Center for Science in the Public Interest (CSPI), “Your Food and Health Watchdog,” is one of the nation’s leading public health advocacy organizations, with a 50-year record of fighting for public health and a food system that makes healthy, sustainable food accessible to all. We’ve led efforts to pass sweeping federal legislation that has shaped the food and nutrition environment in the United States. These include the Nutrition Labeling and Education Act and menu labeling provisions of the Affordable Care Act, which require nutrition information for packaged and restaurant foods; the Food Safety Modernization Act, which gave authority to the FDA to recall contaminated foods; and the Food Allergen Labeling and Consumer Protection Act, which requires clear labeling of foods containing leading allergens. 

CSPI also engages in regulatory advocacy and supports state and local policies to improve nutrition and food environments (e.g., sweetened beverage taxes, warning labels, added sugars and sodium reduction, and addressing harmful marketing practices), food safety (e.g., banning unsafe food chemicals, reducing chemical and pathogenic contaminants in food, reforming the Generally Recognized As Safe (GRAS) loophole, and improving ingredient disclosures and food allergen protections), and leveraging the power of public programs to improve nutrition and public health (e.g., school foods, Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP), The Emergency Food Assistance Program (TEFAP) and the broader charitable food system, and food procurement in public institutions such as carceral facilities). 

CSPI is seeking a Senior Policy Associate to join our Legislative Affairs team. This is an exciting opportunity for a legislative professional who wants to do meaningful advocacy work alongside a high-impact team. You'll play an important role in advancing CSPI's federal legislative priorities on a finite set of issue areas —while building relationships across Capitol Hill, the Executive Branch, and a broad coalition of national partners.

The Senior Policy Associate reports to the Director of Legislative Affairs and collaborates closely with relevant issue area leads across the organization. This position must be based in CSPI’s DC office, where we offer a hybrid work environment, which means employees may choose to work from home or in the office, and must be available for occasional in-person meetings in the office. 

Essential Duties and Responsibilities

Legislative Advocacy & Lobbying

• Build and maintain relationships with federal policymakers, including congressional staffers, members of Congress, and cabinet secretaries.
• Contribute to legislative advocacy related to the key must-pass bills (such as the Farm Bill or Child Nutrition Reauthorization), including coordinating on key marker bills, protecting priority provisions during conference negotiations, and helping to shape strategy for the next iteration.
• Contribute to federal legislative advocacy on non-must-pass legislation to advance public health, consumer protection, scientific rigor, transparency, and accountability.
• Support engagement with relevant White House and Executive Branch agencies on all CSPI programmatic priorities - nutrition, food safety, health, health equity, and environmental sustainability. 

Appropriations & Coalition Work

• Support the Director of Legislative Affairs throughout CSPI’s engagement in the annual appropriations process, including ranking organizational priorities, overseeing form submissions, and coordinating lobbying visits on our priorities.
• Support CSPI’s leadership role within the 500-member NANA Coalition and on the NANA Steering Committee. Drive forward information sharing, coordinated advocacy, and strong partnerships. 
• Represent the organization with national partners and in coalitions across the food and nutrition, food safety, and health space.
• Partner with CSPI's Engagement and Communications teams to amplify federal priorities.

Research, Writing & Communications

• Monitor federal legislation, policies, and congressional activity; draft organizational statements and summaries for strategic communications and public audiences.
• Translate complex legislative developments into clear, accessible information for diverse stakeholders and internal staff.
• Create and maintain advocacy resources, including fact sheets, case studies, infographics, talking points, grassroots alerts, testimony, and regulatory and legislative materials.

Events & Stakeholder Engagement

• Collaborate across teams to plan and execute Hill meetings, briefings, webinars, fly-ins, Hill Days, coalition meetings, and other advocacy events.

Grants & Team Support

• Contribute to grant deliverables and support reporting on legislative accomplishments.
• Mentor and supervise interns, supporting their professional growth.
• Contribute to departmental responsibilities as organizational needs evolve.

Qualifications

• Bachelor’s degree and at least 5 years of professional lobbying, legislative, or policy experience. 
• Prior lobbying experience and work related to federal programs.
• Knowledge of the federal legislative and appropriations process.
• Experience building relationships with congressional offices or federal agencies.
• Strong research, written and verbal communications skills, with the ability to speak effectively and persuasively, and to translate complex policies for varied audiences. 
• Excellent judgment and consistent professionalism, with the ability to take responsibility for multiple projects and deadlines in a fast-paced environment.
• Experience working with a variety of diverse stakeholders credibly and professionally.  
• Commitment to advancing diversity, equity, and inclusion at the intersection of public health and social justice, and the ability to promote it throughout the work.
• Proficiency with MSOffice applications, social media, advocacy tools, and other web-based applications. 

CSPI on Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion

CSPI is committed to including and valuing diverse voices and fostering a culture that ensures all staff feel a sense of belonging and are encouraged to be their best selves. In that spirit, each of us is committed to putting in constant work to live up to our organization’s core values:

• We are inclusive. We seek to foster an environment where all staff feel a sense of belonging and are affirmed. We actively welcome and value staff with different experiences, backgrounds, attributes, abilities, and perspectives.
• We are open. We are honest and direct in how we communicate with each other.      
• We are kind. We communicate and treat one another in a respectful, generous,      considerate, and compassionate way.
• We are collaborative. We work together for the common good and shared success.
• We are accountable. We acknowledge and assume responsibility for our actions, learn from our mistakes with humility, and change course when circumstances warrant.

Position and Salary Level

This role may be structured as a Policy Associate or Senior Policy Associate, depending on the candidate's relevant experience and qualifications. Estimated salary ranges for the two roles:

• Policy Associate: $60,000 to $65,000 (minimum of 2 years of professional relevant experience)
• Senior Policy Associate: $73,000 to $75,000 (job description qualifications)

The position level and the actual salary offered will be based on many factors, including but not limited to job-related knowledge, skills, and experience, internal pay equity, budget, and other business and organizational needs. Candidates are encouraged to apply regardless of which level they believe best reflects their experience. CSPI will determine the appropriate level during the hiring process.

CSPI offers a comprehensive benefits package that includes: 3 weeks of annual vacation leave; additional paid holiday leave between December 24 and January 1; 8 weeks of paid parental leave; excellent medical and dental insurance with CSPI paying a significant portion of employee and dependent premiums; and a 3% employer match contribution to the retirement plan after six months of service. We also offer ½ day Fridays, which means full-time staff work 36 hours per week. 

To Apply

Please submit a resume and cover letter highlighting relevant experience. The application deadline is 7/17/26. However, applications will be considered on a rolling basis, and we may close the position before 7/17. 

CSPI is committed to building a team that represents a variety of backgrounds, perspectives, and skills and encourages people of diverse ages, sexual orientations, gender identities and expressions, disabilities, religions, races, ethnicities, socioeconomic statuses, work, and life experiences to apply.

Research indicates members of marginalized groups tend to underestimate their qualifications and apply only if they are a 100% match. If you are passionate about CSPI's mission and think you have what it takes to be successful in this role, even if you don’t check all the boxes, please apply. We’d appreciate the opportunity to consider your application.