Program Associate/Program Manager (Communications)

Horizon Institute for Public Service; Washington (District of Columbia); On-site; USD 100,000 - 160,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Unlimited vacation

Remote work flexibility

Paid parental leave

Professional development funding

Office snacks and meals

Job summary

Horizon Institute for Public Service is seeking a full-time Program Associate/Program Manager (Communications) in Washington, DC to tell Horizon’s story clearly and consistently. You’ll produce high-quality content across writing, design, web, and social media while learning about emerging tech policy.

The role is hands-on and growth-oriented, reporting to the Director of Communications. Early-career candidates are welcome at the Associate level, with potential to grow into a Manager role for

Qualifications

• Proven ability to write clearly for diverse audiences.
• Ability to adapt voice across multiple formats (blog, social, newsletters).
• Strong attention to detail and ability to self-edit.

Responsibilities

• Promote programs by designing and running campaigns to reach the right people.
• Draft blog posts, social copy, newsletters, and website copy in Horizon's voice.
• Own visual presence; design on-brand graphics and manage social channels.

Skills

Fast writer

Content creation

Editing

CMS familiarity

Tools

Canva

WordPress

Squarespace

Job description

Program Associate/Program Manager (Communications)

Title: Program Associate/Program Manager (Communications)

Salary: $100,000-$160,000 (incl. healthcare and retirement contributions)

• Program Associate: $100,000-$125,000+
• Program Manager: $120,000-$160,000+

Location: In-person, Washington, DC; visa sponsorship available

Job Type: Full-time

Application Deadline: Sunday, August 23, 2026 at 11:59 PM ET

The Horizon Institute for Public Service is seeking a full-time Program Associate/Program Manager (Communications) to tell Horizon’s story clearly and consistently. You’ll produce high-quality content on an ongoing basis, shaping how program participants, funders, policymakers, and journalists understand our work. You’ll represent Horizon to external audiences, reaching people making real decisions about emerging tech policy.

This is a hands-on content and execution role, well-suited to someone early in their communications career who wants to build range across writing, design, web, and social media while learning more about emerging tech policy. You’ll work closely with Horizon’s Director of Communications and our specialized research and writing staff—the people producing Substack, emergingtechpolicy.org, and other creative and educational content that reaches policy audiences directly. On a small team, you’ll get fast feedback and learn by doing.

Competitive applicants will most likely have 1-4+ years of relevant work experience, though this could also be your first full-time role out of school, or part of a pivot into policy communications. Early-career applicants will likely be considered at the Program Associate tier, while candidates with more experience may be considered at the Program Manager tier.

Emerging technologies like AI are rapidly reshaping our world. The US government plays an essential role in developing and governing such technologies. But policymakers’ ability to stay ahead of the curve depends on access to the requisite expertise—and right now, that expertise is sorely lacking. Horizon exists to close this gap by supporting the next generation of emerging technology policy leaders.

Since our launch three years ago, we’ve helped hundreds of professionals explore and transition into public service careers. Through our fellowship program, we’ve helped 100+ subject-matter experts fill vital roles at top think tanks, in Congress, and in agencies across government. Our online career resources have reached 150,000+ users and we’ve supported over 1,000 individuals through events and advising and headhunting services. We participated in the first‑ever government AI hiring fair and run the AI Policy Leadership Network . We plan to both scale these existing programs and launch several more exciting new projects this year. You can read more about our programs and impact in our 2025 year in review .

About the role

You’ll shape how the outside world sees Horizon at a moment of rapid growth. Our public presence increasingly decides who hears about our work, who applies to our programs, and who partners with us—and this role keeps that presence active, accurate, and compelling.You’ll draft and ship the blog posts, social content, newsletters, and one‑pagers that carry Horizon’s voice, run campaigns around program launches, keep our website and donor materials current, and make on‑brand graphics.

You will report to the Director of Communications, and work in a tight‑knit team of content and policy specialists. You’ll specialize in institutional writing and design first; from there, the role can grow toward owning campaigns end‑to‑end, or toward measurement and content strategy. This role builds a portable foundation for a communications and policy career, including range across communication formats and fluency in one of the most consequential policy areas of the moment. It’s a strong platform for growing into communications strategy, content and editorial leadership, or campaign and policy roles at mission‑driven organizations.

