Open Positions | Council on Foreign Relations

Available Positions in New York or Washington, DC

Available Positions in New York

Development Associate

The Council on Foreign Relations (CFR) relies on charitable contributions from individual and institutional donors to help support its programs and launch new initiatives. Development’s fundraising efforts include a $10+ million Annual Fund program, a planned giving program, foundation grants, major gifts, and various endowment programs.

The Development Associate will work closely with the Council’s development team to support a wide range of fundraising activities including individual and institutional outreach, reporting, and cultivation. This role will coordinate a reporting process for 40+ grants annually, work with CFR fellows and program staff to ensure compliance with reporting requirements and demonstrate impact, provide support for prospect research and proposal development as needed, and cultivate collaborative working relationships between Development and Studies as well as with staff throughout the organization. The Development Associate will report to the Director, Major Gifts and Development Strategy.

Program Assistant, Education Creative Content

The Council on Foreign Relations (CFR) creates innovative educational resources that seek to equip students with the knowledge, skills, and perspective—the global literacy—required to understand the forces, ideas, and institutions that shape today’s world. These resources include CFR Education multimedia explainers and simulations. Each resource comes with companion teaching resources and activities appropriate for a specific target audience, be it high school teachers, college professors, and/or their students.

The Program Assistant will support and help coordinate multimedia development and production for both editorial and marketing projects.

Research Associate, Russia Studies

CFR’s David Rockefeller Studies Program is one of the country’s largest foreign policy think tanks with a widely respected and influential research staff. The Studies Program aims to advance the discussion of American foreign policy and international affairs through its writing, publications, public outreach, and discussions.

The research associate will work under the direction of the distinguished fellow whose work focuses on Russia.

Program Assistant, Council Trips

The Council on Foreign Relations (CFR) is seeking a Program Assistant to support the Council Trips program, which offers high-end, foreign policy-focused travel experiences for CFR's membership and staff. This role involves assisting with trip development, outreach, and member registration. The Program Assistant will report to the Director of Council Trips.

Associate Director, Audio- Visual Management

The Audio-Visual Management team is seeking an Associate Director, AV Management to lead and oversee all aspects of audio/visual operations for all internal New York meetings and events as well as external rental events such as holiday parties, weddings, corporate conferences. We are looking for a strategic leader who combines deep technical expertise with strong project management skills, ensuring flawless event execution, innovative AV solutions, and efficient lifecycle management of AV equipment. The successful candidate will manage staff, coordinate complex projects, and drive continuous improvements while delivering best-in-class customer service and measurable operational results.

Program Coordinator, State and Local Officials Initiative, Outreach

CFR Outreach works to raise the profile of CFR and develop relationships with communities across the United States. Current initiatives focus on college and university students, educators, and administrators; state and local officials; local journalists; and congregational leaders and representatives of faith-based organizations.

Under the direction of the State and Local Officials Initiative lead (assistant director) and the vice president and director of the National Program and Outreach department, the program coordinator supports the work of the State and Local Officials Initiative, which builds relationships and provides programming, forums for discussion and the sharing of best practices, and resources for elected officials across the country.

Research Associate, History and Foreign Policy

CFR’s David Rockefeller Studies Program is one of the country’s largest foreign policy think tanks with a widely respected and influential research staff. The Studies Program aims to advance the discussion of American foreign policy and international affairs through its writing, publications, public outreach, and discussions.

The research associate will work under the direction of the senior fellow for history and foreign policy.

Please note that this position will begin in summer 2025.

Executive Assistant to the Senior Vice President and Director of Studies

The Council on Foreign Relations (CFR) is seeking an organized, proactive, and detail-oriented executive assistant to support the Senior Vice President and Director of Studies (SVP, DOS). This role is essential in supporting the SVP, DOS with administrative tasks and priorities. The EA, SVP, DOS will play a key role in assisting with the day-to-day operations of the Studies department, coordinating cross-functional initiatives, and ensuring the smooth execution of projects.

Please note that the start date for this position would be in mid to late June 2025.

