Director, Research & Policy
Center on Economics & Foreign Affairs · United States
full timehybridDirector
Sign in as a CEFA member to apply.
Sign in to applyAbout the role
Maintains CEFA's research standards, directs policy analysis and publications, and ensures recommendations are rigorous, relevant, and connected to implementation.
Responsibilities
- Set research standards, editorial processes, peer-review expectations, publication calendars, and evidence policies. - Commission, supervise, and edit research across CEFA's policy and development priorities. - Ensure methods, sources, assumptions, limitations, conflicts, and funding disclosures are appropriately documented. - Connect researchers with practitioners so recommendations reflect implementation realities without compromising independence. - Develop researchers and fellows and maintain a consistent institutional voice across publications. Reporting & working relationships Reports to the Chief Strategy & Programs Officer or President & CEO. Leads research staff and works with fellows, external reviewers, communications, program and project teams, funders, and institutional partners. Authority & limits May lead assigned programs, staff, outreach, negotiations, and approved expenditures within written delegation. Final contracts, capital commitments, securities activity, public positions, and material partnership terms require authorized approval.
Required qualifications
- Advanced research and editorial leadership in economics, public policy, international affairs, industry, finance, or a related field. - Strong methodological judgment and a record of producing influential, accessible, decision-relevant work. - Experience managing researchers, fellows, peer reviewers, and publication workflows.
Preferred qualifications
What success looks like: - Rigorous, timely publications that withstand expert scrutiny and inform action. - Transparent methods, corrections, disclosures, and quality-control records. - A coherent research agenda connected to CEFA's mission and project portfolio. - Growth in CEFA's credibility among policymakers, practitioners, funders, and researchers.
Benefits
Employment classification: Paid senior staff position. Status: Full-time. Term: Ongoing employment, subject to applicable law and CEFA policies. Compensation: Salary and benefits commensurate with experience and CEFA's approved compensation framework. Performance cycle: Annual objectives with regular check-ins and a formal performance review. Work arrangement: Location, travel, schedule, and exempt/nonexempt status determined for the final role and jurisdiction.
Equal opportunity
CEFA is an equal-opportunity employer. All qualified applicants receive consideration without regard to any legally protected characteristic.
About Center on Economics & Foreign Affairs
CEFA is a mission-driven nonprofit institution connecting research, policy, capital, and public- and private-sector partners to advance economic development and foreign-affairs priorities at national scale.