Political Research Specialist

Planned Parenthood Federation of America • Washington, DC

10d • $60,000 - $65,000

About The Position

Planned Parenthood Federation of America (PPFA) and Planned Parenthood Action Fund (Action Fund) seek a politically savvy and detail-oriented Political Research Specialist. This job reports to the Director, Advocacy Research in the Research & Policy department. The Advocacy Research team provides opposition, mis- and disinformation, and political research on actors in the sexual and reproductive health and abortion access space and provides research assistance to PPFA's and the Action Fund's advocacy programs and separately, to Action Fund and PPVotes’electoral programs.
This role is expected to begin in March 2026 and end in December 2026.

Requirements

• Bachelor's degree or equivalent work experience required
• 2-3 years of professional experience (including internships) in politics, political campaigns, or doing research for advocacy organizations required
• Experience or academic training in research and research methods in a political or advocacy environment
• Familiarity with survey research and analysis
• A meticulous eye for fact-checking
• Professional confidence to provide guidance and manage up and sideways in the context of fact-checking
• Ability to independently drive complex work on many stakeholders and navigate competing priorities
• Ability to digest and communicate complex information to nontechnical stakeholders
• Flexibility to learn and adapt quickly
• Commitment to the mission, vision, and values of Planned Parenthood

Responsibilities

• Provide research support for advocacy and political campaigns across departments and local Planned Parenthood organizations in order to ensure materials are accurate and strategic.
• Enable Planned Parenthood national and local organizations to better understand the rapidly-changing political landscape around abortion, and then provide research support as they leverage that understanding to win real policy victories on the federal and state level. Separately, this role enables the Action Fund and PPVotes to better understand the political landscape around abortion and elections to provide research support as those national and local advocacy and political organizations leverage that understanding to make electoral gains at the federal and state level.
• Compile research on the stances and statements of elected officials and political figures around sexual and reproductive health to share with relevant staff across the organization.
• Represent the Research and Insights team at different external tables related to opposition research and build relationships with political research partners.
• Document successes of the program to share with internal and external stakeholders, including donors.
• Provide research support and fact-checking in key campaigns, including PPFA and Action Fund’s state and federal policy and issue fights, and Action Fund and PPVotes’ electoral work.
• Track in real time what political opposition, including elected officials, organizations, and candidates, is saying on issues related to sexual and reproductive health.
• Produce and maintain a trove of research for Action Fund and PPVotes on electoral races, including federal and state legislators, key nominees on the federal and state level, and state ballot initiatives.
• Compile, synthesize, and analyze public and internal polling on elected officials, candidates, and issues related to the mission of Plan

What This Job Offers

• Job Type: Full-time
• Career Level: Entry Level
• Number of Employees: 251-500 employees