Tech Policy Manager

dūcō latin: I lead, guide.

How to Apply

Please email your resume and cover letter to jobs@ducoexperts.com. Due to the high volume of applications, only the top candidates selected for interviews will be contacted. Only candidates who are based in the Bay Area will be considered for the role. If you plan to move prior to starting, please let us know your application email.

About Duco

Duco’s mission is to empower leading companies to operate safely, securely, and responsibly by mobilizing the world’s leading experts to help solve complex challenges. Duco is reinventing the way executives access and hire experts to meet the elevated demands of the most competitive organizations in the world. With a roster of thousands of world-class experts and partner organizations in over 70 countries, Duco builds and manages project-specific teams to deliver innovative and impactful solutions.  

The world’s largest and fastest-growing internet companies depend on Duco to surge their international capacity and expertise, and help navigate urgent, high-stake, and multilingual initiatives. Duco’s proprietary technology platform and unique business model allow us to outpace other firms on agility, speed, and quality. Our primary areas of focus are artificial intelligence safety, digital threats, security, intelligence, and technology policy–including content policy, policy development, enforcement, privacy, regulation, public policy, and international stakeholder engagement. 

Duco is a venture-backed company and our leadership and investors sit at the intersection of the Silicon Valley tech industry, international business, and foreign policy. Duco is a woman-owned small business headquartered in San Francisco, California.  

Duco Culture & Values

You will join a talented and high-performing team that delivers industry-defining products and services our clients expect. Our team is diverse in background and worldview. Inclusion, integrity, collaboration, and innovation are the foundation of our work. We maintain a meritocratic organization with opportunities for ambitious employees to grow their careers and network in the field. Our company values reflect these aims and expectations for our staff:

1. Think like a CEO
2. Focus on impact
3. Build relationships and trust
4. Obsess over solving clients’ problems
5. Innovate and simplify
6. Grow

Your Opportunity

We are seeking a Manager to join our team who is an experienced (6-10 years), driven, and charismatic professional excited to help shape, lead, and grow the Tech Policy vertical at a fast-growing and innovative company. You will join Duco to lead, manage, and scale revenue and client engagements, working across a variety of organizations to help form, refine, and mature client thinking and approaches on topics ranging from trust & safety to emerging technologies to geopolitics to technology regulation and more.  

You will have supervisory responsibility and lead the team’s project delivery, professional growth, and support of business development efforts. You will report to Duco’s COO, Neema Basri, and work with our clients and experts to design strategies and drive high-impact company priorities. Externally, you will represent Duco and build relationships with multiple stakeholders. 

Areas of Responsibility

You will manage client work and expert teams for our tech policy solutions. Your primary objective will be to manage and deliver these programs, help your team develop their existing skills, retain and expand these client accounts, and acquire new clients in your portfolio. Your projects will span Fortune 1000 companies, fast-growing internet and technology companies, and organizations focused on solving global technology challenges. The opportunity to meet new people and build relationships with world-renowned experts will be immensely rewarding for the right candidate.

Client Management, Retention & Program Design

• Direct Existing Programs: Own your accounts and ensure success; oversee the delivery of our client-facing workstreams by working with our Duco team and experts.
• Maintain & Strengthen Client Relationships: Be the face of Duco by managing day-to-day client programming and interactions. You will often serve as one of, or the key point of contact, to the client throughout our client’s engagement with Duco. 
• Optimize Internal Processes: Deploy better approaches and best practices; constantly improve your programs, processes, and our client support.

Portfolio & Team

• Manage and Develop the Team: You will be the day-to-day supervisor for any direct reports, managing all individuals, their performance, and their growth at Duco. 
• Support Business Development: Generate and act on leads to other teams within your client organizations, or at new organizations.
• Build New, Tailored Solutions: Design and sell new deliverables and services to your existing—and new—client accounts; work with your colleagues and experts to architect curated client solutions.

Strategy, Operations, & Management 

Help Guide Growth & the Business: As your accounts grow, increasingly manage more people, processes, and budgets. 

Improve Our Technology: Provide strategic input on Duco’s online platform product; pass meaningful feedback to the engineering team.

Oversee Our Internal Security Protocols: Improve and implement security and confidentiality protocols for the company to ensure compliance and best practices.

Key Qualifications 

A great candidate for this position should have experience overseeing programs and projects, managing and developing teams, crafting executive-ready work products, and engaging in the sales process. The ideal candidate loves to meet new people and build relationships, thrives in a fast-paced environment, has a high attention to detail, and delivers products of excellent quality. Most importantly, the best candidate excels in a startup environment, has grit and an exceptional work ethic, and is excited to lead a team to build something extraordinary. Leading candidates will have:

• A desire to do something new and drive the growth of a young and fast-growing company to scale.
• 6+ years of experience in any of the following areas - program management, tech policy, trust & safety, geopolitics, national security, foreign policy, consulting, internal operations, risk management, or another relevant role of substance in the tech policy realm.
• Intellectual curiosity about emerging and complex ideas — specifically around new technologies, geopolitics, user safety, and regulation. 
• Experience leading teams with individuals who are at varying career stages tackling a diverse array of projects.  
• Working knowledge and a passion for topics related to tech policy, new/emerging technology, trust & safety, intelligence, data privacy, and/or geopolitics. 
• The ability to brief Duco executives and clients on the information needed to make critical decisions, reducing noise to enable strategic dialogues.
• Ability to consolidate and communicate large amounts of sometimes complex information clearly and concisely, both in writing and verbally.
• A focus on mission, team, and company; ability to serve as a leader, cultivate a strong work ethic, and continue building an inclusive company culture we are all proud of.
• The ability to figure out how to get things done under pressure with limited resources and a positive attitude.
• Recognition that this is a startup: no job is too big or too small.

At Duco, we prioritize recognizing and nurturing the strengths and growth areas of both you and your team members. As individuals join our team and opportunities develop, we customize aspects of roles to align with their strengths and areas of interest and development.

Location & Hours

Duco's headquarters is in the Mission neighborhood in San Francisco, CA. We operate on a hybrid work model: all employees are required to work from the office two designated days per week and may work remotely the other days. Employees attend about three week-long offsites each year. Occasional travel and other in-person activities, conferences, trainings, etc., may be required. 

Compensation & Benefits

You will receive a generous combination of salary, bonus, stock options, and access to a 401k and FSA plan. Additionally, Duco offers to pay 100% of employees’ healthcare plan premiums, which include medical and dental, and $1,000 per year towards professional development opportunities of your choice. Approved vacation is unlimited. Duco is closed at least 15 days per year, including the day after Thanksgiving and the full week between Christmas and New Year's Day. 

The base salary range for this full-time position is $95,0000-$120,000 and will receive a bonus based on individual and company performance. Our salary ranges are determined by a variety of factors including the functions of the role, experience, and geographic location. The range displayed on the job posting indicated the minimum and maximum target for a new hire into this position. Within the stated range, individual pay will be determined by additional factors, including job-specific skills, professional experience, and relevant education or training. Please note that the compensation range listed above reflects only the base salary, and does not factor monetary value of bonus, equity, or benefits. 

All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment at Duco without regard to race; creed; color; religion; national origin; sex; age; disability; sexual orientation; gender identity or expression; genetic predisposition or carrier status; veteran, marital, or citizenship status; or any other status protected by law.