Description

https://www.sightline.org/research/housing-cities/Position Summary  
Through field-leading policy research, advocacy, and strategy development, the Lead Researcher, Housing and Cities, will play a pivotal role in Sightline's efforts to create housing abundance as a solution to multiple pressing challenges: affordability, climate change, equity, and sprawl. They will help develop and drive pro-housing policy at the local and state level, with a core goal to loosen restrictions on homebuilding that limit home choices, segregate neighborhoods, push lower-income people out, force burdensome, polluting commutes, and prevent Cascadian cities from welcoming new residents. 
 
The Lead Researcher will report to Sightline's Senior Director of Housing and Cities and collaborate with staff and contributors in Washington, Oregon, Montana, Idaho, Alaska, and British Columbia. They will be part of a high-functioning, collaborative cadre of researchers, communicators, and advocates, supported by a strong administrative and fundraising team. 
 
Essential Responsibilities  

• Work as a thought leader, policy researcher, analyst, writer, communicator, and advocate.  
• Develop and deploy expertise on policies to create housing abundance, primarily zoning reform, but also other types of reforms that Sightline has identified as promising.  
• Implement strategies for using information and communications to help win passage of these reforms, often in coordination with cross-partisan coalitions.  
• Focus on state legislation in Washington, but also engage on efforts in Oregon, Montana, Idaho, Alaska, or in local jurisdictions if opportunities arise.  
• Write articles, policy memos, and talking points; and create graphics, give presentations, serve as a resource to the media, and lobby public officials.
• Cultivate relationships with leaders and partners across many types of diversity, including racial, ethnic, economic, geographic, and political.
• Coordinate, and as appropriate, supervise team members or contributors; provide mentorship and help foster a collaborative team environment, including cross-team initiatives. 

Requirements

Desired Skills and Experience

•  At least eight years of professional experience in policy development, research, analysis, and/or legislative strategy, preferably related to land use and housing regulations.  
• Ability to quickly master new subject matter areas and sift through large amounts of information to distill key points and develop practical, strategic, and compelling arguments.  
• Top-notch written and oral communication skills, to succinctly and accurately convey complicated information to diverse audiences.  
• Comfort and skill working both independently and on teams to manage workplans, set and meet deadlines, and prioritize among competing responsibilities.
• A track record of building respectful and effective relationships and collaborations with people across differences, including racial, ethnic, gender, cultural, and political differences.  
• An eagerness to learn and incorporate feedback.  
• Commitment to advancing diversity, equity, and inclusion in your work.  
• Experience working with government preferred, but not required.  
• Special consideration will be given to candidates with advanced experience in GIS, real estate development economics, or demographics number crunching.
• Commitment to Sightline’s mission and values. 
   
  Sightline believes in mentoring talent and providing opportunities for growth. We've intentionally built flexibility into this role, and we're open to candidates who may not yet meet every qualification listed, if they bring strong foundational skills, sharp instincts, and a clear ability to grow into the responsibilities described. If you see yourself in this work, we encourage you to apply. 

Compensation and Benefits: 
As part of our commitment to equity and in an effort to reduce bias, Sightline has established salary bands for each position level. The salary range for the lead researcher level is $106,000-$125,000 (plus 10 percent retirement as noted below). Sightline is committed to supporting team members along their career pathways by encouraging learning and providing mentoring and training. Employees can earn annual merit raises and periodic promotions.  
 
We offer a robust package of benefits including a 401(k) plan with employer contribution of 10 percent of salary (added to, not subtracted from, pay, so for example, a $106,000 salary at Sightline is equivalent to a $116,600 salary at an organization that makes no employer contribution to retirement).  
 
Benefits also include: 

• Full medical, dental, and vision insurance for the employee and partial coverage for dependents
• Four weeks of paid vacation
• Twelve paid holidays annually
• Two weeks of paid health, wellness, and care leave, plus access to a shared pool of additional leave for special circumstances
• A guarantee of 12 weeks paid parental leave
• A three-month paid sabbatical every seven years
• A monthly remote work stiped  

Regular staff gatherings for in-person connection  
 
Since Sightline is a nonprofit organization, employees are also eligible to apply for the federal Public Service Loan Forgiveness (PSLF) program. Sightline’s staff members work hard but enjoy balanced lives and a collegial organizational culture. 
 
Location: 
Because the work of this position focuses on Washington state, we would prefer to have someone who lives in or is willing to relocate to the state. Candidates who live outside Washington are welcome to apply if they have a deep understanding of housing policy in other places that could inform and improve our work in Washington and are willing to travel regularly to the state.  
 
Sightline is a virtual-first organization. Our staff, contractors, and fellows are in Alaska, British Columbia, Idaho, Montana, Oregon, and Washington and beyond Cascadia as well.  
 
To Apply

 Please submit your application at https://www.sightline.org/about/careers/

Please include: 

• A resume
• A cover letter outlining how your skills and experience qualify you for the roles responsibilities. Please include a short description of your experience advancing equity and justice, ideally in your professional work.  
• A brief (2-4 page) writing sample that showcases your ability to write clearly, succinctly, and persuasively, ideally in a style similar to Sightline’s (which you can find many samples of here: Housing + Cities | Sightline Institute). Our preference is for writing samples that include analysis or recommendations related to a public policy issue (housing or otherwise). Please include a 1-sentence description at the top of the writing sample that explains original context for the sample (e.g., a class, a job, etc.) Sightline takes excellent quality research and writing extremely seriously—we're a think tank!--so your writing sample is a key factor in your evaluation. 
   
  Please assemble all application materials in a single PDF with the naming convention LastName_FirstName_Position. Applications that do not include a cover letter, resume, and writing sample will not be considered. 
   
  The application deadline is May 8, and applications received by that date will be given priority. We will accept applications until the position is filled. Interviews will take place throughout May, and we will likely invite finalists to complete a work assignment that is designed to test their skills in the specific functions required for the position. We anticipate extending an offer in early to mid-June.