American Progress is seeking to fill the positions listed below. We anticipate other openings in the future and encourage you to check our site often. Please note that only those individuals whose qualifications match the current needs of the organization will be considered and receive responses. Candidates from diverse backgrounds are strongly encouraged to apply for these positions. Learn more about our commitment to diversity and inclusion here.
Applicants who need assistance completing the application may contact American Progress’ Human Resources at ahickel@americanprogress.org or 202-796-9709.
If you are interested in an internship position, you can view all current openings here.
The health and safety of staff remains our priority. American Progress’ office is currently open Monday through Friday from 9:00 a.m. to 6:00 p.m. Most employees work a hybrid schedule that includes at least two days per week in the office. We will continue to monitor COVID-19 and levels of community spread and adjust plans as needed.
American Progress employees must be fully vaccinated against COVID-19, except in limited circumstances in which an employee is legally entitled to a reasonable accommodation. All staff must have received a COVID-19 booster shot or plan to receive one within two weeks of eligibility after initial vaccination. All new hires will be required to provide proof of full vaccination including a booster dose, or request an exemption, no later than one week before the start of their employment.
For for more information on self-insured health care plans, see Machine Readable Data | CareFirst BlueCross BlueShield.
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American Progress has an immediate opening for an Associate Director of Partnerships to support the Digital Advocacy team’s coordination and amplification efforts to build the case for progressive policies and values.
American Progress is seeking an Associate Director or Director to join its Criminal Justice Reform team. American Progress is dedicated to improving community safety and justice by developing, advancing, and amplifying progressive policies that create safer, healthier, and more equitable communities and provide second chances to people exiting incarceration; pushing back against punitive criminal legal system policies that cause disproportionate harms to people of color; ensuring that federal policies, programs, and dollars are implemented effectively, equitably, and in ways that create openings for more ambitious policies; and shaping and driving the narrative that progressive policies and reforms are good for community safety as well as the economy, public health, and overall well-being of the country. The work of the Criminal Justice Reform team—which is situated within American Progress’ Rights and Justice department—aims to reduce the footprint of the criminal legal system, reduce barriers to reentry for people returning to the community from incarceration, and create meaningful alternatives to the criminal legal system that improve community safety and public health.
American Progress has an immediate opening for an Associate Director or Director on the Democracy team in the Structural Reform and Governance department. This position will manage a broad policy portfolio that includes work on structural and electoral reforms, reducing political extremism, combating election subversion, and other topics. The Associate Director or Director will help drive policy analysis and conduct substantial original research and writing while also collaborating regularly across the institution. The Associate Director or Director will help build relationships with outside stakeholders, including allied organizations, policymakers, and the media.
American Progress has an immediate opening for an Associate Director or Director on the Domestic Climate team in its Energy and Environment department to lead projects and conduct research and analysis related to climate and energy policy. The ideal candidate will have strong management, strategic thinking, coalition-building, writing, and analytical skills, and a commitment to addressing climate change and economic and environmental injustice. The position will report to the Senior Director of Domestic Climate and Energy Policy.
American Progress has an immediate opening for an Associate Director or Director for Gun Violence Prevention in its Rights and Justice department.
Reporting to the Managing Director of Institutional Giving, the Associate Director or Director of Institutional Giving is an important member of the Development department and will help support American Progress’ institutional giving efforts as the organization works to grow and diversify its revenue streams from institutional partners, including private and family foundations, corporations, and labor organizations. This individual will be responsible for a grant-seeking portfolio that generates $7 million to $15 million in annual revenue for American Progress. They will pursue and capitalize on emerging opportunities for institutional funding and will help produce written communications for the organization. Working closely with executive and senior American Progress staff, they will contribute to a robust institutional fundraising program designed to increase the amount of support from the organization’s constituency over the next several years.
American Progress has an immediate opening for an Associate Director or Director of Ocean Policy on the Conservation team in its Energy and Environment department. This role will be responsible for leading American Progress’ work to develop and execute national and regional strategies as well as campaigns to further its ocean policy, climate change, and clean energy goals. The ideal candidate will have strong management, strategic thinking, coalition-building, and writing skills, as well as established organizational relationships throughout the ocean policy world and a commitment to addressing conservation, climate change, and environmental injustice. The position will report to the Senior Director of Conservation Policy.
American Progress is seeking an Associate Director or Director of the Women’s Initiative to work in close partnership with the initiative’s Senior Director to help oversee and coordinate the development of policy proposals that further the rights and well-being of women while advancing gender equity overall.
American Progress is seeking a highly motivated and organized professional with a strong advocacy and organizing background and an understanding of strategic communications to serve as the Campaign Manager or Senior Campaign Manager for its State-Federal Climate Initiative.
Reporting to the President and CEO, the Chief Development Officer (CDO) is a member of the Executive Leadership team and is responsible for leading the development operation and staff. The CDO will develop a bold development plan and fundraising strategy for American Progress. They will work closely with the CEO on board engagement and manage a portfolio of seven-figure prospects while leading and overseeing the management of the Development department.
