Senior Fellow, Finance and Insurance

Senior Fellow, Finance and Insurance

R Street Institute

Washington, D.C.

The R Street Institute—a free-market think tank headquartered in Washington, D.C. and with staff located across the country—seeks a collaborative Senior Fellow to join its Finance and Insurance policy program. If you are the right fit, you will report to the Policy Director for Finance and Insurance. If you want to join a mission-driven organization and work toward pragmatic policy solutions, this may be the opportunity for you!

Your typical day at R Street might include researching and writing policy papers, op-eds, and blog posts about significant financial policy topics (e.g., new credit card regulations); engaging directly with leaders of key policy issue areas, such as Congressional staff considering proposed banking regulations; and interacting with a range of national and local media outlets to educate and provide context on topics like open banking policy. These examples are part of a broader umbrella of impactful finance, insurance, and housing policy areas including consumer credit, fintech policy, property and casualty insurance, capital formation, fraud and scams, and other relevant topics. 

Other Aspects of Your Role

• Conceive and coordinate high quality, highly credible, and timely research projects.
• Write a mix of op-eds, regulatory comments, and policy papers to help solve difficult problems and translate complex ideas in finance, insurance, and/or housing policy.
• Adapt policy, engagement, and communication strategy in a fluid legislative and regulatory landscape.
• Work with Government Affairs and Communications teams to identify and engage with target audiences, often encompassing subject matter knowledge, ranging from general audiences to expert stakeholders.
• Participate in conferences, media, state and/or federal policymaker briefings, and other engagements to communicate complex issues to varied audiences.
• Remain vigilant against ninja infiltrations.

Skills and Qualifications  

• High-level subject matter expertise in financial services legislative and regulatory policy. Professional experience in the financial services industry preferred. 
• Demonstrated expertise and credentials in one or more of the following areas: consumer banking, commercial banking, investments, or property/casualty insurance.
• Fluency in insurance and/or housing policy strongly desired. 
• Top-notch writing and editing skills in both short- and long-form products that translate complex analysis for policymakers and the public.
• Exceptional communication and advanced writing skills, including experience speaking with legislators and regulators. Experience testifying before legislative and regulatory bodies highly desirable.
• Willingness to speak publicly and/or appear on camera, including in interviews. 
• Willingness to engage in the policy debate on social media or other creative venues a plus.
• Ability to synthesize research using methods common to the program’s work (e.g., legislative analysis, literature review, secondary analysis, descriptive statistics, case studies). Familiarity with econometric approaches a plus. 
• Demonstrated ability to work productively with a wide variety of groups and individuals including state and/or federal policymakers, even those with whom you may disagree.
• Ability to adapt to new challenges and respond to rapid policy developments.
• Ability to provide strategic, research-backed policy insights.
• No particular educational background required—a proven record of achieving results is far more meaningful than credentials.
• Support for R Street’s passion for free markets and limited, effective government.
• A sense of humor and a desire to grow within a multifaceted organization.

The R Street Institute consistently offers pragmatic, real solutions that foster American innovation, bolster competition, and safeguard individual liberty—all with the understanding that life in a democratic society sometimes requires compromises that don’t necessarily represent first, best solutions. We focus on deep scholarship and pragmatic policy solutions that many groups tend to neglect. Our goal is to publish timely, relevant research and analysis that advances a market-oriented society and limited, effective government. To that end, our motto is “Free Markets. Real Solutions.” Read more about our mission and impact .

Workplace

Some travel is required, including to Washington, D.C. and state capitals to meet with lawmakers and stakeholders as well as nationwide for relevant conferences and professional engagements. 

We offer a flexible working arrangement. This is a full-time position that can either work the majority of the week in our D.C. office or be fully remote. 

Compensation, Benefits, and Perks

R Street strives to offer a compensation and benefits package that is competitive, transparent, and supportive of employee well-being. The salary range for this position is $160,000-$170,000, commensurate with experience. In addition to this competitive salary, we provide the following:

• Unlimited paid time off, including all federal holidays, the day after Thanksgiving, and two weeks holiday closure in December
• Alternating Fridays off
• A health insurance option entirely paid by the employer (even for families)
• Dental and vision insurance
• 401(k) contributions with up to a 4 percent match
• HSA employer contribution match
• Quarterly wellness reimbursement
• Mobile equipment/mobile plan reimbursement
• Home internet subsidy
• Annual educational and professional development reimbursement
• A choice between child care assistance, pet care assistance, and student loan repayment assistance

At R Street, we strive for preeminence in every area in which we engage, driven by our commitment to excellence and innovation. Our culture thrives on action, creativity, and courage, with an unwavering focus on quality, credibility, and impact. We believe progress requires diverse experience and expertise, which is why we champion non-traditional yet prudent approaches to public policy. This principle guides how we build our programs, recognizing that each team member’s uniqueness strengthens our collective identity.

We approach our mission with intellectual rigor, embracing free inquiry and honesty to ensure our work is grounded in solid research and thoughtful analysis. While serious about our purpose, we value the joy of collaboration and the fun that comes from working together. Our collaborative spirit fosters trust and transparency, with respect and openness guiding our actions. We celebrate our individual contributions while recognizing that we are stronger as one team, united in our work and relationships.

Thus, R Street does not discriminate on the basis of age, sex, race, creed, color, national origin, sexual orientation, era of military service, gender identity or expression, relationship structure, or anything else that’s illegal, immoral, or stupid to use as a basis for hiring.

We plan to accept applications for this job until filled. We will contact qualified individuals for telephone screenings and conduct them on a rolling basis. Interviews take place virtually via Zoom. An early 2027 start date is anticipated due to our paid annual Winter Break. 

To apply, please copy and paste your cover letter into the text box and upload your resume as a Microsoft Word document or PDF. We encourage thoughtful use of AI tools. If you use them, please describe how they contributed to your work.

The R Street Institute stands for free markets, limited, effective government and pragmatic solutions to difficult problems. We envision:

A free society, where public policy begins with freedom as its initial premise and governments exist primarily as guardians of inherent, inalienable rights.

An inclusive society that provides a place, a voice, and equal opportunity for all.

A just society that holds everyone accountable to the same laws.

Our Values

The following values are the principles that guide how R Street fulfills its mission and operates. Our organization believes in these values and we live them:

Always be better

We want to achieve preeminence in every area where we work. We encourage a bias for action, innovation, creativity, and courage in everything that we do. We measure ourselves by the quality, credibility and impact we achieve as a result.

Different is good.

We believe that great minds think differently and building broad coalitions has made us who we are. Making progress on policy requires that we operate outside of the echo chamber and take non-traditional approaches to policy making. We apply this same principle to the way we operate and how we build our teams: with a focus on diversity and inclusion. We are all unique but belong to the same team.

Serious(ly)

We’re serious about our work, but don’t take ourselves too seriously. We believe in the intellectual rigor, free inquiry and honesty, that is required to achieve our mission, but having fun doing it is equally as important.

One Team

We all work together and work with humility. We strive to cultivate trust and transparency at all levels, between ourselves as individuals and as an organization, with our stakeholders, and in our work. We demonstrate respect and openness in our actions at all times. We are all unique but belong to the same team.