Director, U.S. Public Policy

Whatnot; Washington (District of Columbia); On-site; USD 180,000 - 280,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Holiday & Time Off

Health Insurance

WFH Support

Home Office Allowance

Cell Phone & Internet Allowance

Wellness Allowance

Childcare Allowance

Family Planning

401k with Match

Dogfooding Budget

Parental Leave

Job summary

Whatnot is seeking a Director, U.S. Public Policy to drive the company’s policy and government engagement strategy in the United States. You will lead advocacy, build trusted relationships with policymakers, and monitor developments across federal and state levels to shape Whatnot’s response.

You will advise senior leadership, coordinate with Legal, Product, Communications, and external consultants, and help position Whatnot as a constructive partner on ecommerce policy and consumer protections.

Qualifications

• 7+ years of public policy or government affairs experience with U.S. federal and state governments.
• Excellent policy judgment and fluency across Whatnot-relevant issues.
• Experience building trusted relationships with policymakers and civil society.
• Clear written and oral communication skills and ability to read subtext in policy debates.
• Comfort moving from strategy to execution with cross‑functional partners.

Responsibilities

• Lead Whatnot's advocacy across the U.S. and become an authoritative voice on live shopping and marketplaces.
• Build and maintain relationships with policymakers, regulators, and industry groups.
• Monitor federal and state policy developments and advise product and operations on impact.
• Advise senior leadership with clear recommendations and trade‑offs.
• Position Whatnot as a credible partner on ecommerce, shipping, and consumer protection.
• Coordinate external consultants and advisors in Washington, DC and key states.
• Collaborate with the Head of Global Public Policy to set priorities and messaging.

Skills

Public policy experience

Policy judgment

Relationship building

Written & oral communication

Strategy to execution

Cross-functional collaboration

Job description

Join the Future of Commerce with Whatnot!

Whatnot is the largest live shopping platform in North America and Europe to buy, sell, and discover the things you love. Whether it's trading cards, fashion, electronics, or live plants, our sellers are building real businesses across hundreds of categories. We're building live commerce at a scale that's never been done in the West, and there's no playbook to copy. The people here are shaping how an entirely new industry develops.

As a remote co-located team, we're inspired by our values and anchored in hubs across the US, UK, Ireland, Poland, Germany, and Australia. We move fast, stay close to our users, and focus on the work that drives the most impact.

We're one of the fastest growing marketplaces and were recently named the #1 Best Startup Employer in America by Forbes. Check out the latest Whatnot updates on our news and engineering blogs and join us as we enable anyone to turn their passion into a business and bring people together through commerce.

Role

We are looking for an experienced public policy strategist and advocate to lead Whatnot's public policy work across the U.S. You'll create and execute Whatnot's public policy and government engagement strategy, introduce Whatnot and live shopping to policymakers and external partners, and help shape the regulatory environment in which we operate.

You will work collaboratively with cross-functional colleagues across the business — including Legal, Communications, Product, Trust & Risk, Tax, and our Go-To-Market teams — to analyze proposed legislation and regulation, assess the impact on Whatnot, and develop and execute an appropriate response.

This role is a great fit if you are energized by both big-picture strategy and hands-on execution. You are an avid storyteller who can communicate clearly in writing and in person, and you are excited about being part of the growth of live shopping and the future of commerce.

The Director, U.S. Public Policy will report to the Head of Global Public Policy.

You will:

• Lead Whatnot's advocacy across the U.S., articulating how Whatnot supports sellers and buyers across America and becoming an authoritative voice on live shopping and marketplace platforms.

• Build and maintain trusted relationships with key policymakers, regulators, and government officials, as well as with business associations, civil society organizations, and other third parties.

• Monitor and interpret policy and regulatory developments at the federal and state level, collaborating with teams across Whatnot to understand the impact on our product, operations, and sellers.

• Advise senior leadership on the implications of key policy and regulatory proposals, providing clear recommendations and framing trade-offs.

• Position Whatnot as a credible, constructive partner on topics such as e-commerce, shipping and customs, product safety, platform liability, and consumer protection.

• Manage and coordinate external consultants and advisors in Washington, D.C. and key states, ensuring they are aligned with Whatnot's priorities and messaging.

• Collaborate closely with the Head of Global Public Policy and cross-functional partners to set priorities, refine narratives, and prepare for emerging issues.

Team members in this role must live within commuting distance of Washington, D.C. Travel within the U.S. and periodic international travel will be required.

You

People who do well at Whatnot tend to be comfortable figuring things out as they go, biased toward action, and genuinely curious about what they're building. They care more about outcomes than credit and stay close to the product and the people using it.

As our Director, U.S. Public Policy, you should have:

• 7+ years of public policy or government affairs experience with U.S. federal government and state governments.

• Strong policy judgment and subject-matter fluency across issues relevant to Whatnot, with a clear sense of where risk is truly material, what's just noise, and when and where to engage.

• Experience building and sustaining trusted relationships with policymakers, regulators, industry groups, and civil society — with either an existing network or the ability to build one quickly.

• Clear, effective written and oral communication skills and an instinct for reading subtext in complex policy debates and stakeholder conversations.

• Comfort moving seamlessly from defining strategy to executing it.

• A collaborative approach to driving outcomes, with experience partnering closely with Legal, Product, Comms, and external consultants.

Benefits

• Generous Holiday and Time off Policy

• Health Insurance options including Medical, Dental, Vision

• Work From Home Support

  • Home office setup allowance

  • Monthly allowance for cell phone and internet

• Care benefits

  • Monthly allowance for wellness

  • Annual allowance towards Childcare

  • Lifetime benefit for family planning, such as adoption or fertility expenses

• Retirement; 401k offering for Traditional and Roth accounts in the US (employer match up to 4% of base salary) and Pension plans internationally

• Monthly allowance to dogfood the app

  • All Whatnauts are expected to develop a deep understanding of our product. We're passionate about building the best user experience, and all employees are expected to use Whatnot as both a buyer and a seller as part of their job (our dogfooding budget makes this fun and easy!).

• Parental Leave

  • 16 weeks of paid parental leave + one month gradual return to work *company leave allowances run concurrently with country leave requirements which take precedence.

EOE

Whatnot is proud to be an Equal Opportunity Employer. We value diversity, and we do not discriminate on the basis of race, religion, color, national origin, gender, sexual orientation, age, marital status, veteran status, parental status, disability status, or any other status protected by local law. We believe that our work is better and our company culture is improved when we encourage, support, and respect the different skills and experiences represented within our workforce.