Job Description

April 8, 2025

About the Peterson Foundation

The Peter G. Peterson Foundation (the “Foundation”) is working to secure a healthy, growing economy by addressing America’s long-term fiscal challenges. The Foundation partners with leading policy experts, elected officials and the public to build support for solutions to put America on a sustainable fiscal path. As a non-partisan organization, the Foundation engages in grant-making, partnerships, and research to educate and involve Americans from a variety of perspectives.

Department Summary

The Policy Team is a group of subject matter specialists who investigate and write about budget and economic policies in the United States. The team also develops and oversees grants to a variety of external partners. In recent months, the team has published analyses of major fiscal issues before Congress and developed grants with leading policy analysts from think tanks across the political spectrum to address fiscal policy concerns.

Position Summary

The primary role of the Vice President, Budget Analysis is to track, research, analyze and assess the impacts of current, proposed and potential fiscal policies in order to advance the goals of the Foundation. In doing so, the Vice President will engage with a range of research organizations from across the ideological spectrum to initiate new ideas, refine existing ones, and promote the combination of those most likely to address America’s long-term fiscal challenges.

A key element of this role is collaboration — working cross-functionally with other senior policy leaders at the Foundation, including those focused on tax policy, federal programs, and healthcare policy, as well as with the communications team to ensure research findings are clearly and effectively communicated. The ideal candidate will bring deep expertise in federal fiscal policy, experience with CBO and OMB scoring methodologies, and an ability to translate complex budgetary issues into accessible and impactful content. Key responsibilities include the following:

Fiscal and Economic Analysis

• Conduct and oversee long-term budget trajectory analysis, including revenue projections and economic assumptions.
• Assess the impact of major fiscal policies, including federal spending, taxation, and entitlement programs.
• Ensure research aligns with current policy debates and identifies opportunities to contribute meaningful insights.

Content Development and Public Engagement

• Oversee the creation of data-driven reports, charts, and blog posts that present budget trends and key policy issues.
• Work closely with the communications team to ensure research is visually compelling and accessible.
• Occasionally serve as a public-facing expert, speaking at conferences and engaging with media outlets.

Grantmaking and Research Partnerships

• Develop and manage grants to think tanks, academic institutions, and policy organizations to advance fiscal research.
• Lead collaborations with leading economic research institutions to generate new insights on long-term debt, economic growth, and fiscal sustainability.
• Ensure research and grants align with the Foundation’s broader policy and advocacy goals.

Cross-Functional Collaboration

• Work closely with three peer Vice Presidents covering tax policy, federal programs, and healthcare policy, ensuring fiscal research complements broader policy work.
• Engage with the Senior Vice President of Communications to shape content strategy and public messaging.
• Provide internal guidance on fiscal trends, helping to inform the Foundation’s strategy and policy positions.

About the Successful Candidate

The ideal candidate will be a recognized expert in federal budget policy, with strong economic forecasting and long-term fiscal planning skills. They should be a collaborative leader, comfortable working across teams and engaging with a diverse range of stakeholders, policymakers, and researchers. A background in Congressional Budget Office (“CBO”), Office of Management and Budget (“OMB”), congressional budget committees, or think tanks is strongly preferred. Other key qualifications include the following:

• Substantial experience (18+ years) in fiscal policy, budget analysis, or economic forecasting.
• Bachelor's degree required, advanced degree preferred.
• Deep knowledge of the federal budget process, including CBO scoring methodologies, OMB procedures, and long-term fiscal modeling.
• Ability to synthesize complex budget data into clear, compelling reports and public-facing content.
• Experience developing research partnerships with academic institutions, think tanks, or policy organizations.
• Proven collaboration skills, with the ability to work cross-functionally with policy, communications, and external stakeholders.
• Strong written and verbal communication skills, including the ability to engage with media, policymakers, and conference audiences.
• In order to build productive relationships across the organization and to ensure effective collaboration, this role requires in-person presence in accordance with the organization’s hybrid schedule of working in the office three days per week.

Salary and Benefits

We anticipate that the starting base salary range for this position will be $220,000 to $230,000, plus eligibility for an annual discretionary bonus. A final decision on the successful candidate’s starting salary will be based on a number of factors, such as skills, experience, qualifications, education, and the location in which the job will be performed. In addition, we offer an extensive benefits package to support our employees, including comprehensive health insurance, a substantial 401k match, paid time off, a hybrid work schedule and other flexible work policies.

To Apply

We are a dynamic, growing organization that embraces critical thinking, problem solving and innovative ideas. If you have relevant experience and qualifications, please send your resume to [email protected].

The Peter G. Peterson Foundation is proud to be an equal opportunity employer and encourages candidates of all backgrounds to apply to our organization. We offer a welcoming community that respects each individual and fosters a diverse set of experiences, perspectives, skills and ideas. We are committed to building a workplace in which every team member can thrive personally and professionally and contribute to our mission.

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