Program Director (Talent)

Program Director (Talent)

Salary: $110,000-$150,000+ (incl. healthcare and retirement contributions)

Location: In-person, Washington, DC; visa sponsorship available

Job Type: Full-time

Application Deadline: Sunday, February 8, 2026

Note: The title and portfolio are flexible based on candidate qualifications, experience, and preferences – see below for more details.

The Horizon Institute for Public Service is seeking a full-time Program Director (Talent) (title flexible - alternatives include Director of Outreach , Director of Recruitment ) to multiply our impact by increasing the quantity and quality of people we can support through all of our programs. Horizon’s program suite is expanding quickly, with both rapid growth in existing programs and the addition of several new programs. In 2026, we expect to be running 1-2 Horizon Fellowship rounds, at least 3-4 career workshop rounds, 2 Career Accelerator rounds, and the second round of the newly‑launched AI Policy Leadership Network, in addition to fielding an ongoing flow of advising and hiring manager requests throughout the year. Year on year, total applications across our programs have more than tripled (including well over 1,000 applications to our latest Horizon Fellowship round alone), and we expect growth to continue in 2026.

This role will help us develop best-in‑class candidate outreach systems and efficiently screen program applications. Not only do we believe better screening and sourcing can significantly impact the quality of our programs, but centralizing these key components of programs will free up capacity for program leads to innovate on and scale up program services more rapidly.

Competitive applicants will most likely have several years of experience in program management and an interest in building the field of emerging technology policy. However, if you think the role is a great fit for your skills and interests, we encourage you to apply even if you don't have previous experience in this exact field. Our hiring process is designed to test for aptitudes and skills, not specific resume markers. Previous experience in US policy or emerging technology is helpful, but not required.

Our mission

The Horizon Institute for Public Service is a non‑profit that supports the next generation of public servants with expertise in emerging technologies.

Emerging technologies, like biotechnology and artificial intelligence, are rapidly reshaping our world. The US government plays an essential role in developing and governing new technologies, crafting policies to take advantage of their benefits and avert the risks they pose. But policymakers' ability to stay ahead of the curve depends on access to the requisite expertise—and right now, that expertise is sorely lacking.

Since our launch three years ago, we've helped hundreds of professionals explore and launch critically needed careers in public service. For example, through our fellowship program, we’ve helped 100+ subject‑matter experts fill vital roles at top think tanks, in Congress, and in agencies across government. Our online emergingtechpolicy.org career resource has reached 150,000+ users. We’ve also supported over 1,000 individuals through events and advising and headhunting services, leading to many dozens of job transitions. We participated in the first‑ever government AI hiring fair and recently launched the AI Policy Leadership Network. We plan to both scale these existing programs and have several exciting new projects slated for launch in 2026. You can read more about our programs and impact in our 2025 year in review.

About the role

As Program Director (title flexible), you will play a central role in Horizon's talent work, the engine that powers all of our programs. The quality of our sourcing and screening directly determines the quality of our programs, and ultimately, how many people successfully transition into emerging tech policy careers. Done well, this work is a critical multiplier at Horizon, accelerating the impact of each program you support. You will work closely with our talent team, program leads, and senior staff across the organization. The core focus of this role is recruitment and candidate screening: leading outreach to find promising applicants for Horizon programs, building relationships with partner organizations, and screening thousands of candidates each year through application reviews and interviews.

In this role, you will develop deep expertise in the emerging technology policy talent landscape, build an extensive professional network across DC policy organizations, and gain experience managing complex, high‑volume processes at a rapidly growing organization. This role is an excellent platform for leading talent or programs at a think tank, nonprofit, or in government; building your own organization; or otherwise accelerating your career in policy or nonprofit leadership.

Responsibilities

Build Horizon's candidate sourcing systems

• Maintain and grow our database of hundreds of organizations and individuals whom we ask for leads for program candidates
• Lead outreach to Horizon partners and network members during program application periods.
• Carefully track outreach requests, leads, referrals, and points of contact in our Airtable outreach database. Work with Horizon data staff to ensure all information is logged accurately in Horizon’s internal talent database
• Work with our Director of Communications to experiment with different sourcing strategies (such as targeted social media advertisements, strategic newsletter and podcast placement, etc.)
• Analyze outcomes from outreach rounds to identify the most valuable sources of promising applicants. Use the analysis to optimize Horizon’s outreach strategies and tactics.

