How to apply for Communications Senior Associate

About Institute for AI Policy and Strategy

The Institute for AI Policy and Strategy is a nonprofit that produces research for policy recommendations aimed at reducing risks from frontier AI systems. The communications role sits between technical AI policy research and the audiences who need to understand it.

About the role

This role runs communications operations and turns AI policy research into accessible content for different stakeholders. You will track deliverables from assignment to publication, coordinate approvals across teams, and produce web, social, and newsletter copy. The work directly shapes how AI policy research reaches policymakers and other audiences.

A typical day

A typical day might involve editing a research summary into newsletter copy, chasing approvals on a draft, and updating a content calendar. You would also coordinate with researchers on upcoming publications and check web or social content against the style guide. The exact rhythm depends on the team's publication schedule, so ask about it in the interview.

Who Institute for AI Policy and Strategy is looking for

• 5+ years combining hands-on writing with editorial or project operations, ideally in a policy environment
• Strong writing, editing, and CMS skills, with the ability to repurpose technical research into platform-ready formats
• Comfortable managing deliverables end to end, including approvals and handoffs across teams
• Willing and able to travel internationally at least two weeks per year

Tips for this application

• Show a writing sample that translates a technical AI or policy topic for a non-specialist audience; this is the core skill the role tests.
• Describe your project operations experience in concrete terms: which tools you used to track deliverables, how you handled approvals, and how many projects you ran at once.
• Name the CMS platforms you have used and what you did in them, since the job listing explicitly requires CMS skills.
• Confirm in your application that you can travel internationally at least two weeks annually; this is listed as essential, so address it directly.
• Reference specific IAPS research or publications and explain how you would repurpose one of them for a different platform.

What to cover in your cover letter

Explain how you have translated technical or policy research for non-expert audiences, with a concrete example. Describe your system for tracking deliverables from assignment through publication and coordinating approvals across teams. Give evidence of writing and editing across web, social, and newsletter formats. State your availability for at least two weeks of international travel per year.

Research before applying

• Read recent IAPS publications and note which ones would benefit from better communications or repurposing
• Understand IAPS's focus on frontier AI systems and the policy recommendations it produces
• Look at IAPS's current web, social, and newsletter output to assess tone, format, and gaps
• Check who IAPS writes for (policymakers, researchers, other stakeholders) and how that shapes its content

Likely interview topics

Based on the job description, expect questions about:

• How you would turn a piece of IAPS AI policy research into social, newsletter, and web copy
• Your process for tracking deliverables and coordinating approvals across research and communications teams
• How you handle quality control and updates to style guides and templates
• Your experience writing about AI policy or other technical policy topics for different stakeholders
• How you prioritise when multiple deliverables are in production at once

Common mistakes to avoid

• Submitting writing samples full of jargon that a general policy audience would not understand
• Describing project management in vague terms without naming tools, workflows, or approval processes
• Ignoring the international travel requirement or treating it as optional