Director (Policy and Leadership Network)

Title: Director (Policy and Leadership Network)

Salary: $150,000–$200,000 (incl. healthcare and retirement contributions)

Location: In-person, Washington, DC; visa sponsorship available

Job Type: Full-time

Application Deadline:  Sunday, August 23, 2026 at 11:59 PM ET

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The Horizon Institute for Public Service is seeking a full-time Director (Policy and Leadership Network) to grow our network of senior policy and leadership talent, run high-priority headhunts for critical roles, and build new programs that connect experienced professionals with government’s most pressing AI needs.

As interest in AI surges across government, the demand to get experienced talent into critical roles, and to help senior leaders build AI fluency fast, has never been higher. In this role, you’ll ensure Horizon meets this moment. You’ll oversee high-priority headhunts for senior positions inside and outside government, deepen and expand our network of senior AI policy stakeholders, and scope, pilot, and scale new programs building on the success of our AI Policy Leadership Network. You’ll work directly with government and policy leaders, manage staff and contractors, and oversee a significant and growing program budget, shaping one of Horizon’s highest-leverage areas of work and expanding our reach into new audiences and initiatives.

Competitive applicants will most likely have several years of relevant work experience, ideally including experience in AI or emerging technology policy and in managing people, projects, or partnerships. However, if you think the role is a great fit for your skills and interests, we encourage you to apply even if you don’t have previous experience in this exact field. Our hiring process is designed to test for aptitudes and skills, not specific resume markers.

Our mission

Emerging technologies like AI are rapidly reshaping our world. The US government plays an essential role in developing and governing such technologies. But policymakers’ ability to stay ahead of the curve depends on access to the requisite expertise—and right now, that expertise is sorely lacking. Horizon exists to close this gap by supporting the next generation of emerging technology policy leaders.

Since our launch three years ago, we’ve helped hundreds of professionals explore and transition into public service careers. Through our fellowship program, we’ve helped 100+ subject-matter experts fill vital roles at top think tanks, in Congress, and in agencies across government. Our online career resources have reached 150,000+ users, and we’ve supported over 1,000 individuals through events, advising, and headhunting services. We participated in the first-ever government AI hiring fair and run the AI Policy Leadership Network. We plan to both scale these existing programs and launch several more exciting new projects this year. You can read more about our programs and impact in our 2025 year in review.

About the role

The Director (Policy and Leadership Network) grows Horizon’s network of senior policy and leadership talent and gets the right people into the roles that matter most. You’ll run high-priority headhunts for critical positions inside and outside government, deepen our network of senior AI policy stakeholders, and scope and launch new programs for the fast-growing audience of experienced professionals moving into AI. Along the way you’ll engage directly with high-profile partners and marquee guests; manage Horizon staff, contractors, and partner-organization teams; and oversee a significant and growing program budget. This work serves some of the most senior and consequential audiences in emerging tech policy, and demands a high standard of execution, discretion, and judgment about where Horizon’s capacity is most impactful.

The role offers broad ownership across one of Horizon’s highest-leverage areas of work, with real latitude to design and pilot new programs from theory of change through first delivery. Reporting to Senior Director Oliver Stephenson, you’ll help shape how Horizon expands into new audiences and initiatives at a pivotal moment for AI policy. The role is an excellent platform for advancing to senior roles in policy and government, to leadership roles in civil society or industry, or to launching your own organization.

We are simultaneously recruiting for a more junior role on the same team, which will be focused on an overlapping portfolio with more of a focus on APLN. See Program Associate / Program Manager (Policy and Leadership Network).

Responsibilities

The responsibilities below describe the core of the role, but we expect to shape the exact mix around the strengths and interests of the person we hire.

Oversee high-priority headhunts and senior talent advising and sourcing 

• Horizon often gets asked by hiring managers for leads for important emerging tech and AI policy roles inside and outside government. You would oversee these searches end-to-end – building relationships with and understanding the needs of key hiring managers, assessing what talent in our networks would be a good fit, and jumping on calls with the best people to gauge fit and provide advice. Because we get requests for many more roles than we have time to headhunt for, this work also involves making ongoing strategic judgment calls about which roles to prioritize to what level of depth.
• We’re also often approached for career support by experienced professionals interested in transitioning into AI policy or accelerating their AI work, including by senior leaders at large organizations and former Senate-confirmed political appointees. With support from leadership, you’ll triage these requests, advise and build relationships with the most promising individuals, and connect them to resources inside and outside Horizon that will help them maximally contribute to the field.
• This work might also involve proactive sourcing campaigns for types of talent that we get asked for frequently that are in short supply. For high-priority technical roles in government, for example, you could mine networks in tech companies, startups, and academia, crafting compelling talent pitches and conducting short discovery calls with the most exciting sourced leads. You would prioritize when this kind of sourcing work is worth doing, and plug exciting talent you’ve discovered into multiple opportunities. 

Expand Horizon’s policy and leadership talent network 

• Last year, Horizon launched the AI Policy Leadership Network (APLN). The first cohort included White House staffers, senior civil servants, congressional staff, military officials, and think tank and industry leaders. The program consisted of dinners with current and former Cabinet members, a Senator, senior administration officials, and civil society leaders, in addition to a 3-day learning trip to the Bay Area visiting companies and national labs. You would support the implementation of the next iteration of APLN (others on your team will manage the program more comprehensively) and attend its events to deepen your networks.
• This type of network building is crucial to Horizon’s mission of bringing emerging tech and AI policy expertise into government. It is what enables us to make high-quality matches between candidates and hiring managers (e.g. through fellowship placements and headhunts) and discover other opportunities for impact. To keep growing this pipeline, you would help design new ways to expand our network and reach with senior talent. This could include targeted networking with rising and established policy leaders, representing Horizon at conferences and closed-door convenings, and designing your own curated gatherings. You’ll have resources and latitude to develop new ways to deliver on Horizon’s mission.

