Policy Analyst or Senior Policy Analyst
The Center on Budget and Policy Priorities (CBPP) is a high-caliber strategic policy institute that informs and shapes public policies to reduce poverty, promote equity, and build opportunity and engages on how to raise the revenues necessary to support public investments. It has a national reputation for conducting rigorous research and analysis, developing evidence-based policy ideas and strategies, shaping a broad array of policy debates at the federal and state levels, and influencing policy outcomes and program implementation. It focuses its efforts on improving the lives of people with low and moderate incomes and examines how policies affect particular groups, including people of color, immigrants, people with disabilities, and LGBTQ+ people. The Center is known for its unique capacity to blend rigorous, timely analysis with effective communications that enable policymakers and the media to make use of its work.
The Center is seeking a Policy Analyst or Senior Policy Analyst to join its Food Assistance policy team. The team focuses on reducing hunger and food insecurity (the lack of consistent access to nutritious food) by improving access to the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP), the Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants, and Children (WIC), and Child Nutrition Programs (such as the National School Lunch Program and School Breakfast Program). The team also analyzes their interactions with other benefit programs supporting low-income people (such as Medicaid, rental assistance and other housing programs, and the Temporary Assistance for Needy Families program). The analyst will work on projects that focus primarily on federal and state-level SNAP, WIC, and child nutrition policy, budget, and implementation issues. The position entails keeping abreast of federal and state policy developments, program operations, and related research and providing useful and accessible information for policymakers, state-level advocates, and the public.
The Food Assistance team provides information, data, and technical assistance to an array of important stakeholders, including federal and state policymakers, program administrators, national partners, a growing network of state-level advocates, journalists, and the public. The team's work includes promoting effective approaches at the federal, state, and local levels to provide food assistance to low- and moderate-income families and individuals; developing and analyzing proposed changes in government policies; providing technical assistance to federal and state policymakers and program administrators; conducting research on the implications of food assistance policy choices; and working with other federal and state nonprofits on these issues. The Center also provides technical assistance to advocates in nearly every state, coordinating a network of these advocates and providing them with information about federal policy, ideas for how to improve program implementation and help with state-level policy proposals. This includes emerging work to address eligibility and enrollment issues through policy, operations, and technological strategies and solutions. The Center helps shape the debate on food assistance policies and its analyses and experts are quoted frequently in the press and relied upon heavily by policymakers and colleagues in other organizations.
Responsibilities
- Analyze federal and state food assistance policy proposals, including developing and analyzing legislative and regulatory proposals as well as budget analysis.
- Understand how nutrition assistance programs intersect with the delivery of other low-income benefits such as health care, cash assistance, and child care.
- Conduct high-quality policy research on food assistance programs and disseminate it in clearly written policy papers, reports, blogs, and memos.
- Provide technical assistance, training, and strategic guidance to federal and state policymakers and advocacy organizations.
- Respond to information and speaking requests from policymakers, the media, and other national and state organizations, as well as engage in activities that promote the exchange of information and collaborative efforts to affect policies within and among states.
- Some travel (approximately 10 to 25 percent) will be required.
Requirements:
- A bachelor's degree in a relevant field such as public policy, economics, sociology, political science, or social work is required.
- Policy Analyst: At least four years of experience working in an advocacy, policy or program analysis, or program administration role. A graduate degree in a relevant field may be substituted for two years' work experience.
- Senior Policy Analyst: At least seven years of experience working in an advocacy, policy or program analysis, or program administration role. A graduate degree in a relevant field may be substituted for two years' work experience.
- Strong analytic and writing skills, including the ability to explain technical concepts to diverse audiences and to synthesize data and research into clear, effective arguments.
- Ability to work on multiple tasks independently and as part of a highly collaborative team, often on a time-sensitive basis.
- An understanding of the role that inequity and discrimination play in driving poverty broadly, and food hardship specifically, and a commitment to advancing equity in the Center's food assistance policy work.
- Knowledge of federal food assistance programs (SNAP, WIC, school meals) or other income support programs.
- Experience working for or with advocacy organizations, legislatures, or government entities.
- Experience advocating for federal or state policies that reduce poverty and expand opportunity.
- Aptitude for building relationships across multiple stakeholders to advance policy objectives.
- A commitment to the Center's mission to improve the well-being of low- and moderate-income people.
- Professional proficiency in Spanish is a plus.
While we are currently operating virtually during the pandemic, we are developing policies to support a return to in-office work that may include both telework and in-person work. This position will be subject to those policies.
This position reports to the Vice President for Food Assistance Policy.
Terms of Employment: Full-time; exempt.
Bargaining Unit Status: This is a bargaining unit position.
Compensation
Salary and title commensurate with experience, excellent benefits (including health insurance, vision and dental coverage, life and long-term disability insurance, retirement, MERP, and DCAP), and generous vacation, sick leave, and holiday schedules.
The Center on Budget and Policy Priorities is an Equal Opportunity Employer that values and welcomes diversity in the workplace and strongly encourages all qualified persons to apply regardless ofrace, color,age, sex, marital status, sexual orientation, gender identity, gender expression, genetic information, credit information, pregnancy or parental status, family responsibilities, personal appearance, creed, military or veteran status, religion, ancestry or national origin, union activities, disability, or other status protected by applicable law.