Who We Are:
American Oversight is a nonpartisan, nonprofit watchdog that advances truth, accountability, and democracy by enforcing the public's right to government records. We use multiple tools, backed by aggressive litigation, to fight attacks on democratic institutions, threats to civil rights and liberties, abuses of power, and erosion of government transparency. We expose and disrupt these attacks, and the officials and networks behind them, by forcing the government to turn over records officials would rather keep secret.
Since our founding in 2017, American Oversight has:
- Shut down Trump's bogus "voter fraud" commission.
- Revealed the Trump-sanctioned pressure campaign on the Ukrainian government by forcing the Trump administration to turn over records initially withheld from Congress.
- Uncovered rampant preventable deaths of immigrants in federal custody.
- Unmasked taxpayer-funded sham "audits" of the 2020 election.
- Obtained the fake electors' forged certificates submitted by fake electors during the 2020 election.
- Exposed networks of election denialists and subverters around the country.
- Halted the impeachment of a newly elected state supreme court justice in Wisconsin.
- Blocked state election board members in Georgia and Wisconsin from taking anti-democratic actions in secret.
For more information, please visit our website: www.americanoversight.org
About the Role:
Reporting to the Executive Director, American Oversight is seeking a Senior Advisor for Federal Oversight to join its team.
The Senior Advisor for Federal Oversight plays a key role in advancing American Oversight’s mission by closely tracking and informing strategies to protect against executive branch and congressional attacks on democratic institutions, threats to civil rights and liberties, abuses of power, and efforts to erode government transparency. This role is responsible for identifying opportunities for impactful engagement with pro-democracy partners and coalitions, monitoring federal executive actions and congressional inquiries and investigations, and working with senior leadership to inform investigative, litigation, communications, and partnerships strategies.
This position will term in December 2028 with a potential to renew after that expiration date.
What You Will Do:
- Serve as the primary point of contact for congressional partners in the U.S. House of Representatives and U.S. Senate, and lead efforts to deepen key relationships.
- Set American Oversight’s strategy for congressional engagement, identifying opportunities to share critical information and amplify American Oversight’s work on Capitol Hill to advance American Oversight’s strategic goals.
- Advise senior leadership on opportunities to send targeted federal Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) and state public records requests informed by executive branch or congressional actions; identify ways to leverage American Oversight’s expertise in partner litigation and/or accountability campaigns.
- Monitor and track congressional inquiries, investigations, and hearings within American Oversight’s priority areas.
- Actively participate in or lead coalition spaces focused on civil society coordination on executive branch or congressional actions.
- Draft, edit, and assist with developing materials to support American Oversight’s accountability campaigns; translate complex executive branch or congressional actions into clear and streamlined messaging for diverse audiences.
- Work closely with the Strategic Partnerships Director to identify key coalitions and other opportunities for participation, including sign-on letters, accountability campaigns, and other external events.
- Collaborate with American Oversight’s cross-functional teams to develop and execute organizational strategic priorities using information uncovered through federal oversight monitoring.
- Develop and conduct training for American Oversight staff on congressional oversight and best practices for congressional engagement.
- Serve as on-the-record spokesperson as needed.
- Other related projects or initiatives as assigned by the Executive Director or Deputy Executive Director.
What You Will Bring:
- 8+ years of relevant experience, including, but not limited to, extensive knowledge of and well-established relationships on Capitol Hill, or service as a senior political appointee or senior official within a federal agency headquarters.
- Excellent interpersonal skills, including the ability to initiate, build, and maintain productive relationships with congressional staff and civil society partners.
- A keen interest in American Oversight’s mission of government accountability and transparency; commitment to public interest advocacy.
- Extraordinarily high level of attention to detail and follow through.
- Exceptionally strong skills in the following areas:
- Relationship Management: effectively communicates, builds relationships, and works collaboratively with others; actively works to understand and respect the perspectives and motivations of others.
- Project Management: understands who the key stakeholders are; tracks, drives, reports, and engages the necessary stakeholders, tools, resources, and information to produce desired results; moves nimbly among a variety of projects with varying timelines; manages expectations; asks questions early; anticipates and prepares next steps and outcomes
- Communication:
- Oral: conveys information and ideas in a clear, concise, and engaging manner; uses language that is understandable and can skillfully adapt for different audiences.
- Written: effectively conveys information and ideas in a clear, concise, and compelling manner; ensures written content is free from grammatical errors, typos, or inconsistencies.
- Judgment and Decision Making: carefully assesses information and weighs competing priorities before making sound and timely decisions; predicts likely results based on patterns, experiences, and logical inferences; considers potential consequences and ensures alignment with American Oversight’s values and objectives; makes thoughtful recommendations or decisions that lead to effective outcomes.
- Problem Solving: identifies issues and surfaces creative solutions to achieve desired outcomes.
- Collaboration: is an inclusive, highly engaged team player, proactively seeks and provides thought partnership, assistance, and/or resources with/to colleagues.
- Strategic Thinking: obtains information and identifies key issues and relationships relevant to achieving a goal or vision; evaluates potential risks and benefits to potential plans of action before recommending courses of action; adjusts plans as needed to achieve key objectives.
- Exercises a high degree of confidentiality and discretion, professionalism, integrity, diplomacy, and ethics.
- Experience working effectively and collaboratively within a fast-paced, agile environment among a diverse employee base that works remotely and distributed across the United States.
- Ability to work well independently or as part of a team.
- Experience or desire to work in environments with a commitment to diversity, equity, and inclusion.
- Strong technology skills with an aptitude to learn quickly to ramp up on new platforms or technology: Microsoft Suite (Outlook, Word, Excel, PowerPoint); Google Workspace (Docs, Sheets, Slides); project management platform (e.g., Monday).
- Ability to attend in-person work-related events and functions, and work on-site in American Oversight’s Washington, DC office.
- Must be available to work East Coast business hours with evening and weekend hours as needed.
Desired Qualifications:
- Juris Doctor degree.
- Extensive experience handling, responding to, or preparing for congressional investigations and/or oversight hearings.
- Deep familiarity with FOIA, Federal Advisory Committee Act, and/or federal ethics laws.
- Demonstrated commitment to public interest work.
- Experience in a nonprofit environment.
We encourage individuals to apply even if they do not have any of the desired qualifications.
What We Offer:
American Oversight offers its employees a generous and comprehensive benefits package that includes 80% of health, dental, and vision premiums paid by the organization, a retirement plan with a matching contribution, and remote office reimbursements for personal devices and wireless connectivity.
Location:
American Oversight is a remote-first location. This position will require the individual to be based in the Washington, DC, Maryland, and/or Virginia area to attend events, functions, and work on-site in American Oversight’s office as needed.
Salary Range:
$141,000 to $156,000 (commensurate to experience)
Application Deadline:
Interested applicants are encouraged to apply by December 9, 2024 to ensure consideration of your application. Following this deadline, applications will be reviewed on a rolling basis until the position is filled.
Our Commitment to an Inclusive Workplace:
At American Oversight, we value and strive to hire, develop, and grow a diverse and inclusive team. We are an equal opportunity employer, and encourage applications from all individuals without regard to an individual’s race, color, sex, gender identity, gender expression, religion, age, national origin or ancestry, physical or mental disability, medical condition, family care status, marital status, domestic partner status, sexual orientation, genetic information, military or veteran status, or any other basis protected by federal, state, or local laws. We strongly encourage individuals to apply for opportunities at American Oversight even if they do not have any of the desired qualifications.
