City Policy Coordinator

Institute for Justice; Arlington (VA); Hybrid; USD 60,000 - 65,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Hybrid work schedule

Core hours 10am-4pm

Health, Dental, and Vision insurance

Disability and Life insurance

HSA contributions

401(k) with employer matches

Casual dress code

Generous PTO and holidays

Job summary

The Institute for Justice in Arlington, VA seeks a City Policy Coordinator to join our Activism team. This full-time role focuses on local regulatory reform to advance economic liberty and entrepreneurial opportunity.

The successful candidate will develop policy recommendations, research statutes, and coordinate community outreach and campaigns, engaging with city officials and stakeholders to advance IJ’s mission.

Qualifications

• Undergraduate degree and two years of professional experience.
• Exceptional research, writing, and interpersonal skills.
• Background and interest in public policy (through curriculum or practice).
• Record of demonstrated initiative and leadership.
• Advocacy work and community outreach experience is a plus.

Responsibilities

• Research municipal codes, zoning ordinances, and building code processes to identify barriers and develop policy recommendations.
• Develop one-pagers, policy briefs, draft ordinance language, and policy reports for policymakers and the public.
• Plan and execute community engagement efforts including roundtables, canvassing, and town halls.
• Engage city council members and staff to advance economic justice.
• Identify new project opportunities and manage regulatory consulting projects.
• Build relationships with small business owners and community organizations for grassroots advocacy.
• Organize grassroots campaigns, including letters, op-eds, and media outreach.
• Represent Cities Work at national conferences and host workshops/panels.
• Track reforms nationally and produce case studies for the Case Study Library.
• Lead cohorts of city representatives and economic developers.

Skills

Research skills

Writing skills

Interpersonal skills

Leadership

Advocacy experience

Public policy interest

Education

Bachelor's degree

Job description

The Institute for Justice seeks a passionate individual to join our Activism team as a City Policy Coordinator at our headquarters in Arlington, VA. IJ’s multi-faceted Activism team challenges and reforms local and state policies and laws in the areas of economic liberty, property rights, qualified immunity, and access to justice. This role is for a full-time position on our Cities Work initiative which advances economic liberty through local regulatory reform.

We believe entrepreneurship should be accessible to all individuals — not just people who can afford a permit navigator or have a friend on the city council— which is why we partner with cities to make it cheaper, faster, and simpler to start a small business. We approach our work from the entrepreneur’s perspective, letting their experiences guide our work. Through working directly with relevant stakeholders – including prospective and current small business owners, research institutions, city officials, regulators, and economic development organizations – we identify the city’s real-world hurdles to starting a small business and offer comprehensive regulatory reform strategies based on these findings.

The ideal candidate will be excited to become a jack-of-all-trades across the spectrum of roles on our team, including community outreach, analyzing statutes and codes and developing policy recommendations, research, hosting events and roundtables, working with the media, writing for a wide variety of audiences and contexts, organizing public information campaigns, and lobbying.

A successful candidate will have a deep commitment to IJ’s mission; be personable, self-motivated, proactive, and eager to learn new skills in a dynamic, fast-paced environment; care about helping people of modest means and from all walks of life; enjoy working with decision makers with diverse perspectives; and be detail-oriented, a critical thinker, and excited about this work.

This role is supported by enthusiastic managers, and the position offers unique opportunities for travel, professional development, growth, and long-term advancement. The candidate will join a close-knit team and be expected to work well with others to accomplish our goals.

Specific Responsibilities Include:

• Researching municipal codes, zoning ordinances, and building code administrative processes to identify barriers facing small businesses and under-resourced entrepreneurs, and developing actionable policy recommendations and draft code amendments.
• Developing one-pagers, policy briefs, draft ordinance language, and policy reports that translate complex zoning and regulatory concepts into accessible materials for policymakers and the public.
• Planning and executing community engagement efforts including small business roundtables, door-to-door canvassing, and town halls to ground policy recommendations in the real experiences of microbusiness entrepreneurs.
• Engaging city council members, planning staff, and development services officials through interviews, meetings, and public testimony to advance economic justice.
• Identifying new project opportunities, developing partnerships with local governments, and managing regulatory consulting projects internally and externally.
• Building and maintaining relationships with small business owners, entrepreneur support organizations, and community organizations to support grassroots advocacy and coalition building.
• Organizing grassroots campaigns in support of regulatory reform, including coordinating letters to representatives, coalition letters, op-eds, press conferences, and media outreach.
• Representing Cities Work at national conferences through networking, tabling, and hosting workshops/panels/sessions.
• Advancing Cities Work's impact by tracking innovative reforms nationally, building relationships across the economic development ecosystem, and producing case studies on adopted reforms for our Case Study Library.
• Leading cohorts of city representatives, students, or economic developers, equipping them with the tools to conduct regulatory research and implement reforms in their own cities.

Qualifications:

• Undergraduate degree and two years of professional experience
• Possess exceptional research, writing, and interpersonal skills
• Background and interest in public policy (through curriculum or practice)
• Record of demonstrated initiative and leadership
• Experience, professional or otherwise, with advocacy work and community outreach is a plus, but not necessary.
• Professional or academic experience in management consulting is also a plus.
• Commitment to promoting entrepreneurship and challenging government abuse.

Benefits:

• Hybrid work schedule
• Flexible work hours with our core business hours of 10am and 4pm
• Health, Dental, and Vision insurance (IJ covers 100% of individual premiums)
• Free Short-Term Disability, Long-Term Disability, and Life insurance plans
• HSA employer contributions
• 401(k) with employer matches
• Smart casual dress code with casual Fridays
• Generous PTO package of accruing sick and vacation hours in addition to a paid personal day and floating and traditional holidays

To Apply:

To apply, please submit a resume, a writing sample, and a cover letter detailing why you are interested in working at IJ.

The salary range for this position is $60,000-$65,000 for candidates with approximately 1-3 years of relevant experience. While the position is advertised as City Policy Coordinator, the title and role are commensurate with experience, whether that is more or less. If you don’t meet every requirement but are interested in this position, we still encourage you to apply.

IJ is an equal opportunity employer.