Institute for Policy Studies (IPS)

Full-time

The Institute for Policy Studies (IPS) is a progressive research organization. We work on a broad range of issues and partner with social movements to develop research, communications, and strategies for peace, justice, and the environment. One key component of this work is our OtherWords.org op-ed service, which offers free, syndicated op-eds to local newspapers and websites across the country.

IPS is seeking a Media Relations Associate to help place and track these op-eds — and to support our communications work overall by tracking press coverage, posting content to our website, and helping prepare our newsletters.

This role is a great fit for someone who’s detail-oriented (lots of job descriptions say this, but it’s really important for this role!), excited about progressive policy issues, and able to communicate with politically diverse audiences — especially the editors and readers of local newspapers. This position reports to our Communications Director and joins a friendly, supportive communications team of six.

IPS is a Washington, D.C.-based organization with staff and partners who live across the country. We’d like to hire a D.C.-based applicant but will consider qualified remote applicants who can work in Eastern Standard Time as well.

This is a full-time position, with the organization closing at 1:00 pm Eastern on Fridays.

Key Responsibilities:

• Pitch syndicated op-eds published through IPS’s OtherWords.org service to editors nationwide. (Roughly 50 percent.)
  • Build, maintain, update, and deploy targeted pitch lists of editors and outlets.
  • Draft pitch notes and assist with developing pitching strategies.
  • Accurately and thoroughly track placements of OtherWords op-eds.
• Accurately and thoroughly track placements of other IPS media hits and compile monthly internal reports. (Roughly 25 percent.)
• Support the communications team in posting content on the IPS website and YouTube or elsewhere as needed. (Roughly 15 percent.)
• Help prepare and distribute newsletters. (Roughly 10 percent.)

Required Qualifications:

• At least 2 years of experience in journalism, communications, public relations, or a related field. (Applicants lacking experience but with a related degree will also be considered if they score well on a skills test.)
• Ability to communicate about policy conversationally and persuasively across politically diverse audiences.
• Familiarity using Excel and/or Google Sheets to compile regular reports.
• High level of attention to detail and ability to meet deadlines.
• Broad knowledge of current events and public policy, especially issues IPS works on and OtherWords publishes on.
• Commitment to IPS values and mission.

Preferred Qualifications:

• Editorial experience at a local or student news publication is a plus. If you have prior experience successfully sending pitches or reviewing them for outlets like these, you’ll be strongly considered.
• Familiarity with posting website content on WordPress or another content management system is a plus. So is any experience using EveryAction or a similar email / database system. We’ll offer training but some familiarity coming in is helpful.

Reporting & Collaboration:

This position reports to the IPS Communications Director and works closely with other members of the communications team and program staff across IPS.

Salary and Benefits:

Salary: $57,000

Excellent benefits, including generous vacation, 403(b) plan upon hire, fully paid dependent health insurance, fully paid life insurance, fully paid long-term disability, optional short-term disability, direct deposit, and flex time.

Union representation, this job is covered under the terms of a collective bargaining agreement with the Washington-Baltimore News Guild, CWA Local 32035. The Collective Bargaining Agreement is available here.

To Apply:

Please send in the following materials in a single PDF to apply@ips-dc.org with “Media Relations Associate” in the subject line:

• A cover letter explaining your interest in IPS, communications work, and any related experience.
• Your resume.
• Contact information for three references.
• A writing sample not exceeding 2 pages in length. We prefer non-academic papers — a blog post, op-ed, or press release would be preferable. If you’ve written op-ed pitches in the past, you can also share some examples.

Please submit materials by Friday, March 6th. Applications will be reviewed on a rolling basis.

Due to the large volume of applications, only applicants moving on to the next round will be contacted by the Search Committee. No phone calls, please.

The Institute for Policy Studies is strengthened by our differences in background, culture, experience, national origin, religion, sexual orientation, and much more. We strongly encourage applications from people of color, women, the LGBTQIA community, and other groups that have historically been subject to discrimination.

Institute for Policy Studies (IPS)

June 1, 2026 – May 31, 2027 in Washington, D.C.; July 1 – December 31, 2027 in New Mexico

IPS is a progressive organization dedicated to building a more equitable, ecologically sustainable, and peaceful society. In partnership with dynamic social movements, we turn transformative policy ideas into action.

The New Mexico Fellowship is an 18-month, paid, public policy fellowship, with the first year at the Institute for Policy Studies (IPS) in our Washington, D.C. office, and the final six months at a non-profit organization in New Mexico. This fellowship program seeks to help mentor a new generation of progressive leaders in and from New Mexico. In the past, this fellowship has recruited diverse candidates who are now serving New Mexico in multiple ways: leading nonprofits, practicing law, working with elected officials, and shaping progressive legislation.

The New Mexico Fellowship provides the opportunity for college graduates and/or young scholar-activists residing in New Mexico to come to IPS to be trained in public scholarship, a term we define as the connection between grassroots activism and policy research. Through the fellowship, participants sharpen their knowledge of the progressive landscape and policy world, and develop their capacities to think, write, research, and connect with social movements. After learning about the operations of a thriving non-profit in Washington, D.C., fellows will return to New Mexico for a six month paid placement at a social change organization. The Fellow will work with our advisory board, which includes former Fellows, to find a placement that aligns with their skills and interests. Past fellows have been placed with groundbreaking institutions such as the Center for Civic Policy, College Horizons, the New Mexico Center for Law and Poverty, New Mexico Voices for Children, and the Rio Grande Chapter of the Sierra Club.

