Job Description

Gravity Research is hiring a  Public Policy Research Intern to join our team.

We are looking for curious and innovative interns interested in helping corporations smartly navigate society’s most important and challenging issues.

Gravity Research, born of National Journal, is a premier custom research and insights organization supporting corporate, association, and nonprofit clients. Our mission is to empower organizations to anticipate risk, spot opportunities, and rationalize reputational concerns against a backdrop of evolving public pressures. 

What is Gravity Research's Societal and Reputational Intelligence Service?

Gravity Research’s newest product is a research service that helps Fortune 500 companies make informed decisions about when and how to engage on societal issues, such as racial equity, LGBTQ+ rights, climate, and human rights. We support clients by monitoring the current conversation around these issues, benchmarking our clients’ actions compared to their peers, and analyzing the advantages and risks of engaging on specific issues.

The Role:

Public Policy Research Interns are responsible for contributing to all aspects of NSI client engagements. Interns on the social issues benchmarking team use our media monitoring tools and a range of qualitative research methods to identify and track trending issues, produce custom analysis for our clients, and develop bespoke insights and recommendations. Interns work directly with senior leaders at National Journal and senior public affairs and C-suite executives at client companies.

Intern Responsibilities:

• Conducts intensive and thorough research, tracking the policymakers, media voices, activists, and corporations driving the conversation around societal issues

• Synthesizes and analyzes qualitative data into a professional product, contextualizing and interpreting findings to provide a holistic and nuanced characterization of an issue

• Works closely with analysts, the Senior Director of New Products & Consulting, and the President of National Journal Research to create analytic memos describing engagement benefits and risks to corporate clients

Intern Characteristics:

• You are excited about helping National Journal continue to build its newest offering and contributing to a new product model

• You are a meticulous researcher and apply a high level of analytic rigor to all phases of work

• You know when to shift gears, balancing deep dives into data exploration and distilling the information gathered to produce actionable insights

• You listen and quickly adapt when requirements change, exhibiting a willingness to go above and beyond in service to others

• You are ready to quickly learn new systems and data tools

• You are highly organized and able to adapt to quickly changing workflows

• You are deeply interested in US policy and politics and while you may be deep on one topic, you are conversant and knowledgeable across a diverse range of subjects

Qualifications of the Ideal candidate:

The ideal candidate will have strong familiarity with the range of contentious societal issues currently at play, a solid understanding of the media and political environment, and excellent qualitative research and analysis skills. The candidate will have the ability to execute against tight deadlines to develop professional and intellectually sound deliverables for clients, both independently and in close collaboration with team members.

Specific qualifications include:

• A highly analytic, natural problem solver.

• The ability to highlight key insights within a complex set of data, synthesize large amounts of information, and then clearly explain these insights to clients.

• A skilled project manager, able to independently manage competing priorities and adhere to timelines.

• A strong writer able to clearly frame issues for a variety of audiences; some experience with PowerPoint or other visual presentation formats highly preferred.

• An individual with 1-3 years of experience in at least one of the following domains: strategy consulting, policy analysis, risk analysis, Capitol Hill or executive agency experience, or political science research.

• Earned Bachelor's degree required

• Entrepreneurial spirit; Track record of building new initiatives from conception to execution.

• Creative thinking and resourcefulness in problem-solving.

• Prodigious work ethic and spirit of generosity.

• Active contributor to a diverse and inclusive workplace.

Employment Type: Full-time, internship (3 months)

Compensation: The salary for this role is $20.00/hour.

Remote Status: Hybrid schedule based in Washington, DC

About Us

Across Gravity Research, generally, the firm looks for three “pillar gifts” in you, and everyone else. In all of us, these are more aspirational than actual, but they are central in our intentions –

• Force of Ideas:  At the center of Gravity Research’s work are the ideas within our work. We believe that ideas—the good and not—have consequences. Our ultimate objective is to bring rigor, insight, and intellectual honesty to the goal of separating the bad from the good, and giving voice, argument, and flight to maintaining the latter.

• Spirit of Generosity: Gravity Research seeks in its ranks a spirit of generosity: a natural disposition in each colleague toward service and selfless conduct. Our writing should be cut from the same cloth—critical on the merits, but informed by charity and forbearance in measuring motive and personal character.

• Radical Responsibility:  We give our people a lot of responsibility early on, and our top performers embrace it. We believe in holding ourselves and our colleagues accountable, taking ownership over big things, striving for excellence, and celebrating success.

Gravity Research is an Equal Opportunity Employer. We do not discriminate against our applicants because of race, color, religion, sex (including gender identity, sexual orientation, and pregnancy), national origin, age, disability, veteran status, genetic information, or any other status protected by applicable law.

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