Director – Future of Government Talent Program

Democracy Forward

Director leading the Future of Government Talent Program initiative at Democracy Forward. Focusing on redesigning federal talent structures and recruiting mission-ready talent.

Posted 4/16/2026full-timeWashington • District of Columbia, Washington • 🇺🇸 United StatesLead💰 $150,000 - $170,000 per yearWebsite

About the role

Key responsibilities & impact

Lead a team of fellows to redesign process across key federal functions (e.g. HR, procurement, regulation, customer experience, technology, AI, public engagement).
Build and manage a small internal team of HR and technical experts supporting cross-functional design and research.
Support organizational leadership in cultivating a culture of accountability, inclusivity, and excellence.
Convene and collaborate with external domain experts (AI, regulatory, HR, tech, etc.) to co-design staffing models.
Ensure new team models are agile, tech-enabled, interdisciplinary, and built to solve real problems.
Develop and implement a strategy to identify and recruit mission-ready talent from various sources.
Define the skills, values, and lived experience needed for 21st-century public service.
Lead the development of a digital platform to match individuals with redesigned teams.
Build and manage partnerships with academic institutions and workforce programs.
Collaborate with legal, research, and communications partners to test and refine talent transformation efforts.

Requirements

What you’ll need

10+ years of experience in workforce development, organizational design, talent strategy, or public sector innovation.
Experience managing small, high-capacity teams in cross-functional and collaborative environments.
Deep understanding of both federal hiring systems and modern, mission-aligned talent models.
Demonstrated ability to build distributed strategies and work across technical, policy, and community-based teams.
Excellent project management, facilitation, and stakeholder coordination skills.
Well-developed collaborative and interpersonal skills including demonstrated self-awareness, commitment to diversity and inclusivity, and ability to work with colleagues and stakeholders across diverse cultures and backgrounds.

Benefits

Comp & perks

Excellent benefits

ATS Keywords

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Applicant Tracking System Keywords

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Hard Skills & Tools

workforce developmentorganizational designtalent strategypublic sector innovationproject managementfacilitationstakeholder coordinationcross-functional collaborationdigital platform developmentagile methodologies

Soft Skills

leadershipaccountabilityinclusivityexcellencecollaborationinterpersonal skillsself-awarenesscommitment to diversitycommunicationproblem-solving