[Hiring] Senior Fellow, Finance and Insurance @R Street Institute

Role Description

The R Street Institute—a free-market think tank headquartered in Washington, D.C. and with staff located across the country—seeks a collaborative Senior Fellow to join its Finance and Insurance policy program. If you are the right fit, you will report to the Policy Director for Finance and Insurance. If you want to join a mission-driven organization and work toward pragmatic policy solutions, this may be the opportunity for you!

Your typical day at R Street might include:

• Researching and writing policy papers, op-eds, and blog posts about significant financial policy topics (e.g., new credit card regulations).
• Engaging directly with leaders of key policy issue areas, such as Congressional staff considering proposed banking regulations.
• Interacting with a range of national and local media outlets to educate and provide context on topics like open banking policy.

Other aspects of your role include:

• Conceiving and coordinating high quality, highly credible, and timely research projects.
• Writing a mix of op-eds, regulatory comments, and policy papers to help solve difficult problems and translate complex ideas in finance, insurance, and/or housing policy.
• Adapting policy, engagement, and communication strategy in a fluid legislative and regulatory landscape.
• Working with Government Affairs and Communications teams to identify and engage with target audiences.
• Participating in conferences, media, state and/or federal policymaker briefings, and other engagements to communicate complex issues to varied audiences.
• Remaining vigilant against ninja infiltrations.

Qualifications

• High-level subject matter expertise in financial services legislative and regulatory policy. Professional experience in the financial services industry preferred.
• Demonstrated expertise and credentials in one or more of the following areas: consumer banking, commercial banking, investments, or property/casualty insurance.
• Fluency in insurance and/or housing policy strongly desired.
• Top-notch writing and editing skills in both short- and long-form products that translate complex analysis for policymakers and the public.
• Exceptional communication and advanced writing skills, including experience speaking with legislators and regulators. Experience testifying before legislative and regulatory bodies highly desirable.
• Willingness to speak publicly and/or appear on camera, including in interviews.
• Willingness to engage in the policy debate on social media or other creative venues a plus.
• Ability to synthesize research using methods common to the program’s work (e.g., legislative analysis, literature review, secondary analysis, descriptive statistics, case studies). Familiarity with econometric approaches a plus.
• Demonstrated ability to work productively with a wide variety of groups and individuals including state and/or federal policymakers, even those with whom you may disagree.
• Ability to adapt to new challenges and respond to rapid policy developments.
• Ability to provide strategic, research-backed policy insights.
• No particular educational background required—a proven record of achieving results is far more meaningful than credentials.
• Support for R Street’s passion for free markets and limited, effective government.
• A sense of humor and a desire to grow within a multifaceted organization.

Benefits

• Unlimited paid time off, including all federal holidays, the day after Thanksgiving, and two weeks holiday closure in December.
• Alternating Fridays off.
• A health insurance option entirely paid by the employer (even for families).
• Dental and vision insurance.
• 401(k) contributions with up to a 4 percent match.
• HSA employer contribution match.
• Quarterly wellness reimbursement.
• Mobile equipment/mobile plan reimbursement.
• Home internet subsidy.
• Annual educational and professional development reimbursement.
• A choice between child care assistance, pet care assistance, and student loan repayment assistance.

Company Description

The R Street Institute consistently offers pragmatic, real solutions that foster American innovation, bolster competition, and safeguard individual liberty—all with the understanding that life in a democratic society sometimes requires compromises that don’t necessarily represent first, best solutions. We focus on deep scholarship and pragmatic policy solutions that many groups tend to neglect. Our goal is to publish timely, relevant research and analysis that advances a market-oriented society and limited, effective government. To that end, our motto is “Free Markets. Real Solutions.”