Director of Government Workforce Reform, Democracy Works 250

Position Summary:

Are you a mission-driven leader with expertise in federal government personnel management? If so, Democracy Forward Foundation (“Democracy Forward”) is hiring a Director of Government Workforce Reform to join our team.

Democracy Works 250 is a new initiative from Democracy Forward’s Civil Service Strong that is building the personnel systems and structures our democracy needs for the next 250 years, and we’re looking for a bold, strategic, and future-focused Director of Government Workforce Reform to help lead the critical workforce policy aspect of that work.

This is not a policy role for tinkering at the edges. It’s an opportunity to lead the most ambitious redesign of federal workforce policy in a generation—one that meets the scale of the moment and shapes how federal government institutions function for decades to come.

As Director of Government Workforce Reform, you will drive a transformational process to reimagine how government recruits, supports, and empowers the people who make it work. You will lead a national reform coalition and run high-impact working groups, and translate insights from public servants and cross-sector experts into a future-ready, field-informed reform options library.

This position is full-time. Democracy Forward’s office is located in Washington, DC. While this position offers flexibility to work remotely, it requires regular in-office presence eight (8) times per month (averaging 2 times per week) to effectively support the nature of the role. Remote candidates within the United States will also be considered. If a candidate is outside of the DC area, travel to DC is expected 1-2 times per quarter.

The Director of Government Workforce Reform will report to the Director of Democracy Works 250 and work closely with staff and fellows on the Civil Service Strong team.

Our North Star:

Democracy Works 250 is working to deliver a coalition-backed options library for how government hires, manages, and empowers people in a modern democracy. This options library will serve as a roadmap for workforce transformation—defining the systems, protections, and incentives needed to build a federal workforce that is effective, fair, and prepared for what’s ahead.

Key Responsibilities:

Below are the key areas of responsibility for this role. The specifics of each responsibility may vary based on the needs of the organization and department.

Architect Transformational Policy Reform:

• Lead the development of the Federal Capacity Solutions Lab—a comprehensive set of policy, operational, and structural reforms to modernize how the U.S. government manages its people.
• Build out bold, concrete proposals across key domains—hiring, pay, performance, flexibility, classification, talent mobility, AI integration, and more.
• Ensure all outputs are visionary but implementable—grounded in law, informed by federal experience, and ready for adoption.

Convene and Drive a National Reform Coalition:

• Serve as lead strategist and convener of a national table of civil service experts, labor leaders, civic organizations, technologists, and policy innovators.
• Facilitate shared alignment around key reform priorities, manage regular convenings, and turn consensus into coordinated action.
• Build and steward relationships with ecosystem partners to amplify and scale impact.

Lead a High-Impact Working Groups and Policy Tracks:

• Oversee policy tracks tackling the most urgent and structural challenges in the federal workforce.
• Supervise fellows leading policy track working groups across priority areas (e.g., hiring, performance, surge capacity).
• Support organizational leadership in cultivating a culture of accountability, inclusivity, and excellence, including through providing real-time support and skills-development for your team.
• Integrate outputs into a dynamic and evolving policy architecture that builds toward the options library.

Bridge Strategy Across Projects:

• Align the policy track with insights and infrastructure from the other projects in Democracy Works 250: federal oral history project, talent program, and agency redesigning efforts.
• Collaborate with legal, research, and communications partners to test, refine, and package reform outputs.
• Contribute to and collaborate across other DW250 projects.

Who You Are:

Strategic & Visionary:

• You are able to translate insight into systems change, and to design the levers that move from principle to policy to implementation.

Experienced & Impact-Oriented:

• You’ve worked on federal workforce systems, government modernization, or structural policy change—and know what it takes to move from white paper to real-world change.

Coalition-Minded:

• You’ve built coalitions, convened diverse stakeholders, and moved large, complex tables toward alignment and action.

Committed to People-Centered Government:

• You believe that government must serve all—and that transforming how it works starts with how it’s staffed, supported, and led.

Qualifications:

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.

• 10+ years of professional experience in  workforce policy, HR systems, reform design, or cross-sector coalition work.
• Deep working knowledge of federal personnel systems (OPM, Title 5, SES, hiring/classification, etc.).
• Demonstrated leadership in large-scale policy initiatives, reform campaigns, or systems design.
• Exceptional writing, synthesis, and facilitation skills.
• Comfort working across legal, narrative, operational, and movement-building dimensions.
• Well-developed collaborative and interpersonal skills including demonstrated self-awareness, commitment to diversity and inclusivity, and ability to work with colleagues and stakeholders across diverse cultures and backgrounds.

Work Environment & Physical Demands:

• This role will require occasional travel for team retreats, conferences, and partner convenings.
• This role may involve sitting for extended periods and working on a computer. Reasonable accommodations will be provided as needed.

 The salary range for this position is $150,000- $170,000 commensurate with experience plus excellent benefits. Compensation is commensurate with experience. 

Democracy Forward Foundation 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; LGBTQIA+ 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. 

Democracy Forward is committed to providing equal employment opportunities for all, including those with disabilities. If you require a reasonable accommodation to complete this application, interview, or otherwise participate in the hiring process, please direct your inquiries to recruiting@democracyforward.org or 833-391-4732.