Democracy 2025 Research Analyst

Position Summary:

Democracy Forward Foundation seeks a Research Analyst to join its Democracy 2025 team. Democracy 2025 is Democracy Forward’s infrastructure to support the entire pro-democracy legal movement. 

The Research Analyst, Democracy 2025 will coordinate the Democracy 2025 team’s Executive Order and litigation tracking database in support of our Response Center, and will work across the team to conduct research for special projects.

Democracy Forward’s office is located in Washington, DC; the employee is expected to be in the office an average of 2 days per week. While candidates in the DC area are preferred, remote candidates outside of the DC area will also be considered. If a candidate is outside of the DC area, travel to DC is expected 1-2 times per quarter. 

The Research Analyst, Democracy 2025 will report to the Deputy Director of Democracy 2025 and work closely with the Democracy 2025 Director and the entire Democracy 2025 team.

Key Responsibilities:

• Lead the effort to track new and existing litigation, as well as monitor and identify new Executive Orders and other key executive actions across a range of issues.
• Review and analyze Executive Orders and, working with experts across the team, ensure that appropriate analysis and summaries are drafted. 
• Provide final review on litigation tracking and policy summaries and analyses to ensure clarity, accuracy, and adherence to formatting standards.
• Update and maintain trackers, ensuring data is tagged and organized in an accurate and consistent manner.
• Conduct non-legal research for special projects, including gathering data and compiling content from various online sources, such as public records, dockets, and government websites. 
• Prepare research documents, such as memoranda, reports, or other analyses.
• Work closely with team members, including attorneys to understand data and research needs, conducting research to support  resource development for Democracy 2025 coalition partners.
• Convert tracked policy and litigation data into regular summary reports.
• Collect and analyze metrics to evaluate program effectiveness, translating results into actionable insights. 
• Oversee administrative support for our public-facing Response Center and other litigation and policy tracking databases.
• Proactively stay up-to-date on policy and litigation trends, current events, and the activities of relevant organizations, agencies, and entities.
• Other duties and research projects as assigned.

Qualification:

We recognize that strong candidates may not meet 100% of the qualifications listed. If you believe you can contribute meaningfully to our team, we encourage you to apply.

Required:

• 3-4 years of experience working in research or policy, and/or at organizations at the intersection of government, law, and policy.
• Ability to work collaboratively within a team.
• Excellent attention to detail. 
• Able to manage and prioritize multiple projects and drive forward work under tight deadlines.
• Experience collecting data from and navigating various databases and public sources.
• Experience managing data projects and research.
• Demonstrated organizational skills and strong attention to detail. 
• Ability to gather and interpret information.
• Strong analytic and problem-solving skills.
• Able to effectively communicate findings, written and verbally.
• Willingness to be flexible and support priorities as they emerge.
• This role may require occasional travel for team retreats, conferences, or similar events.

Preferred: 

• Experience working in a nonprofit, mission-driven, or advocacy organization.
• Familiarity with Airtable, docket trackers (PACER, court listener, etc.), and Google Suite products or ability and willingness to learn.

The salary range for this position is $75,000 - $85,000 commensurate with experience plus excellent benefits. Compensation is commensurate with experience.

Democracy Forward is an equal opportunity employer. We value a diverse workforce and an inclusive culture. We encourage applications from all qualified individuals. We strongly encourage people of color; lesbian, bisexual, transgender, queer, and intersex people; women; people with disabilities; and veterans to apply. Please note that all lawyer positions require a law degree and active membership in the bar of a state or the District of Columbia. 

Not sure you meet all of our qualifications? Research shows that men apply for jobs when they meet an average of 60% of the criteria. Yet women and other people who are systematically marginalized tend to only apply if they meet every requirement.  If you believe that you could excel in this role, we encourage you to apply. We are dedicated to considering a broad array of candidates, including those with diverse workplace experiences and backgrounds. Whether you are new to mission-based legal and policy work, returning to work after a gap in employment, or simply looking to transition or take the next step in your career path, we welcome the opportunity to have you on our radar.  Please include in your cover letter the nature of your interest in legal and policy work promoting democracy and progress and what you hope to bring to our team and the role for which you are applying.