Senior Manager, Public Policy & Stakeholder Engagement

PARTNERSHIP FOR PUBLIC SERVICE•Washington, DC

4d•$95,000 - $125,000•Hybrid

About The Position

The Senior Manager will lead a portfolio focused on federal government hiring, human resources (HR) and workforce issues for the Public Policy and Stakeholder Engagement team. This role requires a combination of policy analysis and policy development skills, as well as an ability to think strategically about advocacy and stakeholder engagement. The work the Senior Manager leads is critical to the Partnership’s mission of building better government and stronger democracy, its longstanding reputation as experts on federal government operations and personnel and its Government for a New Era initiative. The Senior Manager should be willing to test assumptions and explore new ways of tackling long-standing workforce challenges. They will have an opportunity to develop creative and bold approaches to making the U.S. federal government more effective, accountable and responsive and to turn the increased energy around state capacity and government reform into meaningful change. This role requires someone with significant knowledge of federal personnel systems and statutes (Title 5, etc.) and an eagerness to engage with policymakers, advocates and other subject matter experts to develop actionable policy solutions and build momentum for bold reforms. Strong candidates will have a proven track record of making sense of complicated policy issues, shepherding ideas from policy brainstorming to implementation and collaborating with a range of partners to gain perspective and increase impact. The Senior Manager will analyze and respond to real-time policy developments that affect public servants and government operations, while also managing a robust policy portfolio focused on bold, forward-looking reform. Specifically, the Senior Manager will be responsible for charting out and managing the Policy team’s workplans to reimagine federal hiring, HR and other workforce issues. The role will include deep policy research and creation, stakeholder engagement, project management and coordination across teams. They will need to balance ambition with team capacity and align efforts to team and organizational priorities. This position requires strong project and program management skills, excellent verbal and written communication, developing and maintaining stakeholder relationships and the ability to work collaboratively in a fast-paced, ambiguous work environment.

Requirements

Bachelor’s degree or equivalent professional work or military experience required.
Minimum eight years of experience in federal policymaking with clear demonstrated knowledge of federal workforce issues, including Title 5 of the U.S. Code, federal hiring and civil service modernization.
Prior experience conducting policy research, writing policy recommendations for varied audiences and working collaboratively with multiple stakeholders and subject matter experts on federal policy issues required.
Desire and ability to work on a nonpartisan basis.
Strong policy research and communication skills, including the ability to synthesize and translate complex findings for varied audiences and proven attention to detail.
Strong project management skills, with demonstrated ability to work in fast-paced environments and under pressure and to manage various priorities, contributors and deadlines.
Strong relationship building and management skills with external and internal stakeholders.
Comfort with ambiguity and ability to provide logical next steps toward action items.
Willingness and ability to work effectively as part of a team across the larger enterprise, documenting and sharing information and insights, collaborating to problem-solve and implement solutions and advancing work to support the Partnership’s strategic priorities.
Commitment to continuous learning.
Demonstrated excitement for asking questions, exploring new solutions to longstanding policy problems that take into account the current landscape but push beyond status quo thinking.
A commitment to public service and an interest in the mission of the Partnership.

Nice To Haves

Experience as a federal employee in the executive or legislative branches preferred.

Responsibilities

Lead a portfolio focused on federal government hiring, human resources (HR) and workforce issues, including developing and executing strategy, setting performance goals and objectives, managing team deliverables, achieving and communicating results internally and externally, and committing to continuous learning and improvement.
Devise policy recommendations for the portfolio as well as materials to communicate these proposals to various audiences.
Conduct policy research; draft policy briefs, comments and other products; and support communications related to the policy portfolio.
Help devise and implement strategies for policy advocacy, building momentum for reform and support for specific proposals.
Build and manage strategic relationships with internal and external stakeholders to gather input, establish credibility and create buy-in for policy priorities.
Execute a variety of public and closed-door events and convenings to gather input, pressure test ideas and advance portfolio goals.
Advance the Partnership’s organizational strategy and priorities by aligning workstream activities to organizational goals and tracking milestones and metrics to evaluate progress.
Oversee the work of junior staff, helping them scope and accomplish their projects and developing their skills to enhance their growth and contributions.
Work collaboratively with staff at all levels and across teams.