Policy Strategist

About this role

About Nava

Nava is a consultancy and public benefit corporation working to make government services simple and effective. Since 2015, federal, state, and local agencies have trusted Nava to help solve highly scrutinized technology modernization challenges.

As a client services company, we guide agencies constrained by legacy systems to a future with sharp user experiences built on secure, reliable, fault-tolerant cloud infrastructure. We bill for our time, offering our expertise and problem-solving approach to help our government partners enhance their digital products and services. People are at the heart of our work, from members of the public who rely on benefit programs to government agency staff. Through human-centered design and modern engineering best practices, we help our government partners understand user needs and deliver on their missions more effectively. This focus gives everyone at Nava the opportunity to do work that is meaningful, impactful, and deeply connected to public good.

Please note: the level of the role will be determined by Nava leadership based on experience and skillset.

Position Summary

Nava is at the forefront of reimagining how our government serves its people, and we’re looking for a Policy Strategist to help us increase our impact within government. Policy Strategists at Nava help teams navigate complex policy environments by turning policy into decisions, tradeoffs, and actionable direction. We work across disciplines—including product, design, and engineering—to ensure systems are compliant, effective, and grounded in real-world policy and program operations.

You are a strategic and outcomes-oriented thinker, adept at identifying patterns across complex information and making thoughtful decisions that impact various teams, both internal and external. You possess excellent communication skills and balance rigorous analysis with a practical mindset to drive clear, high-quality decisions and forward progress. You have the ability to develop research plans, and synthesize analyses into concrete recommendations that positively impact service experience outcomes. You stay up to date about technology, legislation, and policy trends, and care deeply about improving the way government programs operate.

What we're looking for:

• Skilled at turning research and policy signals into recommendations for technical solutions and opportunities for advocacy and external engagement

• An adaptive, empathetic, collaborative, and positive mindset

• Highly resourceful, reliable, and detail-oriented

• Comfortable with ambiguous, rapidly-evolving environments with many parallel threads

What You’ll Do

Policy Translation & Implementation

• Partner with cross-functional teams to translate policy into system behavior, workflows, and user experiences

• Identify regulatory constraints, risks, and ambiguities — including edge cases, eligibility requirements, and business rules — and propose solutions that balance compliance, user experience, and delivery needs

• Create artifacts (e.g., policy briefs, decision frameworks, process flows) to support decision-making and prioritization

• Support testing and validation of policy implementation (e.g., scenario and edge case testing)

Research, Strategy & Advocacy

• Conduct landscape and cross-jurisdictional research to monitor evolving policies and translate them into implications for implementation, technology, and engagement opportunities

• Synthesize research into clear written and verbal communication for a range of different internal and external audiences

• Identify partnership opportunities and maintain relationships with external stakeholders to support partnership, advocacy, and thought leadership efforts

• Contribute to advocacy strategy development and execution

Required Skills

• At least 5 years of experience in policy analysis, or a combination of relevant graduate-level education and experience

• Hands-on experience analyzing, interpreting, or implementing Medicaid policies and programs

• Strong ability to build and nurture relationships with both internal teams and external partners

• Self-directed and comfortable working independently with minimal supervision

• Excellent verbal and written communication skills, including technical and policy contexts

• Understanding of public programs, ideally at multiple levels of government

• Ability to document research processes, findings, and recommendations clearly, concisely, and in an organized manner

Desired Skills

• Experience working within agile delivery and human-centered design processes (sprint ceremonies, design reviews, user research)

• Experience working on government technology modernization, civic tech, or large-scale systems change

• Graduate degree in public policy, public administration, or related field

• Available to work regular business hours Pacific Standard Time

This position is represented by Nava United

Compensation
$109,800—$121,500 USD

Other requirements

All roles at Nava require the following:

Legal authorization to work in the United States

Ability to meet any other requirements for government contracts for which candidates are hired

Work authorization that doesn’t require visa sponsorship, now or in the future

May be subject to a government background check or security clearance, depending on the contract

Perks working with Nava

Health coverage — comprehensive medical, dental, and vision plans to support your overall health needs

Insurance coverage — Nava provides disability, life, and accidental death insurance at no cost

Time off — vacation, holidays (including Juneteenth), and floating holidays to rest and recharge

Company holidays — enjoy 12 paid federal holidays each year on top of your regular PTO

Annual bonus — when Nava meets its goals, eligible employees receive a performance-based annual bonus

Parental leave — paid time off for new parents, plus weekly meals delivered to your home

Wellness…