Executive Assistant, US Policy

Institute for Law & AI; Washington, Northern (District of Columbia, KY); Hybrid; USD 70,000 - 100,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

5 weeks PTO

12 weeks parental leave

401(k) matching 4%

Health insurance

Annual productivity stipend

Mental health stipend

Equipment allowance

Job summary

The Institute for Law & AI is hiring an Executive Assistant to provide dedicated support to the Managing Director of US Law & Policy. This role goes beyond diary management, requiring decision-making, proactive coordination, and high-quality written communication.

You will help the Director focus on policy work by handling scheduling, briefs, travel, and cross-team coordination with discretion and professionalism.

Qualifications

• Experience supporting a senior stakeholder in a fast-moving policy environment.
• Ability to draft clear, high-quality correspondence in the Director's voice.
• Strong organizational skills and reliability under pressure.

Responsibilities

• Manage the Director's calendar, prioritize requests, and protect focus time.
• Prepare meeting briefs, agendas, and background materials ahead of key meetings.
• Draft substantive correspondence and triage routine requests with sound judgment.
• Coordinate travel, reimbursements, and visas as needed.
• Support the wider team during crunch periods and organize team retreats.

Skills

Executive Assistant experience

Strong written communication

Discretion and trust

Proactive problem solving

Tools

Google Workspace

Slack

Justworks

Job description

Applications close on September 30, 2026

About LawAI

The Institute for Law & AI (LawAI) is an independent think tank that researches and advises on the legal challenges posed by artificial intelligence. We believe that sound legal analysis will promote security, welfare, and the rule of law. We conduct research at the intersection of artificial intelligence, law, and policy and advise governments, research organizations, and private actors. You can learn more about LawAI on our website , alongside our recent publications and an overview of our workstreams and research directions .

About the role

We’re hiring an Executive Assistant to provide dedicated, personalized support to our Managing Director of US Law & Policy. This role requires someone who can make decisions, not just manage a diary — deciding what’s urgent, acting on the Director’s behalf where it makes sense, and catching things before they become problems. Capacity is the real constraint right now, and the goal is to take enough off the Director’s plate so that his focus remains on the policy work itself.

A note from Mackenzie Arnold, Managing Director of US Law & Policy:

We’ve built a really great team over the past few years, and we’re bringing in more exciting projects than ever. That also means we have a lot more to coordinate these days. I’m looking for someone to help me do that. In return, you’d get a close look at all of our work—policy advising, research, hiring, talent development. And you’d help me make the day-to-day judgment calls needed to make some really cool projects happen. You’d also be joining a team that’s a rare combination of friendly and driven, working on the questions of our time. If that sounds like a fit, I’d be excited to work with you.

Your main responsibilities include (but are not limited to):

Calendar and scheduling

• Proactively managing the Director’s calendar — judging what’s a priority, who actually needs face time versus who can be redirected to someone else, and protecting focus time even when it means pushing back on requests from senior people
• Researching and preparing meeting briefs, agendas (including nudging team members to populate them), and background materials ahead of key meetings — e.g., pulling together a one-page briefing on an unfamiliar stakeholder.
• Drafting substantive correspondence on the Director’s behalf, not just routine replies — the Director cares about writing quality, so this means producing clear, well-argued drafts that could go out largely as-is, in a voice that reads as theirs
• Learning the cast of characters well enough to triage independently
• Tracking responses to invitations for talks and seminars

Project management support

• Owning deadlines end-to-end — tracking internal and external commitments, blocking time on the calendar so a project actually gets finished before it’s due, and flagging risk early rather than reminding the Director once something is overdue

IT and events

• Acting as the day-to-day coordination point between the Director and the Ops team

Horizon scanning

• Helping identify programs, initiatives, or opportunities that could genuinely benefit the team

Travel and logistics

• Arranging domestic and international travel, including flights, hotels, coworking spaces, and visas — anticipating likely complications (tight connections, visa lead times, time zone changes)
• Processing reimbursement and expense requests promptly and accurately

