Do you think Washington should lead the nation with smart, progressive policies that build a just society, thriving communities, and a better future for our kids? Are you passionate about advancing racial equity, creating an economy that works for all of us, and supporting a clean energy future? Do you want a political climate that supports strong progressive leadership and demands accountability?
Fuse is hiring a Senior Research Manager to lead the research and writing for our popular and widely used Progressive Voters Guide program in Washington.
Job Description
The Fuse Senior Research Manager will lead content creation for the organization’s Washington Progressive Voters Guide program, a key tool for winning critical campaigns and building progressive power in Washington state. The successful candidate will be highly organized, have strong research and writing skills, be comfortable navigating nuanced political situations, and work well with an experienced, highly collaborative, data-driven team.
This is a full-time, salaried position based in Seattle, reporting to the National Progressive Voters Guide Director. It also involves working closely with the Senior Technology Manager and technology consultants. Candidates must be based in Washington state and able to work from the Seattle office on a hybrid basis at least two days per week.
Areas of Responsibility
- Research, write, and edit short recommendations for hundreds of candidates and ballot measures.
- Provide year-round project management for the Progressive Voters Guide’s coverage of multiple elections in Washington state each year.
- Play a lead role with senior staff and board members on politically challenging races.
- Manage seasonal research fellows, as needed.
- Work closely with the Operations Director to ensure full campaign finance compliance.
- Actively participate in organizational development, including fundraising events, racial equity work, and annual election activities.
Required Qualifications & Attributes
Work, volunteer, academic, and life experience are all acceptable
- Excellent research and writing skills, with demonstrated experience using clear, concise writing, preferably for a public audience
- At least three years of experience working on political or legislative issue campaigns
- Outstanding organizational skills and attention to detail
- Experience navigating complex political situations that require nuanced decision-making
- Ability to thrive in a fast-paced, campaign-style work environment
- A passion for progressive politics in Washington
- Ability to work weekends and evenings during peak times. Most years this can include June, July, September, and October.
Ideal Qualifications:
- Five years or more of experience working on political or legislative issue campaigns
- Experience working within a political organization’s existing policy positions and decision-making framework
- Experience leading a program or team
- Experience leading an organizational endorsement process, interviewing political candidates, or working on voter guides
- Experience managing temporary or permanent staff and a program budget
- Experience using Airtable, Drupal, Matomo, or Google Analytics
- Experience with federal, state, and local campaign finance reporting
Compensation and Benefits
The salary range is $76,000 to $88,000, depending on experience. This salary range reflects the breadth of experience levels we will consider for this position. While we are seeking a Senior Research Manager, we will consider hiring a talented but less experienced candidate at the Manager level.
Fuse offers excellent medical, dental, and vision benefits, as well as a retirement package with a 3% employer match, 15 days per year of paid vacation for new employees that increases to 25 days after 5 years, 10 paid holidays, 8 hours of sick leave per month, and a paid sabbatical after 5 years of employment. In addition, Fuse is closed for the week between Christmas and New Year’s Day.
Application Process
Please submit your resume and a short cover letter (one paragraph is sufficient) explaining your interest in this particular role no later than December 8 to jobs@fusewashington.org with the subject line Senior Research Manager. Applications will be considered starting November 18. No phone calls, please.
Fuse Washington is an equal opportunity employer. We value a diverse workforce and an inclusive culture. All interested individuals are encouraged to apply, particularly people of color, women, and persons who are lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, nonbinary, and/or intersex.
Fuse Washington
Fuse Washington (www.fusewashington.org) is the state’s largest progressive organization – people creating change online, on the ground, and on issues that matter.
Our goals at Fuse are to help progressives win more often and give ordinary people a strong voice in politics. We aim to provide organizing and communications power that helps progressives win today and tomorrow on critical issues and electoral campaigns while strengthening the foundation for increased success over time. We achieve our goals through three core capacities that we believe are critical to long-term success:
- Organizing: we add more people to the most important campaigns
- Communications: we deliver stories and messages that move people through new media and the news media, and we train others in the progressive community to communicate more effectively.
- Political troubleshooting: we provide creative problem-solving and rapid response for critical political challenges and opportunities and we aim to increase accountability and promote leadership.
Fuse has several strengths as an organization that fuel our work:
- A culture of innovation and creativity: we always aim to be an innovation engine and a game-changer.
- Long-term timeline and a focus on movement and capacity building: our strategies are designed to build long-term power for progressives in Washington while also delivering short-term results.
- Speed and nimbleness: we possess the flexibility to tackle urgent challenges and capitalize on opportunities.
