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Company

American Oversight · 5 hours ago

Senior Researcher

Washington, DC

Full-time

Remote

Mid, Senior Level

$65K/yr - $80K/yr

4+ years exp

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Responsibilities

Develop and drive investigation strategies by leveraging public records, other intelligence, and in-depth subject matter knowledge in collaboration with the Research Director and Deputy Research Director

Take ownership of advancing complex investigations that align with American Oversight’s strategic goals

Pursue innovative approaches that enhance impact by recognizing potential for litigation, new target audiences, or other avenues that further American Oversight’s strategic objectives and core mission

Draft targeted, strategic, litigation-ready public records requests on important issues to federal, state, and local governments

Analyze complex government documents and draw upon available information to identify unreported insights and emerging trends. Synthesize findings into compelling narratives, with a focus on accuracy, newsworthiness, and the broader implications for government accountability

Produce clear, well-contextualized content that distills complex information from government documents and available information into formats like blog posts and reports that advance American Oversight’s mission and helps increase the public understanding of how these findings connect to the broader accountability landscape. Contribute to briefing documents, talking points, and other collaborative American Oversight work products

Serve as an in-house expert on how key issue areas, public records custodians, and document sets factor into American Oversight’s strategic priorities, including representing American Oversight on the record and briefing outside groups and journalists on our work

Play a leading role in designing and implementing projects that synthesize and present American Oversight’s investigative and research findings using innovative techniques. Coordinate internally to ensure that projects are aligned with strategic goals

Mentor and train Research team members, including reviewing and providing substantive and stylistic feedback on document review tasks, public records request drafts, and other projects and deliverables as necessary. Maintain active communication and follow up with government agencies about active open records requests as needed, using expertise to prioritize requests and pursue the appropriate response with American Oversight’s Legal team

Serve as a liaison between American Oversight’s Research team and appropriate strategic partners in collaboration with the Research team leadership and the Strategic Partnerships Director. Represent American Oversight in meetings and coalitions with allied organizations

On a rotating basis, manage American Oversight’s research intern program, including hiring, supervising, and identifying educational opportunities for interns. Supervise and manage the day to day work of Research team interns

Process incoming documents as needed to create searchable, paginated productions for internal and external use. Provide and help implement process improvement recommendations to enhance efficiency, accuracy, and utility of the Research team and cross functional operations

Other special projects and duties as assigned

Qualification

Find out how your skills align with this job's requirements. If anything seems off, you can easily click on the tags to select or unselect skills to reflect your actual expertise.

Government InvestigationsInvestigative JournalismPolicy ResearchPublic Records RequestsData AnalysisDocument ReviewEditing SkillsProject ManagementStrategic ThinkingAirtableDocumentCloudMicrosoft SuiteGoogle WorkspaceIRS Form 990sCampaign Finance Data

Required

4+ years experience in government investigations, investigative journalism, or policy research, or a related field involving in-depth investigative, research, analyses

Interest in American Oversight’s mission of government accountability and transparency; commitment to public interest advocacy

Exceptionally strong skills in the following areas: Problem Solving and Critical Thinking, Communication (Oral and Written), Attention to Detail, Project Management, Judgment and Decision Making, Strategic Thinking, Collaboration

Strong editing skills and experience providing constructive feedback on written products

An understanding of and fluency in relevant news developments, the political landscape and how public records can inform news coverage, and government action, and accountability

Experience conceptualizing, managing and driving complex projects, including those that are cross-functional cutting, strategic, and/or long-term

High degree of professional ethics and integrity

Ability to work independently or as part of a team

Experience working in and/or desire to contribute to workplaces with a commitment to diversity, equity, and inclusion

Strong technology skills with an aptitude to learn quickly, ramp up on, or test new platforms or technology. Proficiency in Microsoft Suite (Outlook, Word, Excel, PowerPoint); Google Workspace (Docs, Sheets, Slides) and file-sharing platforms (Dropbox)

Preferred

Bachelor's degree from an accredited college or university

Experience conducting investigations or research within American Oversight’s priority areas (attacks on U.S. democratic institutions, threats to civil rights and liberties, and erosion of government transparency); or investigations and research experience focused on federal government waste, fraud, and abuse

Proficiency with federal Freedom of Information Act and public records requests

Experience with other datasets and information sources (e.g., IRS Form 990s, campaign finance data) that could be used to enhance American Oversight’s existing accountability work

Experience with American Oversight’s core tools (e.g., Airtable, DocumentCloud) and/or with data analysis and visualization tools