American Oversight is looking for a curious and diligent researcher to join our team and help us shine a light on government misconduct and threats to democracy. We’re a nonpartisan, nonprofit watchdog that uses targeted public records requests and litigation to uncover evidence of corruption, abuse of power, or conflicts of interest.

We leverage our open records expertise to act where corruption and government power overlap. From the federal Freedom of Information Act to state transparency laws, we use carefully crafted records requests to extract information from the government. When the government fails to respond as required by law, our team litigates to enforce the public’s right to hold our leaders accountable. American Oversight has obtained and published more than one million pages of emails, memos, calendars, text messages, and other records — ensuring accountability, exposing misconduct, and often driving significant corrective action – at all levels of government.

American Oversight’s Research and Investigations team is the engine of our investigative work. Researchers closely follow developments in their areas of focus, design investigations with an eye for impact, work with our legal team to craft targeted public records requests, and dive into government documents looking for new information. The job requires a great news sense, a strong sense of mission, and an ability to quickly and cleanly parse large amounts of information.

Job Responsibilities

Specific tasks will shift day by day with our work and the news cycle, but in a typical week, you will:

• Work with American Oversight’s legal team to conceptualize and draft targeted, strategic, litigation-ready public records requests on important issues to federal, state, and local governments.
• Analyze government documents to identify unreported details, trends, and stories, with an eye for accuracy, newsworthiness, and impact.
• Amplify the impact of American Oversight’s investigations by briefing outside groups and journalists on our work and collaborating with our communications team to write blog posts and reports.
• Support our legal team’s high-impact litigation by serving as an in-house expert on key issue areas and document sets.
• Closely follow the news – including mainstream outlets, industry newsletters, and other sources – to stay up to date on your areas of focus and spot opportunities for American Oversight to make an impact.

Qualifications

Researchers have come to American Oversight from a variety of professional backgrounds, including government service, journalism, campaign research, law, policy analysis, and government oversight. We welcome candidates from any professional background who display the skills needed to be a successful researcher.

The essential qualifications for a researcher include:

• One to three years’ work experience related to political research and investigations.
• A strong news sense and ability to spot opportunities for impact using public records requests. (Experience with public records requests, however, is not required.)
• Critical thinking and analytical skills, including an ability to distill large quantities of information to identify key details and themes, and how they related to gaps in existing public knowledge.
• Excellent writing skills and ability to produce high-quality written work under pressure.
• Ability to explain complicated topics in a concise and easy-to-understand manner.
• Strong time management skills. Can juggle multiple projects at once while maintaining good judgment of relative priorities.
• Self-motivation, collegiality, and the ability to work both collaboratively and independently.
• A track record of honesty and accuracy, taking ownership of mistakes, and recognizing what you don’t know.
• An understanding of how government actions impact the lives of ordinary people, and a commitment to American Oversight’s accountability mission.

Additional Information

American Oversight is proudly an equal opportunity employer and is committed to building a diverse team. We are dedicated to finding the best candidate for the job. Our hiring process is centered on assessing candidates with diverse lived experiences. We would encourage you to apply, even if you don’t believe you meet every one of our qualifications described. If you are unsure of whether you meet the qualifications of this position, or how this would be determined, please contact us to discuss your application.

• The salary range for this position is $57,000 to $63,000, commensurate with experience. Generous and comprehensive benefits package.
• American Oversight is a nonpartisan, nonprofit 501(c)(3) organization.
• American Oversight is a remote-first organization, and our employees can work from anywhere in the country. Our office in downtown Washington, DC, is an optional workspace when pandemic-related restrictions allow.

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