Summary
Position Title: Senior Policy Analyst
Reports To: Director of Water Infrastructure Policy
Classification: Full-time employee
Location: Remote position, with some required travel
Salary: $80,000-$90,000
Background
Our Water Team was founded around the knowledge that solutions, innovations, capacity building, and policy changes can dramatically increase the speed and effectiveness with which we solve water problems. We believe we can play an important role in solving both persistent and emergent problems through legal and data analysis and policy reform to make change happen on a systems level and through direct work helping communities, especially historically under-resourced communities, secure support.
EPIC seeks to hire a Senior Policy Analyst with a strong skillset and passion to develop data-driven policy solutions using legal and data analysis skills. The work will focus on water infrastructure programs, including the Drinking Water and Clean Water State Revolving Funds (SRFs), contracting and procurement for water infrastructure including innovative approaches such as Community-Based Public-Private Partnerships (CBP3s), and other legal and policy frameworks relevant to funding of drinking water, wastewater, and stormwater infrastructure. Consideration of affordability, cost-efficiencies, workforce development and other co-benefits of water infrastructure investments are central to our work. We identify and engage opportunities across the federal, state, and local levels to drive comprehensive data-driven policy solutions, often in collaboration with a range of public, private, and non-profit partners.
About EPIC
EPIC builds policies that deliver spectacular improvement in the speed and scale of environmental progress so people and nature can thrive. A national nonprofit, EPIC is committed to finding and highlighting the best approaches to scaling up results quickly. Learn about our water infrastructure work here.
Position Description
Reporting to the Director of Water Infrastructure Policy, the Senior Policy Analyst will conduct insightful legal, policy, and data research and analysis to catalyze policy change that eliminates disparities in water infrastructure funding and achieves greater efficiency and community benefits. Legal, policy, and data analysis for rapid-response work on emerging issues at the state and federal levels will also be expected. The primary topics this position will work on include: evaluation and analysis of Drinking/Clean Water State Revolving Funds, Lead Service Line Replacement, scaling up Green Stormwater Infrastructure, and Climate Resilience. Experience working on these topics will be valued, but is not strictly required.
Responsibilities
Legal, Policy, and Data Analysis
- Instigate and collaborate on creative and novel analysis of diverse sources of information on water financing and utilities that will help advance the goals of EPIC’s Water Team.
- Understand and analyze legal and policy frameworks governing water infrastructure funding and financing, and effectively communicate these frameworks and related legal and policy insights to both expert and nonexpert audiences.
- In collaboration with EPIC’s data scientists, frame data questions to address key policy concerns to inform relevant data analysis.
- Use legal and data findings to support further research, policy analysis, technical assistance, outreach efforts, and to develop policy recommendations to improve the transparency, monitoring, allotment, distribution, efficiency, expediency, equitable outcomes, and co-benefits of investments in water infrastructure.
- Synthesize information on federal, state, and local water programs and their governing frameworks, and recommendations for their improvement, in ways that effectively teach internal and external colleagues the most important things you’ve learned.
- Show leadership, and skill and knowledge development, by becoming a source of data insights, hypotheses, policy reform ideas.
- Prepare and provide expert testimony and public comments on federal, state, and local policy deliberations and proposals.
- Track developments on key local, state, and federal efforts on relevant water issues.
Specific areas of research and analysis are likely to include the following:
State Allocation of State Revolving Funds
- Analyze state Drinking Water SRF programs to track the allocation of water infrastructure funding, analyze whether the allocation of assistance is equitable, and develop recommendations to improve the collection and reporting of SRF data.
- Review state Drinking Water Intended Use Plans and Project Priority Lists and efficiently interpret information in these documents to develop the database reflected in EPIC’s SRF Funding Tracker (to be launched in early 2025).
- Using both data and policy analysis, identify key challenges leading to the underutilization or inequitable distribution of SRF assistance, as well as best practice models.
- Develop recommendations to improve the collection and reporting of SRF data and outcomes.
Lead Service Line Replacement
- Analyze, track, and report on the appropriation, allotment, distribution, and utilization of federal and state funds for lead service line replacement.
- Identify persistent funding, data, policy, legal, and administrative challenges at the federal, state, and local levels that obstruct the objective of removing all lead service lines in the United States within 10 years, develop feasible and innovative solutions, and identify and lift up best practice models.
