Policy Fellow

Met Council is America’s largest Jewish charity dedicated to serving the needy. We fight poverty through comprehensive social services and by treating each client with compassion, integrity, and respect. Our programs are staffed by experts who help over 350,000 clients each year and advocate on behalf of all needy New Yorkers. Our services include 100% affordable housing at 21 locations, family violence services, Holocaust survivor assistance, geriatric social work, crisis intervention and the largest free kosher food distribution program in the world.

Our network of 101 food pantries, affordable housing sites, and affiliated JCCs provide services directly in neighborhoods across New York City.

Position Summary:

Met Council seeks a Policy Fellow to join our Policy and Advocacy team to support our work at the forefront of AI and labor policy, examining how generative and agentic AI is reshaping work, wages, and economic security for low-income New Yorkers, while also advancing Met Council's broader anti-poverty agenda: expanding food access, strengthening housing stability, and improving access to benefits and social services.

This is an early-career position designed for recent graduate school alumni or advanced degree candidates with a background or demonstrated interest in AI, technology policy, and its implications for workers and low-income populations, as well as one or more of the following: food and nutrition policy; affordable housing; or public benefits and social services. This position will develop expertise across Met Council's full policy portfolio through hands‑on policy, research, and advocacy work, with AI and labor as the primary focus.

The Fellow will conduct original research on AI's labor‑market impact, draft legislation and testimony for audiences including elected officials, convene stakeholders on AI accountability and worker protections, and engage government, industry, and civil society across City Hall, the State Capitol, and Washington, D.C. The fellowship's signature deliverable is a year‑long capstone research project examining how AI is reshaping the economic lives of the low‑income, immigrant, and religiously observant New Yorkers Met Council serves.

This position offers a rare opportunity to work at the intersection of frontline service delivery and high‑level policy advocacy in one of New York's most consequential anti‑poverty organizations. This is a temporary role currently funded for 12 months. It is a hybrid position (3 days on‑site, 2 days remote).

Policy Research and Analysis

• Examine the rapidly shifting landscape of AI and labor policy and its impact on low‑wage workers and low‑income communities, including how generative AI is accelerating economic displacement, alongside Met Council's additional policy priorities across city, state, and federal levels, including kosher and halal food access, affordable housing, and programs serving seniors and domestic violence survivors.
• Collaborate with the Policy Director to develop and implement a public policy agenda centered on AI accountability, including worker protections and transparency requirements as generative and agentic AI move into white‑ and pink‑collar work.
• Conduct analyses and identify advocacy opportunities in key local, state, and federal policy processes, helping shape legislative strategies and budgetary priorities. This includes sectoral deep‑dives and data work that builds the evidence base for Met Council's legislative asks.
• Draft legislation, testimony, correspondence, talking points, coalition memos, policy briefs, and reports for diverse audiences including elected officials, funders, and the public.
• Participate in advocacy efforts at City Hall, the State Capitol, and in Washington,…