Policy Associate

The New Foreign Assistance; Washington (District of Columbia); Hybrid; USD 70,000 - 90,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Health benefits

Retirement plan

Paid time off

Job summary

The New Foreign Assistance, based in Washington, D.C., is seeking a tenacious professional to help build an excellent foreign assistance system. Working with senior staff, you will turn ideas into white papers, State Department programs, and congressional proposals, while also handling internal operations from board prep to event logistics.

You could come from a think tank, government, private sector, or advocacy space, typically with three to five years of experience.

Qualifications

• Must be able to learn quickly and support senior staff across policy, programmatic, partnership, and operations tasks.
• Strong writing, research, and analytical thinking are essential.
• Ability to translate ideas into concrete programs and proposals.

Responsibilities

• Help the State Department fund programs that work
• Design flagship initiatives in policy, procurement, and partnerships
• Draft white papers, briefing memos, and analyses for State Department and Congress
• Share research through op-eds, presentations, and social media
• Support briefings for the State Department, White House, and congressional staff
• Coordinate events and board meeting logistics
• Help build a high-performing, bipartisan advocacy organization

Skills

Policy analysis

Research writing

Project management

Communications

Job description

The New Foreign Assistance is a conservative aid reform advocacy group. We believe that the end of USAID creates a unique opportunity to build a better approach to American aid. Stripped of the bureaucratic barnacles that inhibited USAID, the system being created at the State Department can draw on principles of private-sector-led development, cost-effectiveness, flexible procurement, and government accountability.

We believe development happens organically by supporting those making change on the ground, not by parachuting in programs designed from behind embassy walls and implemented by outsiders. We support the Trump Administration’s goals of simpler program design and procurement, and commercial diplomacy that builds productive bilateral relationships, and we work with Congress and the State Department to put them into law and practice.

To learn more, see: thenewforeignassistance.org

About the role

We seek someone tenacious and committed to giving America an excellent foreign assistance system, one that keeps the best of the old approach and jettisons the rest. Working with the Executive Director, Chief of Staff, and VP of Policy Innovation, you will play an active role in building and expanding our initiatives, turning promising ideas into white papers, programs for the State Department, and legislative proposals for Congress. You will also help run internal operations, from board preparation to event logistics, so expect the work to be varied.

The right person could come from a think tank, government, the private sector, the aid world, or the advocacy world, and typically has three to five years of professional experience; relevant graduate study counts toward that. Beyond the résumé, we care most about whether you can build, write, organize, and follow through. In return, you will work directly alongside senior staff, join meetings with congressional offices and State Department officials, and take real ownership of projects early.

In practice, that means you will:

Help the State Department fund programs that work

• Research and help design flagship initiatives in areas such as trade and investment, health moonshots, and support for pioneer firms

Help build systems that last

• Conduct research for white papers, briefing memos, and analyses that go to the State Department and Congress, including on procurement reform
• Share our research through op-eds, presentations, and social media

Help make The New Foreign Assistance the go-to organization for reform

• Support briefings for the State Department, White House, and congressional staff
• Work with other advocacy organizations to build bipartisan support where possible
• Help build a high-performing organization from the ground up
• Support partnerships, events, and board meeting preparation, including the logistics behind them

Candidate profile

You have a proven ability to learn quickly. You can support senior staff in a wide variety of policy, programmatic, partnership, and operations tasks, and you are glad to pitch in on whatever the team needs, from a policy memo to event setup.

You write well and think clearly. AI use is expected and encouraged, but critical thinking matters most. Human judgment and polish are required.

You seek out tough feedback. We know we don’t have all the answers. We reflect on how our conversations, emails, and meetings went, test our thinking against our sharpest critics, and change our position when the evidence warrants.

You are comfortable with ambiguity and a small team. The New Foreign Assistance exists to exploit a tight window for policy impact, and we plan to staff up over the next few months. We pivot deliberately when the field changes, and we help each other resist saying yes to every new idea, email, and meeting invite.

You are allergic to buzzword development-speak. You can turn ideas into ambitious, credible, thoughtful programs. You place a high emphasis on clarity, specificity, analytical honesty, and implementation feasibility.

You move quickly and protect time for deep work. The role requires balancing moving fast with moving strategically and appropriately. We guard each other’s time so substantive work gets done.

You are principled, not partisan. You are at home in the conservative and Republican policy world and keenly aware of the limits of government action. We treat everyone who supports reformed foreign assistance as an ally, including reform-minded Democrats.

Compensation and location

$70,000-$90,000 commensurate with experience, plus health benefits, a retirement plan, and generous paid time off.

The role is based in Washington, D.C., with in-person work expected several times per week, generally along the Orange Line. Candidates must be able to get to D.C. on short notice. We are not covering relocation. Regional and international travel is expected to be 10% or less.

The New Foreign Assistance is an equal opportunity employer. We evaluate candidates on the merits and welcome applicants of every background.