Scoping and managing new policy and leadership talent programs 

• You may also help run larger-scale programs aimed at getting senior talent into AI policy or government. One example is our recently launched AI Rapid Response Fellowship, which is tailored to more senior talent, many of whom may already have government and policy experience (vs. our regular fellowship which is aimed at helping people transition into policy). In addition to fellowships, other illustrative examples of programs serving senior talent include:
  • A “bidirectional mentoring program” that pairs experienced policy professionals exploring AI issues with younger AI experts seeking training and advice on policy skills
  • AI “bootcamp” programs for government staff (e.g. experienced national security staff such as military officers and intelligence analysts) who are impacted by AI or interested in pivoting into AI work and for whom such a tailored program does not yet exist  
  • Selective, small-group convenings (salon/affinity group style) focused on senior policy professionals with specific shared interests within AI policy, common disciplinary backgrounds, etc.
  • Operational and policy design for programs that connect deeply experienced people with critical government needs, potentially on a part-time or flexible basis (e.g. OPM’s AI Strategic Reserve)
• For such projects, you would initially oversee program scoping—mapping what is possible, doing early user research, and comparing options against each other to analyze which initiatives we should experiment with first. You would then help launch and assess pilots, supported by junior staff. If we launch a full program, you could oversee its execution, delegating work where possible to focus on its most strategic elements, and running constant evaluation and feedback loops to test whether and how it could be scaled. 

Prepare a tech talent playbook for the 2028 presidential election 

• Elections and presidential transitions have significant consequences for tech talent policy and tech staffing decisions. You would help Horizon craft a strategy—for both sides of the aisle—to ensure that technically grounded experts are in high-impact roles and that transition teams have access to high-quality ideas for tech talent staffing reforms.

As a small, nimble, and fast-moving team, we are open to adjusting the role based on an excellent candidate’s profile and interests. For example, someone with the skills for this role could also be involved in projects like advising Horizon Fellows who are going into government, doing strategic communications work, and ad hoc support for executive leadership. The exact mix of work will evolve based on your strengths, your interests, and Horizon’s needs. 

You may be a good fit for this role if you

• Have experience and networks in AI/emerging technology policy, so that you deeply understand the target audience and broader context of your programs 
• Are able to build trust-based relationships with government officials, congressional staffers, and others throughout the AI policy ecosystem, exercising good judgement and discretion with sensitive information 
• Can back-chain from end goals to near-term decisions – you will often face questions about how to prioritize your time and resources, and navigating these will require frequently moving back and forth between iterating on the ultimate goals of your program and prioritized weekly action plans 
• Have the project management and people skills to oversee multi-stakeholder collaborations with colleagues, contractors, and external partners
• Are interested in developing people management skills (an ideal version of this role would over time involve management of junior staff)

Additionally, Horizon has a strong team culture, and we expect you would fit well if you:

• Are entrepreneurial and a team player, adapting to new responsibilities as our fast-growing organization’s needs may change over time
• Are growth-minded and excited to give and receive feedback frequently in order to maximize performance and impact across our team 
• Are motivated by Horizon’s mission and excited to be part of a public service-oriented, user-focused, low-ego, and collaborative team
• Can work in-person in Washington, DC

Salary and benefits

The Director (Policy and Leadership Network) will receive a salary of $150,000–$200,000+ based on experience and seniority. Horizon currently offers a flexible, benefits-equivalent cash stipend (included in salary) rather than a fixed health insurance or retirement plan. The stipend can be used to purchase any of the two dozen health insurance plans on the DC public market (or just keep as an additional salary top-up if you already have health insurance coverage through a parent or spouse) and contribute to a retirement account of your choosing. Starting in late 2026/early 2027, Horizon plans to expand its benefits offerings to include 403(b) retirement accounts and employer-covered health insurance plans. 

Horizon also offers:

• Unlimited vacation, with a recommended minimum of 15 days per year 
• Remote work flexibility for up to 12 weeks/year, contingent on acceptable performance
• 12 weeks of paid parental leave
• Up to $3,000+ per year in professional development funding
• Flexible working hours
• A productive, collaborative office with free snacks and meals 

We can provide visa sponsorship for qualified candidates.

As an additional benefit in select cases, employees with subject-matter expertise in emerging technology can get the unique opportunity to utilize Horizon’s placement expertise to do a public interest rotation for up to 12 months after working at Horizon for 2 years. At least 6 months notice must be given to redeem this benefit.

Application process

Interested candidates should express initial interest by filling out an application by Sunday, August 23, 2026 at 11:59 PM ET. Please answer honestly and reflect on your responses, but do not spend too much time on your application: quick bullet points are fine, and answers do not need to be polished, as later stages will evaluate specific skills and knowledge in depth. 

The application process will involve paid work tests, a structured interview, reference checks, and a paid in-person work trial. We will acknowledge receipt of all applications and aim to get back to candidates by mid-September. Our ideal start date is November 2026, though flexibility is offered for exceptional candidates.

We welcome candidates from diverse backgrounds and experiences to apply. Strong candidates may not always fulfill all our required or desired criteria. Studies show that individuals from underrepresented groups may underestimate their qualifications. Therefore, we urge you not to self-disqualify prematurely. If you are excited about this work, we strongly encourage you to apply.