Policy Fellowship

The American Conservative Union Foundation (ACUF) and CPAC are seeking a Policy Fellow to join our Center for Legislative Accountability (CLA). The CLA produces the nation’s longest-running conservative congressional scorecard and its first and only 50 state ratings program which scores all 7,400 state lawmakers across every policy area.

The Policy Fellow will assist the CLA team with its year-round legislative initiatives at the national and state level. The Fellow will play a significant role in the production of federal and state scorecards. To do so, they’ll help comb through the thousands of bills introduced across all 50 states, review legislative journals, and research local news to produce concise and informative summaries of legislation.

The Policy Fellow will work closely with all members of the CLA team and will report to the Director of Policy. This is an in-person only position based just outside the nation’s capital in Old Town Alexandria, Virginia. Work hours are generally between 9am-6pm Monday through Friday. Some flexibility can be accorded to individuals pursuing graduate and law degrees. Fellows may be required to work additional hours at events such as the Conservative Political Action Conference (CPAC).

Duties and Responsibilities:

· Conduct in-depth research on legislation introduced across the 50 state legislatures

· Identify key bills, amendments, and roll call votes for inclusion in the scorecards.

· Support the Center in the drafting of press releases, graphics creation, and proofreading of scorecards prior to release.

· Assist with data management and maintenance of the CLA’s policy database – the largest conservative policy database containing over 19,000 laws and 16,000 lawmaker profiles.

· Oversee the award production and mailing process for both congressional and state ratings.

· Provide support to the CLA team for the upcoming 2025 CPAC National Conference (February 19-22, 2025), including managing lawmaker invites and department materials.

· Assist the CLA team with various administrative tasks as needed.

Qualifications and Requirements:

· Passionate about the principles of conservative governance and free enterprise.

· Strong understanding of legislative and political processes.

· Extensive public policy knowledge and the ability to communicate the conservative position on the full spectrum of relevant policy issues.

· Proficiency in Microsoft Office Suite, with particular emphasis on Excel;

· Strong written and verbal communication skills;

Education and Experience:

· Bachelor’s degree required.

· 1-2 years of relevant policy work experience preferred – ideally within a state legislature.

· A combination of education and policy work experience

Fellowship Duration and Compensation:

· The length of the paid fellowship is 6 months, with the possibility to transition to a full-time position upon the conclusion depending on performance. Compensation commensurate with experience.

Job Type: Temporary

Schedule:

• Monday to Friday

Travel requirement:

• No travel

Work setting:

• In-person

Work Location: In person