Special Project Associate

  • American Oversight
  • Jun 24, 2020
Full time Operations

Job Description

American Oversight is looking for an energetic and organized person to help support our larger special research projects, primarily our investigation into the Trump administration’s response to the coronavirus. We’re a non-partisan, non-profit watchdog that uses targeted public records requests and litigation to expose evidence of corruption, abuse of power, or conflicts of interest. We’ve launched a wide-ranging investigation into the federal, state, and local responses to the coronavirus pandemic, and we’ve filed more than 600 public records requests and seven lawsuits seeking answers. 

We need an exceptional person to help us keep track of those requests, work with the legal and research teams to identify gaps that we should be investigating, and monitor the work of other advocacy groups and congressional investigators working in this space. 

American Oversight is normally based in downtown Washington, DC, in an office that is easily accessible by multiple metro and bus lines. Given the current pandemic, American Oversight’s team is working remotely for the foreseeable future. This position is open to outstanding candidates across the United States, but with a strong preference for candidates in the Washington DC area.  

JOB RESPONSIBILITIES

This position will report to our Chief Oversight Counsel and work closely with our research, legal, and communications teams, but will require significant autonomy so it’s important for the right person to be extremely organized, driven, and a self-starter. 

The special project associate will:

  • Work with the communications team to help build and maintain American Oversight’s coronavirus oversight tracker to track internal and external investigations related to the pandemic. 
  • Compile and maintain a database of congressional investigations related to oversight of the coronavirus and the government’s response.
  • Compile and maintain a database of coronavirus-related lawsuits by American Oversight and our partner organizations. 
  • Participate in regular meetings both internally and with our partner organizations to track coronavirus oversight efforts. 
  • Work with American Oversight’s legal and research teams to conceptualize and draft targeted, strategic, litigation-ready public records requests on the coronavirus, and identify potential gaps. 
  • Closely follow the news – including mainstream outlets, industry newsletters, and other sources – to identify opportunities to shed light on important stories related to the pandemic using public records requests.

QUALIFICATIONS

We are open to applications from individuals with a broad range of types of experience and experience levels, though we expect the best fit for this position may have between one and five years experience work and/or internship experience in journalism, political campaigns, government service or related fields. Successful candidates will have the following skills: 

  • Excellent organizational skills. Are you the kind of person who can find a receipt from two years ago and categorizes your books according to the Dewey Decimal System? If so, we want to hear from you! 
  • Strong writing skills and the ability to write on complex and nuanced topics for a broad, general audience; 
  • Self-motivated and the ability to work independently and on self-directed projects and handle multiple tasks simultaneously; 
  • Team player, comfortable working in a fast-paced, collaborative environment and to represent those self-directed projects in the broader organization to further the mission of American Oversight; 
  • Proven ability to think strategically about and execute complex investigations with clear goals and a focus on outcomes; 
  • Fluency and interest in public health issues related to the coronavirus pandemic as well as a working familiarity with current politics and issues related to the coronavirus pandemic;
  • A wide-ranging news diet and an ability to spot important stories.

ADDITIONAL INFORMATION

American Oversight is proudly an equal opportunity employer and is committed to building and retaining a diverse team. People of color, women, persons with disabilities, LGBTQ+ individuals, and/or veterans are encouraged to apply.

The salary range for this position is $50,000-55,000 annually, commensurate with experience. Generous and comprehensive benefits package.

Also, we are biased, but we think American Oversight is a great place to work! Take a look at the testimonials from members of our wonderful team.

HOW TO APPLY

Please send application materials, including a résumé, a one-page cover letter, and copies of two clips of your writing to jobs@americanoversight.org with “Project Associate – Coronavirus Investigations” in the subject line. Please indicate in your email how you heard about this opening.

Interested applicants are encouraged to apply as soon as possible. We will be reviewing applications on a rolling basis and will begin our first round of review by July 10, 2020.

URL

https://www.americanoversight.org/careers-2#specialprojectassociate

Salary

The salary range for this position is $50,000-55,000 annually, commensurate with experience.