- Analyze and recommend improvements to how local lead service line replacement projects, contracting, procurement, and delivery models can achieve greater equity and cost efficiencies.
Community-Based Public-Private Partnerships (CBPs)
- Analyze and identify persistent challenges to the broader take-up of CBP3s as a procurement and implementation model for water infrastructure projects, particularly for lead service line replacement and green stormwater infrastructure projects.
- Recommend policy reforms to make SRF programs and other existing sources of federal, state, and local funding and financing for water infrastructure more amendable to funding CBP3s.
- Recommend best practices for CBP3 project implementation to access SRFs and other sources of water infrastructure funding and financing.
Water Infrastructure Governance, including Regionalization and Consolidation
- Understand, analyze, and explain legal and policy frameworks that drive and govern regionalization and consolidation efforts across water systems.
- Using both data and policy analysis, identify opportunities to improve equity and efficiency outcomes through regionalization and consolidation of water systems and related governance issues that affect equitable outcomes.
Communications and Outreach
- Write reports, case studies, and blogs to advance the visibility and impact of EPIC’s water policy efforts.
- Develop highly interactive and well-used networks of collaborators, peers, and contacts who advance our work and whose work we help advance.
- Engage with water policymakers, elected officials, regulators, legislators, utilities, and community groups to build your understanding of relevant frameworks and challenges, and share data and policy insights.
- Coordinate with both internal and external colleagues on data collection and organization and maintain internal project tracking systems using communication platforms such as slack, email, and mobilize, and project management tools such as Airtable, and Hubspot.
- Coordinate with colleagues to plan and organize webinars, write blogs and publications, and identify conferences and events where EPIC’s analysis and insights can be beneficially shared with interested stakeholders.
- Participate in work groups, webinars, convenings, coalitions, and public events.
Required Qualifications
- A law degree or other relevant advanced degree.
- 5+ years experience in one or more of the following areas: water policy, water utility management, environmental policy, public policy, data analysis, and administration.
- Demonstrated experience researching, analyzing, and communicating legal, policy and data insights and recommendations to advance policy goals, preferably around water quality, water affordability, environmental equity, infrastructure financing, and/or climate resilience.
- Ability to explain complex policy ideas and data analysis clearly through written, visual, and verbal communications.
- Demonstrated commitment to equity and justice.
Desired Qualifications
- Experience in drinking water, wastewater, or stormwater management, finance, or technical operations.
- Strong quantitative skills and data management experience, for example, in Python, R, or Github.
- Direct engagement with communities on water quality, water affordability, water equity, or other environmental equity issues.
- Understanding of a range of water infrastructure and other relevant policy issues.
- Experience in using research and analysis for narrative building or advocacy, including in legislative, regulatory, community organizing, or other political settings.
- Network of relationships in the water sector or government agencies and officials.
Location
This is a remote position, with most work done at the candidate’s home. Office space is also available at EPIC’s College Park, MD office. Some national travel is required to attend meetings, conferences, and other events. It is anticipated that this position will travel approximately 10-15 days per year.
Salary Range
$80,000 – $90,000 annually, based on experience and qualifications.
Staff Benefits
EPIC offers an excellent benefits package that includes health, dental, and vision care; matching 401k contributions up to 5% of salary; and five days of flexible “wellness” leave in addition to sick leave and four weeks of paid time off.
Bar membership or other appropriate professional accreditation or membership in professional associations, and continuing professional development expenses such as CLE credit requirements, can also be covered.
Application Process and Guidance
Qualified candidates should email Valerie Nguyen at valerie@policyinnovation.org with “Senior Policy Analyst” in the subject line. Please include a resume and a cover letter labeled with your last name followed by the document type (e.g., “Ibrahim_Resume”). Candidates who advance beyond the first interview stage will also be asked to provide a writing sample and references.
Candidates are encouraged to apply as soon as possible, as applications will be reviewed on a rolling basis and the position will close as soon as a suitable candidate has been secured.
We believe that including more people from diverse backgrounds, including people of color, people from working-class backgrounds, women, and LGBTQ people, is essential for achieving our vision. We strongly encourage applications from people with these identities or members of other underrepresented communities.
We know there is not one ideal candidate who has all the qualifications listed. If you have a mix of interests, skills, and experience related to the above – and a passion for this work – please do not let a gap in your strengths stop you from applying for this role or reaching out.
Thank you for your interest in working with EPIC!