Analyst, Greenberg Center for Geoeconomic Studies

The Analyst will work in the Maurice R. Greenberg Center for Geoeconomic Studies (CGS), the part of the Studies department that focuses on the intersection of international economics and international relations. We expect that the analyst will report to and primarily collaborate with the senior fellow and director of international economics. The balance of their time will be spent working with other CGS fellows.

This is an exceptional opportunity for a creative, rigorous, quantitatively oriented mind to develop original ideas and to analyze important questions at the intersection of economic policy and foreign policy. Recent holders of the position have gone on to high-responsibility positions in the White House, in central banks, and in investment banking, as well as to top graduate school programs.

Executive Assistant, Human Resources

The Executive Assistant, Human Resources (EA, HR) will work as part of the Human Resources team, providing support to CFR’s Chief Human Resources Officer (CHRO) and assisting with organizing team meetings and initiatives. The EA, HR will serve as a main point of contact in the HR department, triaging important updates to the appropriate team members. In addition, the EA, HR acts as a liaison between the various HR sub-groups and between offices. As the EA, HR is a key presence for the department, they will work full-time onsite in CFR’s New York offices. This position requires a high level of discretion and confidentiality and the ability to manage relationships both internally and externally.

Deputy Director, Studies Operations

CFR's David Rockefeller Studies Program is one of the country's largest foreign policy think tanks with a widely respected and influential research staff. The Director of Studies office manages and administers staffing, budgeting, and developing and implementing departmental procedures for the Studies Program. The deputy director will work under the direction of the senior vice president and the managing director for studies operations to help support the wide range of department activities.

Available Positions in Washington, DC

Research Associate, Global Health, Economics, and Development

CFR’s David Rockefeller Studies Program is one of the country’s largest and most respected foreign policy think tanks. The Studies Program aims to advance the discussion of American foreign policy and international affairs through its writing, publications, public outreach, and discussions.

As part of the Studies Program, the research associate will support the work of the Bloomberg Chair in Global Health, the director of CFR’s Global Health Program.

Please note that this position would begin in September 2025.

Research Associate, Climate Change Policy

CFR’s David Rockefeller Studies Program is one of the country’s largest foreign policy think tanks with a widely respected and influential research staff. The Studies Program aims to advance the discussion of American foreign policy and international affairs through its writing, publications, public outreach, and discussions.

As part of the Studies Program, the research associate will support the work of the Senior Fellow for Energy and Environment.

Please note that this position will begin in summer 2025.

Associate Director, Corporate Member Relations

Reporting to and working closely with the Managing Director, Corporate Member Relations, the Associate Director will ensure the highest level of corporate member interaction and will work on all matters related to corporate member relations, stewardship, retention, and business development.

Research Associate, Global Governance

CFR’s David Rockefeller Studies Program is one of the country’s largest foreign policy think tanks, with a widely respected and influential research staff. The Studies Program aims to advance the discussion of American foreign policy and international affairs through its writing, publications, public outreach, and discussions.

As part of the Studies Program, the research associate will support the work of the senior fellow for global governance.

Please note that this position will begin in summer 2025.

Research Associate, Southeast Asia and South Asia

CFR’s David Rockefeller Studies Program is one of the country’s largest foreign policy think tanks with a widely respected and influential research staff. The Studies Program aims to advance the discussion of American foreign policy and international affairs through its writing, publications, public outreach, and discussions.

The research associate will support the senior fellow for Southeast Asia and South Asia, whose work examines U.S. policy toward Southeast Asia, South Asia, China, and Australia, as well as issues of democracy and autocracy globally. The research associate will also spend a portion of their time supporting the work of other fellows and programs within the Studies Program.

How to Apply

Please click on the links above to learn more and apply directly for open positions in either the New York or Washington, DC office.

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Contact

email: recruitment@cfr.org

New York Office

58 East 68th Street
New York, NY 10065
tel 212.434.9400

Washington Office

1777 F Street, NW
Washington, DC 20006
tel 202.509.8400