American Progress is seeking a Chief Financial Officer (CFO) to serve as the senior finance officer of two tax-exempt, mission-driven organizations: the Center for American Progress and the Center for American Progress Action Fund, known together as American Progress. The CFO will serve as a member of the Executive team and a resource and ally across the organization, helping guide and implement the strategic vision and planning of American Progress.
American Progress is seeking a Chief Information Officer (CIO) to build and lead its Information Technology Services team and guide the technology strategy for network infrastructure, data infrastructure, software development, and cybersecurity. The CIO will work to unify the various data functions across the organization while keeping up to date with the latest industry trends and emerging technologies. The CIO will establish the technical vision for the organization.
Reporting to the Senior Director of Institutional Giving, the Corporate and Labor Relations Manager is an important member of the Development team and will help support American Progress’ Institutional Giving team. The Corporate and Labor Relations Manager will hold a portfolio of 100 to 150 corporate and labor prospects, targeting five- and six-figure prospects, principally to support American Progress’ Business Alliance. The ideal candidate will have significant experience as a front-line fundraiser, demonstrated success with corporate solicitations, and strong communication skills.
Reporting to the Vice President of Development, the Director of Major Gifts is an important member of the Development department and will help lead American Progress’ individual giving efforts. They will have a portfolio of 100 to 150 prospects, targeting five- and six-figure prospects. The Director of Major Gifts is responsible for planning and implementing strategies for identification, cultivation, solicitation, and stewardship of individual donors to support American Progress. They will focus on strategically expanding the organization's Individual Giving program with a goal of significantly increasing the base of annual gifts. Eventually, they will oversee the new positions of Development Events Coordinator and Development Communications Coordinator.
American Progress has an immediate opening for a Director of Research in the organization’s Advocacy and Outreach department. The department’s research team is made up of three directors who lead, execute, and plan investigative projects in partnership with the building’s communications, policy, and digital teams. The role will also be responsible for helping ensure all content from the Center for American Progress Action Fund is fair and accurate. The Director of Research’s work will be driven by American Progress’ mission to improve the lives of all Americans through bold, progressive ideas, as well as strong leadership and concerted action, with the aim of not only changing the conversation, but changing the country.
American Progress has an immediate opening for a Director or Senior Director for China Policy in its National Security and International Policy (NSIP) department.
American Progress is seeking a highly motivated, creative professional to join its Structural Reform and Governance department as the Director or Senior Director of Courts and Legal Policy. This candidate will lead a portfolio dedicated to safeguarding an independent and well-functioning judiciary and advancing a long-term strategy to ensure that the courts are a key pillar of a resilient democracy. These efforts are driven by American Progress’ mission to improve the lives of all Americans, through bold, progressive ideas, as well as strong leadership and concerted action, with the aim of not only changing the conversation, but changing the country. The Director or Senior Director will join a dynamic group of colleagues in supporting American Progress’ five crosscutting priorities:
The National Security and International Policy (NSIP) department at American Progress is devoted to generating pragmatic and progressive policy ideas to advance and protect U.S. national interests and drive solutions to key transnational challenges. The department’s work focuses on several crosscutting priority research areas, including democracy and accountability, human security, international climate action, and economic security and competitiveness. This work is both global and regional, drawing on NSIP’s expertise on transnational and regional trends and challenges.
American Progress has an immediate opening for a Director or Senior Director of Regional Development. This new position will be responsible for devising and identifying opportunities to use new and existing federal investments—and related policies—to achieve greater geographic equity and economic growth for small and medium-sized, rural, and other underserved areas. We are looking for someone with strong experience in both congressional and executive branch approaches to economic development.
Reporting to the Vice President of Development, the Major Gifts Officer is an important member of the Development department and will help support the Center for American Progress Action Fund’s individual giving efforts. The Major Gifts Officer will hold a portfolio of 100 to 150 prospects, targeting five- and six-figure prospects. The ideal candidate will have significant experience as a front-line fundraiser, demonstrated success with 501(c)(4) fundraising and major gift solicitations, and strong communication skills.
American Progress has an immediate opening for an Operations Specialist in the Executive department. The Operations Specialist will be responsible for the management of workflow throughout all departments within American Progress. The purpose of this position is to optimize daily activities and performance of the organization across the board.
American Progress has an immediate opening for a Partnerships Associate or Partnerships Strategist to support the Digital Advocacy team’s coordination and amplification efforts to build the case for progressive policies and values.
American Progress has an immediate opening for a Policy Analyst or Senior Policy Analyst for Gun Violence Prevention in its Rights and Justice department.
