Government Works Weekly #22
Jobs, More Jobs, and the Party of Government
Welcome to your weekly roundup of opportunities, events, and information about how government works—and how government can work better—to improve the lives of individuals, families, and communities.
The “weekly” title is on the verge of becoming a joke, but hoping things get more regular after the holidays. In the meantime, if you have friends working in this space please spread the word. More eyeballs would be great. It takes a village, etc.
APPLY YOURSELF – jobs, internships, funding, and other ways to get involved
Since it has been a minute, here is a super-sized list of jobs, internships, fellowships, and funding opportunities….
[NEW OPPORTUNITES] Fresh listings for the newsletter…
Secretary General (and more), CIVICUS [Remote / deadline 13 Dec.]
Senior Policy Advisor, Institute for Responsive Government [Remote]
Senior Policy Analyst for Talent, State Capacity, Niskanen Center [Hybrid D.C. / deadline 26 Nov.]
Senior Government Affairs Manager, State Capacity, Niskanen Center [Hybrid D.C. / deadline 26 Nov.]
Analyst in Public Finance, Congressional Research Service [Washington, D.C. / deadline 25 Nov.]
Research Assistant, Congress and American National Government, Congressional Research Service [Washington, D.C. / deadline 23 Dec.]
Development Director, U.S. Digital Response [Remote U.S.]
Senior Fundraiser, Transparency International [U.S. preference D.C./NYC]
Director/Senior Director, Federal Budget Policy (and more), Center on Budget and Policy Priorities [hybrid D.C. preference]
Economist, New York City Independent Budget Office [deadline 31 Jan.]
Communications & Events Traineeship, European Partnership for Democracy [Brussels / deadline 24 Nov.]
Project Officer, Centre for European Policy Studies [deadline 30 Nov.]
Research Assistant on Digital Government, UCL Institute for Innovation and Public Purpose [U.K. / deadline 28 Nov.]
Communications Program Officer, Open Government Partnership [D.C. / U.K. / Belgium]
Communications Strategist, Economic Security Project [Remote]
Program Manager, CIRCLE, Center for Information & Research on Civic Learning and Engagement [Hybrid / Medford, MA]
Data Science Manager, Code for America [San Francisco or Remote U.S.]
Data Manager, Virginia Civic Engagement Table [Remote, Virginia or D.C. / deadline 5 Jan.]
Community Manager, Public Technology Leadership Collaborative, Data & Society Research Institute [New York / rolling review through 20 Dec. deadline]
Chief Communications Officer (and more), Bloomberg Center for Public Innovation [Hybrid]
Government Relations and Communications Specialist (and more), National Democratic Institute [D.C.]
Vice President, Development, Center for American Progress [Hybrid / D.C.]
Deputy Director, Democracy 2076 [Remote]
Policy Analyst, Democracy, SPLC [Remote]
Program Coordinator, Center for Effective Lawmaking [Nashville]
Partnerships Coordinator, Democracy Fund [D.C.]
Author in Residence, Roosevelt Society [deadline 8 Dec.]
Multiple Roles (Director, Senior Associate, Associate), Democracy, Third Plateau [Remote / priority deadline 15 Nov. but still open]
Director, Policy & Political Affairs, Stand Up America [Remote]
Civic Innovation Policy Graduate Fellow (Innovation Lab), Future Caucus [Remote / priority deadline 18 Nov. but still open]
Associate Editors, Political Research Exchange, European Consortium for Political Research [deadline 29 Nov.]
Director of Policy and Impact, Demos [U.K. / deadline 6 Dec.]
Policy Researcher, RAND [Multiple locations]
Policy Associate, Cost-Effectiveness and Welfare Analysis (and more), J-PAL Global [Hybrid / MA]
Research Report Stipend, IBM Center for The Business of Government [deadline 2 Dec.]
