State Engagement Senior Policy Counsel

The Center for Democracy & Technology (CDT) is seeking an experienced tech policy advocate to support the ongoing development and implementation of CDTs state-level strategy helping to coordinate the organizations engagement with state-level policymakers and allied organizations throughout the United States.

The Senior Policy Counsel will be a key member of the State Engagement Team which works with CDTs program directors and staff to identify prioritize and effectuate key advocacy opportunities at the state level. As a member of this team the Senior Policy Counsel will build and maintain relationships and trust with relevant state policymakers of both parties as well as organizations advocating at the state level raising awareness of CDTs advocacy and research work and helping our policy teams expand their reach to state-specific audiences. The Senior Policy Counsel will effectively represent CDTs positions and values; help develop resources for state advocacy as needed; and strengthen CDTs relationships with relevant civil society organizations and other allies.

The successful candidate will be a strategic and analytical thinker who is passionate about strengthening the community of public interest voices advocating at the state level for civil rights and civil liberties in the digital age. They will be excited to work in partnership with CDTs broad range of policy staff.

This position reports to the Director for State Engagement.

About CDT

The Center for Democracy & Technology (CDT) is a nonpartisan nonprofit organization that fights to advance civil rights and civil liberties in the digital age. We champion policies laws and technical designs that empower people to use technology for good while protecting against invasive discriminatory and exploitative uses. CDT was founded in Washington D.C. in 1994 and has operated a second office in Brussels since 2014.

CDT works to protect peoples rights across a range of technology uses and applications with a focus on privacy and data (including specific projects on health privacy workers rights & technology and disability rights & technology) AI policy and governance free expression/platform governance government surveillance elections & democracy civic technology & education and competition.

We engage policymakers in the U.S. and the European Union advocate for companies to adopt best practices represent the public interest in multistakeholder processes and standards bodies file amicus briefs in court conduct original research and raise public awareness about how technology design and governance impact our democracy and social inequality.

CDT is a leading voice in tech policy conversations. We testify before Congress advocate to the White House engage closely with federal agencies and increasingly engage with policymakers in the states. We also collaborate with a wide range of civil society partners and academic researchers. Read more at .

Responsibilities:

Key responsibilities for this position include:

• Support the State Engagement Teams efforts in partnership with other CDT staff to track pertinent state-level policy developments identify key advocacy opportunities at the state level and coordinate and prioritize areas for CDTs state-level engagement

• Map and understand the landscape of stakeholders engaging on CDTs issues at the state level to inform advocacy strategies

• In partnership with other CDT staff build and maintain relationships with relevant state-level policymakers of both parties and related organizations (e.g. National Conference of State Legislatures) to increase awareness of CDTs work build trust in our expertise and create engagement opportunities for CDT.

• In partnership with other CDT staff build and maintain relationships with allied organizations engaging on CDTs priority issues in target regions including both relevant state-based organizations and national organizations seeking to increase their state-level work.

• In partnership with other CDT staff participate in coalitions and build/lead coalitions as appropriate on particular advocacy opportunities.

• Effectively represent CDTs positions work product and areas of expertise to a broad range of stakeholders demonstrating requisite knowledge and passion for CDTs values.

• Maintain systems to track CDTs state-level engagement and relationships with relevant stakeholders.

• Along with the Director for State Engagement and in partnership with CDTs General Counsel ensure CDTs full compliance with its 501(c)(3) obligations and relevant state lobbying laws.

Qualifications:

We encourage anyone with relevant experience or knowledge to apply but an ideal candidate would have:

• At least 5 years of experience in U.S. technology policy state-level policy work or a combination of the two

• Experience as a legislative or executive branch policy staffer or a tech policy advocate strongly preferred

• A degree in a relevant field (e.g. law information technology public policy) JD preferred

• Excellent verbal and written communication skills

• Excellent relational skills and ability to connect with a diverse range of partners and stakeholders including those with differing political views

• An energetic entrepreneurial and collaborative working style

• A deep commitment to CDTs mission and values.

Compensation and Location

The compensation for this position ranges from $100000 to $138000. Compensation is determined on a standardized tiered pay scale based on years of experience and the responsibilities of the role. Candidates may request guidance on where they would fall within the salary range at any time during the interview process. CDT provides a generous benefits package that includes health care and dental coverage for employees and dependents a retirement plan paid vacation sick days and parental leave.

This position is based in CDTs Washington D.C. office which operates on a hybrid schedule with 3 days in office per week (generally Monday Wednesday and Thursday). A different hybrid schedule may be considered in exceptional cases and is available if needed as a disability accommodation. We may also consider exceptional candidates based outside of D.C. particularly in California.

To Apply

Please send a résumé and a cover letter explaining your interest in the position by clicking the apply for this position button below. The cover letter should at a minimum explain what skills you have developed in your career so far that would help you be successful in this role. If you have any questions please feel free to contact .