute to drafting social media outreach, press releases, op-eds, and presentations. Help disseminate research findings in ways that are highly relevant to local policy leaders, have practical policy recommendations and are easily understood by the public, media and policymakers

Qualification

Policy researchStakeholder engagementPublic communicationProject managementStrategic planningCity governmentTeam leadershipInterpersonal skillsWritten communicationOral communication

Required

Bachelor's degree or equivalent experience required

Generally, 10 years of applicable experience

Seasoned judgement, decisive and focused on achieving clear and ambitious goals

Demonstrated experience setting short and long-term planning objectives to achieve concrete outcomes

A task-oriented style, with demonstrated ability to meet multiple deadlines by maintaining a high level of organization

Excellent written and oral communications skills. Clear, effective writing style

Effective interpersonal skills; comfort developing and managing productive relationships with supervisees, consultants, partners and others who contribute to the development of a project by anticipating possible outcomes

Experience working successfully with a broad range of stakeholders

Familiarity with city government operations and policymaking processes

Knowledge of current trends and issues affecting Philadelphia and cities

Comfortable working with a high degree of independence and autonomy

Candidates must be legally authorized to work in the country for which they are seeking employment without visa sponsorship