Role Title: Associate Director, Rights and Economic Renewal in the U.S.

Contract Type: Regular (5 Year Assignment)

Reporting To: Director, Rights and Economic Renewal in the U.S.

Program/Department/Unit Name: Programs

Location: Washington, D.C. or New York

Team Name: Rights and Economic Renewal in the U.S.

Role Purpose

The U.S. Rights and Economic Renewal program is looking to hire an Associate Director to join the 5-year initiative that aims to safeguard core freedoms that are under attack, expand rights, and improve Americans’ economic wellbeing.

The Associate Director’s work will focus on developing and executing strategies that safeguard democracy and defend the rule of law while advancing new policy frameworks to expand civil, political, and material rights at the state and federal levels, including through partnerships with policymakers, emerging thinkers and civil society leaders.

Associate Directors are accomplished and well networked in their field, bringing deep expertise in their thematic area while supporting the Director. They share accountability for delivering outcomes and managing resources with professionalism and are expected to be strong managers and subject matter experts who build teams and foster a collaborative culture of risk-taking and teamwork with program leadership.

Key responsibilities

• Serve as a strategic thought partner to the Director, supporting the delivery of the opportunity’s outcomes while contributing independent ideas, analysis, and leadership to strengthen implementation and overall success.
• Identify key leaders and strategies that could expand and protect rights at the state and federal level.
• Effectively manage the grant-making process by communicating with grantees for proposal submission, assisting in grant record preparation, grants processing, payments, reporting, and other related processes.
• Build a strong understanding of the field and partnerships, in developing and designing the grant selection processes.
• Work collaboratively in developing, assessing, and revising program strategies.
• Lead Program Managers working on rights strategy and build a collaborative team culture.
• Develop with the Director, metrics for MEL, and tracked impact based on the established targets.
• Responsible for tracking MEL impact and have the ability to pivot to ensure the required outcomes are being achieved.
• Engage with embedded staff from other OSF teams in close cooperation with senior leaders.
• Leverage OSF’s work globally and employing the strategic capabilities of impact investment, strategic litigation, and advocacy to the programmatic work.
• Manage relationships with partners in close coordination with Geographic US team as relevant and work with them to achieve OSF’s strategic objective through the Program.
• 25% travel is required.

People Responsibilities (Total Team/DRs)
Program Manager

Key internal relationships
Directors, Associate Directors, Program Managers, Administrative Officers, Geographic Team, Other Associate Directors From Other Opportunity Teams

Key external relationships:

Potential and Current Grantees, Partner Funders

The ideal candidate

• Advanced professional training, including a J.D. and/or a master’s degree in public policy, Public Administration, or a closely related field.

• Has experience working within a think tank, academia, nonprofit organization, state government, or federal government on civil rights, democracy policy, or related rights-based initiatives, with a strong understanding of the U.S. policy and advocacy landscape.
• Deep understanding of the U.S. rights, democracy, and rule-of-law ecosystem, including legal, policy, advocacy, and philanthropic actors, and how influence and change are generated across these fields.

• Capacity to identify and cultivate new ideas, emerging thinkers, and non-traditional leaders in civil rights and democracy, and to integrate new intellectual and movement currents into strategy and grantmaking.

• A bold, ambitious, and forward-looking strategic mindset, with a willingness to challenge conventional approaches and take calculated risks to advance durable rights and democratic renewal.

• Experience in budgeting, strategic analysis, and planning.

• Ability to build synergies, strengthen movements, and identify and fill capacity gaps across fields.

• Bring an established national network in the U.S. rights and democracy space, with the ability to activate relationships with advocates, scholars, litigators, policymakers, and funders.

• Exceptional written and oral communication skills, with demonstrated experience producing high-quality strategy memos, and internal briefings for senior leadership.

• Strong external presence and judgment, with the ability to represent the foundation credibly and effectively in high-level meetings, coalitions, and public forums focused on rights and democratic practice.

• Highly self-directed and entrepreneurial, able to operate as a self-starter, manage multiple workstreams independently, and drive execution in a fast-moving and evolving civil rights and democracy strategy environment.

• Demonstrate commitment to OSF’s core values of humility, commitment, collaboration, respect, inclusivity and integrity.

What we offer

• Exceptional opportunities to learn, grow, and make an impact; from a generous annual professional development allowance for every employee to onsite training and learning conversations with visiting experts.
• Excellent benefits and perks to promote well-being and a healthy work-life balance, including:
• Generous time off and flexible work arrangements.
• Employer-paid health insurance and dental plans for individuals and families (no employee contribution required).
• Exceptional retirement savings plan (non-contributory for employees) and life insurance.
• Progressive paid parental leave, reproductive and family planning support, and much more.
• A commitment to nurturing a diverse and inclusive workplace, so you can bring your whole self to work and make a positive impact.

The salary range for this role in the US is US: $178,100-$209,550. The final offer is influenced by a wide array of factors including but not limited to skill set and level of experience.

Who we are

Open Society Foundations aim to establish vibrant and inclusive democracies where governments are accountable to their citizens. Our operating model organizes grantmaking around specific, time-limited projects, developed alongside support for established partners, enabling us to respond swiftly to emerging needs. We are committed to promoting human dignity, equality, and rights; reimagining democratic ideals and practice; and advancing equity in governance systems.

Guided by our founder’s values and the belief in the art of the possible, we engage directly with global entities, individuals, and policymakers through grants, advocacy, impact investing, and strategic human rights litigation to drive positive change. At the heart of our mission is a deep commitment to rights, equity, and justice, inspiring every action we take.

Additional information

Open Society Foundations is committed to building an inclusive workforce that reflects the communities we serve. We actively seek applications from talented individuals across all backgrounds, identities, and life experiences. Each candidate is evaluated solely on their unique qualifications without regard to race, age, sex, religion, ethnic origin, nationality, gender, sexual orientation, disability, pregnancy, or any other legally protected characteristics.

We are committed to providing reasonable accommodations for candidates with disabilities