Wider team support

• Staying genuinely plugged into what’s happening across the organization, not just your own workload, so you can keep the Director informed
• Supporting the wider team during crunch-time events throughout the year. During crunch periods, things may move too quickly for detailed instructions; you’ll need to work closely with Ops and Programs to pick up ad hoc coordination tasks (logistics, materials, last-minute changes) with limited notice and context.
• Organizing team retreats throughout the year
• Nudging staff on performance reviews and other HR-related admin so deadlines don’t quietly slip
• Helping maintain organisational CRM systems so that important relationships and preserved and strengthened
• Completing occasional personal tasks for the Director — appointments, personal travel, and similar admin — treated with the same discretion as sensitive work matters

About you

You might be a strong fit if:

• You’re sharp and switched on — you pick up context quickly, connect dots with limited input
• You have strong written communication — clear, concise, and able to match tone and register well enough that your drafts could pass as the Director’s own
• You’re comfortable supporting a senior stakeholder in a fast-moving policy environment and can prioritize ruthlessly when competing needs arise, including pushing back when something isn’t actually urgent
• You’re proactive, spotting what needs doing — or what’s about to be forgotten — without being asked
• You’re highly organized and reliable, and don’t let things slip, even when juggling several fast-moving threads at once
• You’re discreet and trustworthy with sensitive information — pay, travel, and personal scheduling details will be a regular part of the role
• You’re flexible and adaptable — priorities can shift quickly, and you adjust without needing to be managed through it
• You’re excited to use AI systems to help augment and accelerate your work, and support the Director in doing the same
• You’re reliably available and responsive during US working hours

This role may benefit from you having some of the following experiences, though you could still be a highly competitive candidate without them:

• Prior experience as an Executive Assistant, Personal Assistant, or similar, ideally supporting someone in a fast-paced or high-stakes environment
• Existing familiarity with the AI policy and/or governance fields
• Familiarity with tools like Google Workspace, Slack, and HR platforms like Justworks.

All of the above said, there’s no such thing as a perfect candidate; we don’t expect a successful hire to excel in all of the dimensions here. If you are on the fence about applying because you are unsure whether you are qualified.

Compensation

The salary range for this role is $70,000 – $100,000 depending on experience and location. For exceptional candidates whose experience exceeds our expectations in terms of relevance and seniority, we may consider higher compensation.

We are ideally looking for someone able to start immediately but are open to waiting for longer if the ideal candidate is not available immediately.

Time zones and location

This is a full-time position. We’re looking for someone who can maintain meaningful overlap with US Eastern working hours with a preference for someone to be based in Washington, DC. We have staff working from many different countries and will support remote working and flexibility where reasonably possible, but availability during US hours is a genuine requirement for this role.

Visas: We may be able to support visa applications in some instances for this role, though individual eligibility is not within our control.

Our benefits include:

• 5 weeks of PTO recommended per year, plus public holidays
• 12 weeks of paid parental leave that can be taken prior to birth or adoption and during the first year, with the option to take additional unpaid leave
• Employer pension or matching 401(k) contribution up to 4% of your salary
• Health insurance for employees residing in countries without nationalized healthcare
• An annual reimbursement fund of $5,000 for productivity and professional development
• An annual reimbursement fund of $5,000 for mental health support
• An annual reimbursement fund of $2,500 for equipment and office supplies
• A friendly, open work culture that encourages feedback and close collaboration, and a team that appreciates the contributions of all team members

Diversity

We aim to employ people with many different experiences, perspectives, and backgrounds who share our mission. We are committed to creating an environment where all employees have the opportunity to succeed, regardless of their race, religion, disability, national origin, gender, or sexual orientation.

Requests for accommodation

If you need assistance or an accommodation due to a disability or incompatible assistive technology, please contact [e-mail] to request reasonable accommodations.

Referral program

This position is eligible for LawAI’s referral program. The referral program offers $5,000 to eligible individuals who refer a candidate who is ultimately hired for one of our open positions. Full terms can be found here .