Policy Strategist

Please note: the level of the role will be determined by Nava leadership based on experience and skillset.

Position summary

Nava is at the forefront of reimagining how our government serves its people, and we’re looking for a Policy Strategist to help us increase our impact within government. Policy Strategists at Nava help teams navigate complex policy environments by turning policy into decisions, tradeoffs, and actionable direction. We work across disciplines—including product, design, and engineering—to ensure systems are compliant, effective, and grounded in real-world policy and program operations.

In this role, you will contribute to Nava Labs’ efforts to understand and shape the emerging landscape of AI policy in public benefits. This includes identifying where policy is evolving, where guidance is unclear, and how Nava can develop a clear, credible point of view and engage externally.

You are a strategic and outcomes-oriented thinker, adept at identifying patterns across complex information and making thoughtful decisions that impact various teams, both internal and external. You possess excellent communication skills and balance rigorous analysis with a practical mindset to drive clear, high-quality decisions and forward progress. You have the ability to develop research plans, and synthesize analyses into concrete recommendations that positively impact service experience outcomes. You stay up to date about technology, legislation, and policy trends, and care deeply about improving the way government programs operate.

What you'll do

Policy Translation & Implementation

Partner with cross-functional teams to translate policy into system behavior, workflows, and user experiences

Identify regulatory constraints, risks, and ambiguities — including edge cases, eligibility requirements, and business rules — and propose solutions that balance compliance, user experience, and delivery needs

Create artifacts (e.g., policy briefs, decision frameworks, process flows) to support decision-making and prioritization

Support testing and validation of policy implementation (e.g., scenario and edge case testing)

Policy Research, Strategy & Advocacy

Conduct landscape and comparative policy research to monitor evolving policies and translate them into implications for implementation, technology, and engagement opportunities

Synthesize research into clear written and verbal communication for a range of different internal and external audiences

Identify partnership opportunities and maintain relationships with external stakeholders to support partnership, advocacy, and thought leadership efforts

Contribute to advocacy strategy development and execution

Required skills

At least 5 years of experience in policy analysis, or a combination of relevant graduate-level education and experience

Hands-on experience analyzing, interpreting, or implementing policies and programs in public benefit programs or other highly regulated domains

Strong ability to build and nurture relationships with both internal teams and external partners

Self-directed and comfortable working independently with minimal supervision

Excellent verbal and written communication skills, including technical and policy contexts

Understanding of public programs, ideally at multiple levels of government

Ability to document research processes, findings, and recommendations clearly, concisely, and in an organized manner

Experience contributing to public comments, policy proposals, or supporting legislative or regulatory processes as legislative staff, agency rule making staff, or in a lobbying, advocacy, or related role

Skilled at turning research and policy signals into recommendations for technical solutions and opportunities for advocacy and external engagement

An adaptive, empathetic, collaborative, and positive mindset

Highly resourceful, reliable, and detail-oriented

Comfortable with ambiguous, rapidly-evolving environments with many parallel threads

Desired skills

Experience working within agile delivery and human-centered design processes (sprint ceremonies, design reviews, user research)

Experience working on government technology modernization, civic tech, or large-scale systems change

Graduate degree in public policy, public administration, or related field

Compensation

$109,800—$121,500 USD