Each fellow receives hands-on experience by working closely with 1-2 IPS projects under individualized mentorship from IPS public scholars. We believe that each scholar-activist

brings a unique skillset to the table. Accordingly, upon acceptance, we tailor the fellowship to participant’s personal interests by typically pairing them with IPS projects for 2 six-month segments, where they will become an essential part of that project’s staff. Fellows also have the opportunity to learn effective fundraising and communication strategies by working with the development and communications teams in addition to their personalized projects.

Fellows can expect to work on at least two IPS projects in 2026 & 2027, including potentially:

• Global Economy Program: The Global Economy Program provides research, communications, and networking support to dynamic economic justice movements to speed the transition to an equitable and sustainable economy and reverse extreme levels of economic and racial inequality and excessive corporate and Wall Street power.
• Project on Trade and Mining: The Project on Trade and Mining works with grassroots activists to advance alternative international trade and investment policies, including supporting campaigns in Latin America against global mining corporations’ attempts to steamroll local resistance to harmful extractives projects.
• Climate Policy Program: The Climate Policy Program supports the transition from a financially extractive, fossil fueled economy to a just, regenerative economy. We provide long-term vision and bold ideas in domestic and international policy spaces, using research, writing and strategic conversations to redefine what is politically possible.
• National Priorities Project: The National Priorities Project works to ensure our federal resources prioritize peace, shared prosperity, and economic prosperity by shedding light on the militarization of the federal budget and critical opportunities for reinvestment.

Qualifications:

Candidates are selected from two streams of applicants residing in New Mexico:

• Recent college graduates (BA or MA) who would benefit from mentoring and work at IPS
• Members of activist groups where IPS and the group feel it would benefit the individual to have training in public scholarship in Washington.

The ideal candidate is:

• Motivated, flexible, organized
• Able to multitask and navigate between demanding and sometimes tedious work of research, and the pace and energy of campaigns
• A strong writer, reader, and critical thinker, with interest in learning how to improve their writing to be accessible for multiple audiences
• Committed to building analysis across issue areas
• Dedicated to building relationships with thought leaders and social movements. IPS is a warm, learning community, and we’d like someone to join us who is seeking to build community with us
• A self-starter. We are looking for someone who will take initiative in defining what they want to learn, approach work challenges with a problem-solving mentality, and who will speak up when there are gaps in their work
• Able to work independently and in a team
• Passionate about, and has already devoted time and effort to, social justice

Salary and Benefits:

The New Mexico Fellow is required to come to the IPS office in Washington, D.C. for one year, and then to work with a New Mexico non-profit for six months to use the skills acquired at IPS to further public scholarship and activism in New Mexico.

This job is covered under the terms of a collective bargaining agreement with the Washington-Baltimore News Guild, CWA Local 32035. The Collective Bargaining Agreement is available here.

The New Mexico Fellowship is a full-time Fellowship with a yearly compensation of $57,000 (before taxes), paid semi-monthly. The Fellow will receive three weeks of paid vacation and 12 days of sick leave. Full medical, vision, dental, and life insurance coverage is also provided. IPS staff will also connect the Fellow to networking and professional development opportunities, and the Fellow will be included in all IPS staff-wide activities. In the second portion of the program, the Fellow will be paid for the final six months with the New Mexico non-profit (a pre-tax total of $25,000 for six months).

We want this fellowship to be an incredible and safe learning experience. The fellowship will begin with us in June in D.C. Work at IPS is hybrid, with 2-3 days in the office (and the option for more) and 2-3 days working from home. The June start date is intentional. To ensure the fellow is plugged into our broader IPS community, they will begin their fellowship alongside our Henry A. Wallace cohort. The HWFP is a leadership development program for emerging activists and comprises 12+ workshops on public scholarship and progressive frameworks.

Travel expenses to/from D.C. and New Mexico are covered at the beginning and end of the fellowship, and IPS staff will advise the incoming Fellow about D.C. housing options. IPS Staff have compiled some resources to help the fellow find housing in the metro D.C. area and are happy to assist in the process.

The New Mexico Fellow will begin on Monday, June 1st, 2026.

To Apply:

Applications are due by Friday, March 6th. Interviews will take place on Thursday, March 12th in Albuquerque, NM.

Your application should include the following in a single PDF file:

• A cover letter which includes the following information:
  • Tell us about which of the IPS issue areas you’d like to work on at IPS. What excites you about them? What areas of policy and research would you like to dig into?
  • Tell us about a social movement group that you’re passionate about (for example: a group in your community working on a local issue, or a national coalition that you’re part of, or a global social movement like the Movement for Black Lives). What energizes you about this movement group? How is this group making change?
  • What skills, experience, and/or knowledge would you bring to our team?
  • What do you want to gain from this experience to better your activism in New Mexico?
  • How did you hear about the Fellowship?
• Resume
• A 2-4 page writing sample (e.g., excerpt from a research paper, an article, or letter to the editor)
• The contact information for 3 references. Please make sure at least one of your references is from a prior work, internship, service or organizing environment in which you have worked.

Email materials in one PDF file to: apply@ips-dc.org using “New Mexico Fellowship” as the subject line.

Due to the large volume of applications, only applicants that are moving to the next round will be contacted by the Search Committee. Thank you so much for your interest in the New Mexico Fellowship. We look forward to hearing from you.

The Institute for Policy Studies is strengthened by our differences in background, culture, experience, national origin, religion, sexual orientation, and much more. We strongly encourage applications from people of color, women, the LGBTQIA community, and other groups that have historically been subject to discrimination.