Research Associates / PhD Researchers (part-time) in Public Sector Innovation & Democratic Governance, The Hertie School and the Centre for Digital Governance [deadline 30 Nov.]
Call for Proposals: Action-oriented research projects on topics related to democracy support, Team Europe Democracy (TED) Initiative [deadline 12 Dec.]
[RE-POSTS] Not these opportunities first rodeo…
Climate Democracy Accelerator + Mainstreaming Participation Accelerator + Inclusive Democracy Accelerator + Democratic Innovations Accelerator [People Powered with partners / updated deadline 1 Dec.]
Capital Fellows Programs, Center for California Studies [California / deadline 8 Dec.]
Program Associate, Democracy Program, Carter Center [Atlanta]
Executive Assistant (and more), Ballot Initiative Strategy Center [Flexible U.S.]
Deputy Director of People, Culture, and Operations (and more), Democracy Forward [Washington, D.C.]
Senior Researcher (State Team), Institute on Taxation and Economic Policy [Flexible U.S.]
Undergraduate Fellowships, Roosevelt Institute [Virtual / deadline 8 Dec.]
Lead Researcher, Policy Impacts, MIT Economics [Hybrid / MA]
Postdoctoral Associate (generative AI and democracy), MIT Governance Lab [Mass.]
Research Analyst (and more), Economic Innovation Group [Hybrid D.C.]
Outreach Manager (and more), Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington [D.C.]
Counsel/Senior Counsel, Judiciary Program (and more), The Brennan Center for Justice [Washington, D.C.]
Program Coordinator, City Support (and more), Harvard Kennedy School [Massachusetts]
Senior Director for Data Programs, Bloomberg Center for Government Excellence, Johns Hopkins University [Hybrid / Baltimore]
Manager, Applied Research (and more), Freedom House [Hybrid / D.C.]
Senior Director, CIRCLE, Center for Information & Research on Civic Learning and Engagement [Hybrid / Medford, MA]
UPCOMING EVENTS – webinars, conferences, and other human things
Cut today for space. Stay tuned for a bumper edition Monday with loads of events.
EYES & EARS – reading, podcasts, videos, and other good stuff
Of course I’ve got thoughts on these times—election (sad), DOGE (bad), and the holiday season (glad)—but for the next few weeks I just want to share some useful takes on what has happened and where we go from here. Will save new original content for the new year.
[OWN IT] Persuasive Case for Owning the Power of the Government to Improve Lives
Writing for the Persuasion Substack, Sam Kahn makes the case for Democrats to act like they are the party of government. Maybe confirmation bias—given the raison d'etre of this blog—but rings true to me…
In American history, winning coalitions have tended to emerge because talented, charismatic politicians identified a narrative—a Unique Selling Proposition, if you like—that could appeal to a broad coalition. In modern American history, those USPs have been Theodore Roosevelt leading the Republican Party out of its staunchly pro-business position to embrace a robust antitrust platform; Franklin Delano Roosevelt pushing Keynesian economics and sweeping government spending to alleviate the Depression; Richard Nixon identifying conservative social values that set large numbers of Americans in opposition to the perceived excesses of the ‘60s; Ronald Reagan developing a curious platform of robust military spending combined with laissez-faire economics; and now, Donald Trump using protectionist rhetoric to appeal to hinterland voters left behind by globalization.
Say what you will about any of those programs, they all represent a Unique Selling Proposition and they all worked. Most of them emerged out of a period of political exile, when the parties had a chance to formulate their message.
So what is the Democrats’ Unique Selling Proposition?
[...]
It won’t work for the Democrats simply to mimic the Republicans and declare themselves the adversaries of government. That would be moving too far off-brand and violating the historical Unique Selling Proposition of their party. So the Democrats start by identifying themselves as the party of government. That’s the sacred tradition. They speak for the social contract by which government conscientiously uses tax dollars and improves the lives of its citizens. For the party to have a clear USP, there can’t be any hedging about that.
