Senior Director, Communications

The R Street Institute—a free-market think tank headquartered in Washington, D.C., with staff located across the country—is seeking a creative, strategic, and audience-focused Senior Director of Communications. If you are a compelling storyteller, a strong manager, and passionate about public policy, this may be the role for you. This role reports to the Vice President of Public Affairs and leads a talented team spanning media relations, digital communications, creative and design, research publications, and events. You’ll be responsible not only for shaping and executing the strategy that ensures R Street reaches and resonates with policymakers, funders, the media, and the broader policymaking ecosystem, but also working closely with the executive team to help implement R Street’s larger brand strategy.

Key roles and responsibilities

Your typical day might involve advising a member of the executive team on messaging, flagging a breaking news moment for amplification, coaching communications directors across functional teams, or counseling a policy scholar on how to frame an op-ed. You’ll collaborate on R Street’s annual policy research agendas and impact strategies by bringing a lens to how we communicate our work and who we’re trying to reach, lead our annual end-of-year impact report, and help drive major organization-wide initiatives like our biannual summit and America 250 initiative. The goal? Advance our limited, effective government mission, create meaningful public policy change, and steer our ship toward exciting new outreach opportunities (pirate hat optional).

This is a strategic leadership role. We’re looking for someone who can lift up out of the trenches to empower a team of communications experts to deliver high-impact work that reaches and moves the right audiences. You’ll be responsible for setting the vision and helping drive effective communications and brand products and programming.

This role collaborates closely with our Executive, Policy, Federal and State Affairs, and Business Development teams. You’ll help ensure that our public voice reflects and reinforces our mission, values, and strategic goals.

Other Aspects of Your Role:

• Lead, manage, and mentor a high-performing team responsible for media relations, branding, digital and social media presence, design, publications, and events.
• Develop and implement communications strategies that build credibility and strengthen engagement with R Street’s key audiences.
• Partner with and support the executive team’s work to advance R Street’s larger brand products and programming.
• Support the executive team’s visibility by identifying opportunities for media, events, and thought leadership that advance R Street’s brand and influence.
• Guide the Events and Publications teams in delivering audience-centered research products and programming that reinforce R Street’s brand.
• Collaborate on R Street’s policy research agenda and impact strategy to ensure communications is integrated into the organization’s public impact efforts.
• Align communications strategy with organizational priorities in research, fundraising, and strategic partnerships.
• Use data to evaluate communications performance, audience engagement, and messaging effectiveness.
• Anticipate shifts in the changing media and political landscapes, audience behavior, and information access, particularly related to emerging technologies like generative artificial intelligence (AI), and adapt strategy to ensure continued relevance and discoverability.
• Represent the department on the Senior Management Team and participate in cross-functional initiatives.

Experience and skills expected of the post holder

Who You Are:

• You believe deeply in R Street’s classical liberal values, and its free-market, limited, effective government mission.
• You have significant experience leading communications efforts, managing teams, and shaping narratives that resonate with key audiences.
• You are a decision-maker.
• You are comfortable resolving disconnects.
• You are willing to iterate and adaptable to change.
• You’ve led diverse teams and enjoy helping others succeed.
• You are familiar with the think tank ecosystem.
• You’re fluent in both narrative and analytics and are comfortable switching between message strategy and audience metrics.
• You understand the value of a brand narrative and developing an organization-wide brand promise.
• You understand how communications supports institutional credibility and public policy, brand, and fundraising impact.
• You think across platforms but start with the people you’re trying to reach.
• You are solutions-minded and help resolve conflicts in real time.
• You have excellent judgment, a collaborative spirit, and a good sense of humor.
• No specific educational background is required. Demonstrated success and alignment with our values matter most.

R Street is a remote-first organization. This is a full-time position that can be performed remotely or from our D.C. office. The Senior Director of Communications will lead a distributed team and should be comfortable managing across work environments. For candidates based outside of Washington, D.C., regular travel will be expected for events and in-person convenings.

Compensation, Benefits, and Perks

R Street strives to offer a compensation and benefits package that is competitive, transparent, and supportive of employee well-being. The salary range for this position is $140k-$160K, commensurate with experience.

In addition to this competitive salary, we provide the following:

• Unlimited paid time off, including all federal holidays, the day after Thanksgiving, and two weeks holiday closure in December
• Alternating Fridays off
• A health insurance option entirely paid by the employer (even for families)
• Dental and vision insurance 401(k) contributions with up to a 4 percent match
• HSA employer contribution match
• Quarterly wellness reimbursement
• Mobile equipment/mobile plan reimbursement
• Home internet subsidy
• Annual educational and professional development reimbursement
• A choice between child care assistance, pet care assistance, and student loan repayment assistance

At R Street Institute, we strive for preeminence in every area where we engage, driven by our commitment to excellence and innovation. Our culture thrives on action, creativity, and courage, with an unwavering focus on quality, credibility, and impact. We believe progress requires diverse experience and expertise, which is why we champion non-traditional yet prudent approaches to public policy. This principle guides how we build our programs, recognizing that each team member’s uniqueness strengthens our collective identity. We approach our mission with intellectual rigor, embracing free inquiry and honesty to ensure our work is grounded in solid research and thoughtful analysis. While serious about our purpose, we value the joy of collaboration and the fun that comes from working together. Our collaborative spirit fosters trust and transparency, with respect and openness guiding our actions. We celebrate our individual contributions while recognizing that we are stronger as one team, united in our work and relationships. Thus, R Street does not discriminate on the basis of age, sex, race, creed, color, national origin, sexual orientation, era of military service, gender identity or expression, relationship structure or anything else that’s illegal, immoral, or stupid to use as a basis for hiring. We plan to accept applications for this job until filled. We will contact qualified individuals for telephone screenings and conduct them on a rolling basis. Interviews take place virtually via Zoom.