Project Director, Philadelphia Research and Policy Initiative

The Pew Charitable Trusts • Philadelphia, PA

25d • Hybrid

About The Position

The Philadelphia Program In Pew’s Philadelphia Program our vision is of a thriving community where residents are safe, healthy, and have access to the arts, opportunities for economic advancement, engagement with trusted civic institutions, and places to gather that foster pride, collaboration, and innovation. Through collectively leveraging our research, policy, convening, technical support, and grantmaking, we help community partners and government gain knowledge and adopt policies, programs, and practices that contribute to each of three priority areas: economic mobility, community safety, and community and cultural vitality. Philadelphia Research and Policy Initiative The Philadelphia research and policy initiative (PRPI) explores and advances effective, evidence-based policies in Philadelphia. Using credible, timely, and accessible research, assessing opportunities for reform, identifying approaches that have proved successful elsewhere, we bring together diverse perspectives to find common ground. We work in collaboration with organizations that share our commitment to rigorous research, measurable policy results, and civic engagement, and we focus on delivering durable policy change. In addition, our team employs strategic outreach and dissemination to ensure that good information is widely communicated to decision-makers, media, influential stakeholders, and the public. Examples of the initiative’s work are available at www.pewtrusts.org/philaresearch. Position Overview The project director leads the processes and implementation strategies that leverage research, convening and policy engagement strategies to inform and enable Philadelphia policymakers with a focus on concrete policy and program recommendations, and adoption and implementation of those solutions in support of Philadelphia and Philadelphians. The project director brings strong strategic focus to Pew’s policy engagement activities, contributing the right mix of outreach, policy research, policy implementation, and Pew’s national expertise resulting in actions taken by policymakers, institutional actors and civic and advocacy groups on each of our issue areas. The project director manages and creates growth opportunities for staff, among other duties. The project director reports to the senior director, Philadelphia program, and works collaboratively with the Project Director for Research to accomplish project deliverables. This position is based in Pew’s Philadelphia office and participates in Pew’s hybrid work program with core days in the office and the flexibility to telework the remaining days. Staff also enjoy four telework “flex weeks” per year.

Requirements

• Bachelor’s degree or equivalent experience required; advanced degree preferred.
• 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.
• 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.
• 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.

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.

Benefits

• We offer a competitive salary and benefit program, including: comprehensive, affordable health care through medical, dental, and vision coverage; financial security with life and disability insurance; opportunities to save using health savings and flexible spending accounts; retirement benefits to help prepare for the future; and work/life benefits to maintain a good balance.

What This Job Offers

• Job Type: Full-time
• Career Level: Director