Job Description

The Freedom Foundation is partnering with Big Fishto recruit a Research and Government Affairs Eastern Regional Director. If you're interested in the role — or know someone who might be — please reach out to Angel Fimbres-Barcelo at angel@recruitbigfish.com.

Big Fish is a boutique recruiting firm specializing in the talent needed to drive policy change. Learn more at recruitbigfish.com.

Research and Government Affairs Eastern Regional Director

Location: Remote — Ohio or a nearby state preferred

Job Type: Full-time

Compensation Range: Competitive with other nonprofits, based on overall experience and qualifications (client has not published a specific range — recommend pushing for one)

Travel: 10–15 weeks per year, particularly during legislative session

Reports To: Director of Research and Government Affairs (RGA)

About The Freedom Foundation

The Freedom Foundation is a national nonprofit organization advancing individual liberty, free enterprise, and limited, accountable government through policy advocacy, policy and investigative research, public interest and civil liberties litigation, and public education. Founded in 1991 in Washington state as the Evergreen Freedom Foundation, the organization now operates from offices in Grapevine, TX, Olympia, WA, and Salem, OR, with remote staff across the country. Its primary focus is countering the undue influence of far-left government unions on government operations, public policy, and elections — pressing for greater accountability to union members and taxpayers alike.

About the Opportunity

The Eastern Regional Director reports to the Director of Research and Government Affairs (RGA) and owns the Freedom Foundation's government affairs portfolio across states like Ohio, Indiana, Kentucky, North Carolina, Tennessee, and Missouri. It's a senior-level role combining state-level advocacy, independent investigative research, public-facing communications, and coordination with the Foundation's labor relations team. In our experience working with the Freedom Foundation, the candidates who thrive here are policy-minded operators — equally comfortable testifying at a legislative hearing, sitting for a media interview, and digging through union financial disclosures — who can drive measurable outcomes across a multi-state portfolio with real independence.

What You'll Do

• Advocate for the Freedom Foundation's policy priorities before state legislatures, regulatory agencies, and similar government bodies — including testifying at hearings, lobbying lawmakers directly, and managing contract lobbyists in assigned states.
• Draft bill text and amendments, prepare supporting materials, and generate grassroots and coalition support for Freedom Foundation lobbying efforts.
• Lead independent research projects — documenting the need for Foundation-supported reforms, measuring union funding of elections, and investigating union compliance with campaign finance, collective bargaining, tax, and labor laws.
• Conduct special research projects in support of development and executive team goals.
• Promote the Foundation's work to internal and external audiences — writing for local and national outlets and Foundation publications, conducting media interviews, and speaking to grassroots groups.
• Coordinate with the Director of Labor Relations to assist public employees seeking to form independent unions or decertify unwanted unions.

  What We're Looking For

  Required

• Bachelor's degree or higher
• Three to five years working in government affairs or public policy
• Strong reading comprehension and the ability to write and speak persuasively
• Command of common office software and strong independent research capabilities
• Familiarity with government operations and the law
• Demonstrated judgment, initiative, and the ability to manage multiple projects in a fast-paced, team-oriented environment

  Preferred

• Subject-matter familiarity with state collective bargaining laws, public records and FOIA-type laws, campaign finance, the Labor-Management Reporting and Disclosure Act, and union operations and practices
• Experience testifying at legislative or regulatory hearings
• Experience managing contract lobbyists or external consultants
• Prior investigative research experience, particularly involving union compliance or campaign finance

  Compensation & Benefits

• Pay competitive with other nonprofits, based on overall experience and qualifications
• Health insurance
• 403(b) retirement program
• Paid leave as needed (when approved by management), plus 12 paid holidays