director, mission for america project

📍 Remote
📅 Full-time
💰 Competitive Salary

about the mission for america

The Mission for America (MFA) is a blueprint for a comprehensive economic mobilization to build an economy that is prosperous, clean, and resilient for all. It is a policy framework, a national business plan and a political strategy offered to leaders searching for a path out of decline that can deliver a better life for most Americans and stop the rise of authoritarianism. It is also a template for leaders in other nations to develop their own national missions to achieve the same goals for the whole world.

A global mission to build a safe, clean and prosperous economy is urgently needed to solve several looming crises:

• The political crisis of legitimacy that governments face in nearly every country where expectations of economic progress have been frustrated, sometimes for generations;
• The crisis of global warming and the general destruction and poisoning of the environment, ecosystems, and food and water supplies;
• The developing crisis of runaway technologies such as AI and ultra destructive weapons of war.

Learn more about Mission for America here.

position overview

New Consensus seeks a Director to lead the Mission for America Project. The Director will be responsible for building and managing a high-performing research and writing team to complete the first draft of the MFA before the end of 2025. Working closely with the executive director, the president, senior advisors, and staff, the Director will help design bold, detailed solutions that are fast, technically feasible and capable of transforming the U.S. economy as rapidly as possible.

When completed, the Mission for America will be a comprehensive plan made up of more than 20 national missions covering different industries, sectors and needs of the U.S. economy. These plans fit together to make each other possible. For example, the plan to build a world class EV industry only makes sense in the context of the plans for converting to clean steel, scaling up clean power production, and others. Currently, several of the plans are either completed or close to completed but could use some updating and revising for writing and organization.

By completing the Mission for America, you and your team will become experts on what it will take to rapidly build a clean economy — having done a deep dive on virtually every industry, type of infrastructure, program and policy that can get us there.

key responsibilities

• Team Building and Management
• • Recruit, hire, and onboard researchers, policy analysts, and strategists.
  • Provide mentorship, leadership, and day-to-day management to the research team.
  • Foster a mission-driven, collaborative, and intellectually rigorous team culture.
• Research and Policy Development
• • Drive the development of detailed, actionable policy solutions aligned with the Mission for America’s goals.
  • Ensure that all proposed solutions are feasible and comprehensive.
  • Work with the executive director, president and advisors to continually refine and evolve the framework.
  • Identify, contact and interview scientists, engineers, managers, entrepreneurs, investors, policy experts, consultants and others across every sector of the economy. You must be comfortable picking up the phone and using creative tactics to get through to the figures who have answers we need — and lead your team to do this too!
• Strategic Leadership
• • Collaborate closely with the Executive Director, senior advisors, and advisors to align research and policy development with strategic goals.
  • Help manage the development of ideas and inputs from diverse internal and external stakeholders.
  • Continuously expand and refine your deep understanding of industrial policy, climate policy, specific industries and technologies, economics, public investment strategies, and economic history to inform the project.
• External Management
• • Support media appearances, stakeholder briefings, and partnerships that raise awareness and support for Mission for America.
  • Represent New Consensus and Mission for America in high-level discussions with policymakers, experts, and allied organizations when appropriate.

qualifications

• Deep commitment to the specific approach of the Mission for America (see below).
• Demonstrated experience recruiting, managing, and inspiring a research or policy team.
• Exceptional organizational skills with a track record of moving ambitious projects from concept to execution.
• Strong policy acumen across one or more relevant areas: industrial policy, climate policy, public finance, economic development, national mobilization strategies, or economic history.
• Ability to think creatively, move quickly, and operate outside of conventional political or policy constraints.
• Exceptional writing, synthesis, and communication skills.
• Comfort working in a start-up environment: flexible, resourceful, and able to build systems from scratch.
• Self-motivated and self-driving in a remote context.

preferred

• Experience working in or with public investment institutions, major industrial sectors, or large-scale policy initiatives.
• Advanced degree in a relevant field (e.g., public policy, economics, engineering, environmental studies) is a plus.

here's what you need to be aware of applying for this role:

The MFA is a plan designed to serve a future moment that may never come. We’re doing it anyways, just in case it does, and to help ensure it does! It is designed for a moment when the U.S. has political leaders who are willing to call the country to embark on the Mission for America or something like it. We believe that could be as soon as 2028 and we believe the Mission for America can help that to happen.