American Progress has an immediate opening for a Policy Analyst or Senior Policy Analyst on the Immigration Policy team in its Rights and Justice department. American Progress is committed to fixing the broken U.S. immigration system, including by winning a pathway to citizenship for undocumented immigrants and increasing opportunities for legal migration. American Progress works to defend, protect, and expand protections for vulnerable immigrants; rebuild and reform the refugee and asylum systems; improve the administration of immigration policies and practices by the federal government; and build a more fair, humane, and workable immigration system.
The Senior Adviser of Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) and Human Resources (HR) Strategy is responsible for the development and implementation of the overall DEI program strategy and will support DEI initiatives across the organization. They will work closely with the Vice President of Human Resources and Executive team to develop the DEI and HR strategy for American Progress and partner with directors and employee resource groups to facilitate and prioritize DEI efforts in internal policies, processes, and employee engagement. They may also serve as a representative of American Progress on matters related to DEI with state associations, government agencies, private foundations, and the public.
The Senior Director for Health Policy will lead the Health Policy team and guide American Progress’ work to ensure that health care is affordable and accessible to all; to fortify the U.S. public health system; and to provide all Americans with the opportunity to achieve their full health potential. This effort is part of American Progress’ mission to improve the lives of all Americans through bold, progressive ideas, as well as strong leadership and concerted action, with the aim of not only changing the conversation, but changing the country. The Senior Director will be expected to identify ways in which policies that improve health intersect with each of the organization’s five crosscutting priorities:
American Progress is dedicated to building a society that respects the rights and dignity of all people, provides equitable opportunity for everyone to fulfill their potential, and ensures everyone benefits from the collective strengths of the nation’s diversity. The Rights and Justice department’s Senior Director or Managing Director will lead key operations, serving as a deputy to the Senior Vice President in leading a dynamic department in driving research, messaging, and policy to advance and defend policies in areas ranging from criminal justice reform, disability justice, and gun violence prevention, to immigration policy, LGBTQI+ policy, and racial equity and justice.
The Senior Human Resources Generalist is responsible for completing a variety of tasks to support the daily operations of the Human Resources team. They provide generalist expertise, advice, and counsel in areas including recruiting, compensation, benefits, labor relations, employment law, health and safety, workers’ compensation, organizational development, performance management, onboarding, training, and relocation.
American Progress has an immediate opening for a Senior Media Manager in the Communications department. The Senior Media Manager has three distinct portfolios of work supporting American Progress’ mission to improve the lives of all Americans, through bold, progressive ideas, as well as strong leadership and concerted action, with the aim of not only changing the conversation, but changing the country. This hire will be part of a dynamic department that supports work across American Progress’ five crosscutting priorities:
The Senior Staff Accountant will be primarily responsible for maintaining revenue and accounts receivable (AR) systems, supervising payroll processing for approximately 300 employees, maintaining support schedules for balance sheet accounts, assisting the annual audit process, supporting the preparation of the annual tax forms, and completing other duties as assigned.
American Progress has an immediate opening for a Social Media Strategist or Senior Social Media Strategist to join the Digital Advocacy team. Strong applicants for this position are highly organized and detail oriented with strong writing and communications skills. American Progress is looking to hire someone who can do a lot more than copy and paste talking points into tweets and Facebook posts. This person should be excited by the challenge of producing engaging, compelling social content that helps advance the organization’s goals and meet target audiences where they are in terms of tone, substance, and platform. This role will manage the Digital Advocacy team’s work on Facebook, with a focus on both growing and engaging progressive audiences and many of the largest progressive pages on that platform in particular.
American Progress has an immediate opening for a Speechwriter who will work with the organization’s President and Executive department to write speeches, op-eds, talking points, briefings, and other miscellaneous copy. The Speechwriter will also be responsible for staying up to date on all American Progress’ policy initiatives and strategic objectives in order to most effectively communicate them in written materials. The job requires very strong writing, editing, research, storytelling, synthesizing, and summarizing skills. The most qualified applicant will have a powerful command of writing for the spoken word and will also be a keen student of character and voice, with the ability to pay specific attention to the personal tone, language, and argumentative structure of the executives for whom the applicant is writing.
Reporting to the Deputy Chief Development Officer (CDO), the Vice President of Development will be a key member and leader of the Development department. They will be responsible for leading the Individual Giving team, work closely with the CDO on board recruitment, and manage a portfolio of 75 six-figure donors and prospective donors while leading and overseeing the management of the Individual Giving team.
American Progress is seeking a Vice President for Campaigns and Outreach to help lead the organization’s issue and electoral campaign activity. There is a unique opportunity to make significant gains in creating a more just and equitable country, anchored in an economy that works for all. American Progress will be one of the few progressive organizations with the capacity to engage in a broad range of policy and advocacy efforts over the next few years, and this position offers an exciting opportunity for a strategic leader and campaigner to engage with the breadth of the progressive movement.
American Progress has an immediate opening for a Video Producer and Editor to join a growing creative team. The Digital Advocacy team’s mission is to develop innovative and compelling video and graphic content that builds the emotional and visual case for progressive policies and values.