Strengthen our assessment processes

• Serve as Horizon’s in‑house expert in evaluating candidates, working carefully with program leads to refine common application questions, initial interviews, and work tests to effectively assess core aptitudes for Horizon programs
• Train colleagues to ensure all graders and programs achieve high‑quality, well‑calibrated candidate assessments.
• Test out opportunities to streamline core parts of assessment
• Coordinate Horizon team members and contractors participating in assessment rounds; prepare and lead meetings to determine admissions decisions
• With support from our internal data systems specialist, propose improvements to Horizon’s internal processes and data infrastructure after major recruitment rounds
• Analyze outcomes from outreach rounds to identify the most valuable sources of promising applicants. Use the analysis to optimize Horizon’s outreach strategies and tactics.

Identify top candidates and match them with the right program

• Review written applications across Horizon programs, including our Horizon Fellowship, career workshops, Career Accelerator, and AI Policy Leadership Network to find the most promising participants.
• Conduct hundreds of one‑on‑one candidate interviews and networking conversations over the course of the year
• Route top candidates to best‑fit programs. Candidates often apply to one Horizon program without realizing another would be a better fit, or they narrowly miss one program's criteria but would thrive in another. You'll review applications with an eye toward the full Horizon program suite, ensuring promising candidates get considered for opportunities they didn't initially apply to or know about, instead of falling through the cracks.

Cultivate partnerships across the policy ecosystem

• Build and maintain relationships with potential sources of promising candidates for Horizon’s programming, including hiring managers and other key contacts at other nonprofits, universities, and professional organizations, as well as individual referrers.
• Broker information‑sharing relationships with key peer organizations; ensure compliance with any relevant privacy and/or consent requirements.

As a small and fast‑moving team, we are open to adjusting this role's portfolio based on an excellent candidate's aptitudes and interests. Depending on your background and strengths, additional or alternative responsibilities could include:

• Growing our advising program, which currently enables hundreds of individuals to receive 1‑1 career support calls focused on emerging technology policy transitions. This could involve coordinating our network of external advisors, managing contractors who provide specialized support (e.g. federal resume coaching, interview training), providing personalized guidance to top candidates, and ensuring advising quality across the team
• Running hiring rounds for Horizon staff positions
• Working directly with hiring managers at policy organizations in our network to fill high‑priority roles requiring specialized experience
• Conducting intensive outreach in priority networks where you might have a particular advantage (e.g. helping us better reach deeply technical talent in industry or academia)
• Other work that fits your strengths and Horizon's evolving needs

You may be a good fit if you

• Are highly organized, attentive to detail, and able to juggle multiple projects at once
• Enjoy having conversations with a wide range of people one‑on‑one as part of your daily work
• Communicate professionally in writing and conversation
• Enjoy investigating how systems work, experimenting with improvements, tracking outcomes, and related skills you'd build to refine our outreach and candidate assessment processes over time
• Can make calibrated assessments about a candidate’s interest in policy work, verbal and written communication skills, level of subject matter expertise in emerging technology, and fit for different roles

Additionally, Horizon has a strong team culture, and we expect you would fit well if you:

• Are entrepreneurial and a team player, adapting to new responsibilities as our fast‑growing organization’s needs may change over time
• Are growth‑minded and excited to give and receive regular feedback in order to maximize performance and impact across our team
• Are motivated by Horizon’s mission and excited to be part of a public service‑oriented, user‑focused, low‑ego, and collaborative team
• Can work in‑person in Washington, DC

Salary and benefits

The Program Director (Talent) will receive a salary of $110,000 - $150,000+ based on experience and seniority. As a small non‑profit Horizon has arranged its benefit structure to maximize flexibility for staff. Staff are not required to enroll in a fixed health insurance or retirement plan. Instead, staff have access to a benefits‑equivalent cash stipend, which they can use to purchase any of the two dozen health insurance plans on the DC public market (or just keep as an additional salary top‑up if they already have health insurance coverage through a parent or spouse) and contribute to a retirement account of their choosing.

Horizon additionally offers:

• Unlimited vacation
• 12 weeks of paid parental leave
• Up to $3,000+ per year in professional development funding
• Flexible working hours
• A productive, collaborative office

We can provide visa sponsorship for qualified candidates.

As an additional benefit in select cases, employees with subject‑matter expertise in emerging technology can get the unique opportunity to utilize Horizon’s placement expertise to do a public interest rotation for up to 12 months after working at Horizon for 2 years. At least 6 months notice must be given to redeem this benefit.

Application process

Interested candidates should express initial interest by filling out an application (The application process will involve paid work tests, a structured interview, reference checks, and a paid in‑person work trial. We will acknowledge receipt of all applications and aim to get back to candidates within 10 business days of the application deadline. Our ideal start date is April 2026, though flexibility is offered for exceptional candidates.

We welcome candidates from diverse backgrounds and experiences to apply. Strong candidates may not always fulfill all our required or desired criteria. Studies show that individuals from underrepresented groups may underestimate their qualifications. Therefore, we urge you not to self‑disqualify prematurely. If you are excited about this work, we strongly encourage you to apply.

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