The MFA's purpose is both to help leaders see that this kind of bold leadership is possible, and to succeed when they take the leap. We believe that part of the trick to getting leaders to think big is to spell out exactly what going big would look like. You can't work toward a destination you can't imagine. That’s why the MFA is a model for the sweeping political strategy required to turn America around, but also a detailed blueprint for the policies, programs, and institutions that will be needed to build a new economy that works for all.

Respected economists, famous journalists, and important political staffers will tell you that this is a pie-in-the-sky waste of time. If you will be swayed by those voices, this is not the role for you.

We are serious about developing plans for building a new economy through a WWII-style rapid mobilization. We believe that leaders entering the White House and Congress in 2026 and 2028 should have a vision for a 10-years-or-less transition to a clean and prosperous economy. We believe that the only practical way to build such an economy is comprehensively and rapidly. A quantity of momentum and disruption are needed that cannot be generated with piecemeal reform.

Moreover, we unapologetically believe that it is not a cliché or an overreaction to say that the crises humanity faces from global warming, the rise of authoritarianism, and runaway technology are truly dire and, yes, even “existential.”

We believe humanity already has a solution for getting out of this mess we’re in. We call it "mission mode." In mission mode, a country clears obstacles to building and creates institutions and industries that can build. Sweeping economic mobilizations that reestablish broad based prosperity have been routine for the past two centuries. This is a new capacity of nations that humanity has developed and demonstrated many times in countries that have leaped from poverty to wealth or decline to prosperity.

We believe the time has come for the Mission for America. Our society is about to enter a moment of debate about what should come after the chaos Trump leaves behind. Some will call for a "return to normal", others will attempt to mimic Trump's bullying and abuses. We believe this is the time to call America to a mission to build a new economy that provides prosperity for all.

The MFA Director role is a rare opportunity to shape the future of American industrial, economic, and climate policy at a pivotal moment.

If you’re excited to work on a project committed to these ideas, then please apply! If you need more information, we recommend reading a couple of books from our reading list first: Bad Samaritans (Chang, 2007), Destructive Creation (Wilson, 2016) and Unprecedented Power (just the second half  — Fenberg, 2011).

compensation

Competitive salary commensurate with experience. Benefits include health insurance, and retirement contributions.

to apply

Please send a resume and a short statement of interest explaining why you are excited about the Mission for America and why you would be a great fit for this role to jobs@newconsensus.com.

researcher, mission for america project

📍 Remote
📅 Full-time
💰Competitive salary

about the role

New Consensus is hiring Researchers to join the Mission for America Project — a bold, urgent initiative to design a blueprint for a rapid, comprehensive transformation of the U.S. economy. As a Researcher, you will work directly under the Mission for America Project Director to investigate and draft detailed plans that make up this economic mobilization agenda. Your work will be instrumental in producing a clear, technically feasible, and compelling vision for national-scale industrial and climate policy.

key responsibilities

• Conduct in-depth research across a wide range of topics including industry-specific policy, infrastructure, technology, public investment, and economic history.
• Become an expert in how to decarbonize and solve other problems with several industries and sectors of the U.S. economy through reading but more importantly though interviews with engineers, scientists, business owners,founders and other figures.
• Draft clear, rigorous, and engaging sections of the Mission for America framework.
• Collaborate closely with other researchers and the Director to ensure policy proposals are interlocking, comprehensive, technically feasible, and rooted in reality.
• Interview experts, practitioners, and stakeholders across sectors — including scientists, engineers, managers, policymakers, and investors — to uncover insights and test ideas.
• Incorporate feedback from the Director, executive team, and senior advisors to refine drafts and iterate on policy ideas.
• Stay current on relevant trends in industrial policy, clean energy, technology, and economic strategy.

qualifications

• Deep interest in the Mission for America’s approach and willingness to learn fast. (Applicants are encouraged to read the MFA Project Director job description for additional context.)
• Strong analytical, writing, and communication skills.
• Demonstrated experience in research, policy development, or strategic writing — either academically, professionally, or through independent work.
• Ability to work independently and collaboratively in a fast-paced, remote team environment.
• Comfort with reaching out to experts and tracking down difficult-to-find information.
• Self-motivated and eager to solve big problems creatively.

preferred

• Background in public policy, economics, engineering, environmental studies, or a related field.
• Experience working in or researching industrial sectors, public investment programs, or national economic strategies.

compensation

Competitive salary commensurate with experience. Benefits include health insurance and retirement contributions.

to apply

Please send a resume and a short statement of interest explaining why you are excited about the Mission for America and why you would be a great fit for this role to jobs@newconsensus.com.