Responsibilities

• Promote our programs to reach the right people. Design and run the campaigns—program launches, social media ads, fellow Q&As —that get the right people to hear about Horizon, apply to our programs, and understand the impact they could have in policy. A big part of this is building our owned channels, including our Substack with career advice for people transitioning into and working in emerging tech policy (Launchpad ). This is one of the clearest ways your work will drive our mission: our programs only change careers if the right talent and partners find them, and you’ll own the content that makes that happen.
• Be the primary drafter for Horizon’s voice. Write the blog posts, social copy, newsletters, one‑pagers, and website copy that represent Horizon to the outside world, communicating our programs and impact clearly and in a voice people trust. You’ll be the first drafter on many of our communications, developing range across formats with editorial support from the comms team. The words you choose will shape how policymakers, funders, and future program participants understand what we do and how they can support our mission.
• Own how Horizon looks and shows up in our communications: Take charge of our visual presence and day‑to‑day channels, designing on‑brand graphics in Canva and other tools, keeping the website accurate and current as programs launch and evolve, running our social media end to end, and capturing photo and video at events. Horizon is growing fast, and these interactions are often the first impression someone forms of us, like a funder scanning our site or a prospective fellow finding us on social media. You’ll make sure that impression is sharp, consistent, and accurate.
• Support our fundraising: Produce donor‑facing content and materials that help Horizon raise the resources behind everything we do. Communications and fundraising are two sides of the same work: both tell the story of our impact in a compelling way to people who can act on it, and you’ll build fluency in both.
• Manage content infrastructure and projects: Maintain the team’s content calendar and coordinate with program leads across Horizon to support their broadcasting goals. As the person holding the full picture of what’s publishing when, you’ll be the connective tissue that keeps a fast‑moving communications team aligned and organized.

As a small and fast‑moving team, we are open to adjusting the role based on an excellent candidate’s profile and interests. For example, components of the responsibilities above may be reweighted toward writing, design, web, or event content depending on experience and aptitudes.

You may be a good fit for this role if you

• Are a fast writer who can move between formats (social media, blog posts, email newsletters, one‑pagers), and can pick up an organization’s voice quickly.
• Have a strong eye for detail and self‑edit well.
• Are comfortable (or quick to get comfortable) building and updating web pages in a CMS like Squarespace or WordPress.
• Can make clean, on‑brand graphics, and are open to iterating and taking direction on design.
• Are organized and proactive—you break work into steps, volunteer deadlines, and chase down what you need to complete your work.
• Are excited to use AI to work faster and boost outputs, and have the judgment to know when not to.
• Have a demonstrated interest in emerging technology policy (prior experience is bonus but not required as long as you are excited to learn on the job).

Additionally, Horizon has a strong team culture, and we expect you would fit well if you:

• Are entrepreneurial and a team player, adapting to new responsibilities as our fast‑growing organization’s needs may change over time.
• Are growth‑minded and excited to give and receive regular feedback in order to maximize performance and impact across our team.
• Are motivated by Horizon’s mission and excited to be part of a public service‑oriented, user‑focused, low‑ego, and collaborative team.
• Can work in‑person in Washington, DC.

Salary and benefits

The Program Associate (Communications) will receive a salary of $100,000–$125,000+ based on experience and seniority. We are also open to hiring this role at the Program Manager level ($120,000–$160,000+) for candidates with substantially more relevant experience. Horizon currently offers a flexible, benefits‑equivalent cash stipend (included in salary) rather than a fixed health insurance or retirement plan. The stipend can be used to purchase any of the two dozen health insurance plans on the DC public market (or just keep as an additional salary top‑up if you already have health insurance coverage through a parent or spouse) and contribute to a retirement account of your choosing. Starting in late 2026/early 2027, Horizon plans to expand its benefits offerings to include 403(b) retirement accounts and employer‑covered health insurance plans.

Horizon also offers:

• Unlimited vacation, with a recommended minimum of 15 days per year
• Remote work flexibility for up to 12 weeks/year, contingent on acceptable performance
• 12 weeks of paid parental leave
• Up to $3,000+ per year in professional development funding
• A productive, collaborative office with free snacks and meals

Application process

The application process will involve paid work tests, a structured interview, reference checks, and a paid in‑person work trial. We will acknowledge receipt of all applications and aim to get back to candidates by mid‑September. Our ideal start date is November 2026, though flexibility is offered for exceptional candidates.

We welcome candidates from diverse backgrounds and experiences to apply. Strong candidates may not always fulfill all our required or desired criteria. Studies show that individuals from underrepresented groups may underestimate their qualifications. Therefore, we urge you not to self‑disqualify prematurely. If you are excited about this work, we strongly encourage you to apply.