SENIOR POLICY ANALYST

The Washington State Budget and Policy Center (B&PC) is hiring a full-time Senior Policy Analyst to lead and grow B&PC’s criminal legal reform area of policy work. This is an exciting opportunity for someone who has experience working to advance racial and economic justice and tribal sovereignty, conducting research and analysis, and building and maintaining relationships with external partners.

B&PC works to ensure people in Washington have economic security and dignity, that Washington's tax code is equitable and balanced, and that our state budget invests in communities and disinvests in programs that are harmful and racist. Commitments to equity, anti-racism, tribal sovereignty, and economic justice – and a willingness to help our organization make progress on advancing these commitments – are vital for this role.

Hiring for this position is happening alongside a Research and Policy Director transition. The candidate hired for this position will report to the Executive Director until a Research and Policy Director is hired in the coming months.

General Scope of Work

The Senior Policy Analyst will work as a member of the policy team and work closely with the communications team. Specific responsibilities may include, but are not limited to:

Policy development, research, and analysis

• Serve as B&PC’s lead developer, researcher, and primary point of contact on policies related to criminal legal reform – building on the work we’ve been doing on legal financial obligations (LFOs)/fines and fees. This work happens in close collaboration with other analysts and members of the team, including supporting other policy areas (progressive revenue, direct cash, immigration), as needed.
• Turn research findings into digestible reports, presentations, and other materials. Provide policy analysis and technical assistance to a variety of audiences.
• Track, analyze, and help develop state legislative, budget, and administrative proposals; keep relevant people and groups updated. The state legislative session is an especially important time for this role. During that time, the person in this role will develop and deliver written and oral testimony on proposals relevant to B&PC’s progressive criminal legal reform policy work to state and local governments and work groups – as well as meeting with key decisionmakers on policy priorities.
• Conduct quantitative data analyses, currently most focused on data related to LFOs/fines and fees, proposals and policies, and general conditions of the policy area in the state.

Coalitions and partnerships

• Identify, build, and maintain relationships with state and national partners, allies, state and administrative staff, and legislators.
• Represent B&PC on coalitions and in advocacy spaces; serve as an organizational spokesperson in the media; help engage the public on the impacts of proposed and enacted policies and state budget decisions.
• Work with partners focused on grassroots power-building to determine and advance B&PC’s policy and research agendas as they relate to criminal legal reform.

Organizational engagement

• Engage in organization-wide conversations related to supporting the growth of organizational culture.
• Support B&PC in living up to its anti-racist commitments and theory of change.

The general scope of work may change based on time of year and organizational priorities.

Qualifications

Please note that both professional and volunteer experience is valued. In addition, we do not expect candidates to come with all of the desired skills, and we are committed to supporting new hires with training as needed.

Must Have:

• 5 years of work experience in policymaking/analysis/research, organizing, and/or advocacy, preferably with a focus on criminal legal reform
  • An advanced degree in a related field will be counted as 2 relevant years of experience.
• A commitment to challenging and understanding how racism, white supremacy, and settler colonialism show up in state policymaking.
• A commitment to centering the knowledge of impacted communities by prioritizing community input, evaluating ideas with partners at the beginning of (and throughout) research and policy development, and advancing messaging and narratives that highlight community assets/strengths.
• Proficiency with data management and analysis in Microsoft Excel.
• Excellent written and oral communications skills, including the ability to communicate technical information clearly to non-policy-oriented audiences.
• An ability to travel to Seattle, Olympia, and other parts of the state as needed for in-person meetings or events (travel expenses are reimbursable).

Nice to have (optional):

• Expertise or experience in any of the following areas: state, federal, or tribal government policies and budgets; human services, health care, housing, education, tax policy or public finance.
• Familiarity with legislative processes and how research, communications, and outreach work together to shape public policy debates.
• Proficiency with a statistical analysis software such as SPSS, STATA, or R (including experience with requesting and cleaning data).
• Experience producing data visualizations using Adobe Creative Suite or other design tools.
• Fluency in a language other than English that is prevalent in Washington state (for example, Spanish, Mandarin, Cantonese, Vietnamese, or Russian).