Policy Quality Reviewer (f/m/d)
Volunteer role | Remote | Approximately 5-10 hours per week
Do you enjoy testing whether policy arguments are coherent, evidence-based and feasible? Can you assess complex proposals against clear standards while giving constructive feedback to volunteer policy developers? Are you committed to inclusive and participatory policymaking across Europe? Then apply to join Volt Europa's Policy Quality Review Team and help safeguard the quality and credibility of our policy portfolio.
Do you want to contribute to Europe's future?
Volt stands for a united and federal Europe, where everyone has equal opportunities to fulfil their unique potential. We strive to achieve the highest human, environmental, social, and technological development together. We are a pan-European political movement with more than 360 elected representatives across Europe, including 5 members of the European Parliament, over 35,000 members and hundreds of volunteers who work hard to make our vision a reality.
What will you be doing?
As a member of the Policy Quality Review Team, you will assess policy content and development processes against Volt's formal criteria. Depending on your skills and interests, you may:
review texts submitted through Volt's policy processes.
assess proposals for logical coherence, sound use of evidence and political, legal, administrative and financial feasibility.
check whether development processes were transparent, participatory and inclusive, engaged relevant stakeholders and considered different societal impacts.
give clear, actionable feedback, support authors through resubmission and make consistent, transparent approval decisions.
assess Political Statements and Electoral Campaign Programmes with the Political Team against the relevant policy and product criteria.
support periodic reviews of adopted Roadmaps and, within the team's mandate, identify minor updates where information is outdated or inaccurate.
evaluate completed policy processes, improve criteria and guidance and share lessons with the Policy Coordination Team.
join periodic online meetings, provide reliable progress updates and coordinate more closely during active reviews.
What skills do you need to excel in this role?
You do not need to tick every box. To excel in this role, you:
break down complex proposals, identify assumptions and assess whether problems, goals, evidence and measures form a coherent chain.
judge whether sources are credible, whether conclusions follow from the evidence and whether that evidence is complete and relevant.
apply standardised criteria consistently while using judgement for different policy contexts.
identify weaknesses directly and explain how a proposal can improve without taking over the authors' work or imposing your own policy preferences.
recognise blind spots and consider stakeholder participation, intersectionality, citizen perspectives, intergenerational effects and wider societal impacts.
communicate carefully across teams and cultures and handle disagreement or sensitive political questions with integrity.
What requirements do we ask for this role?
For this role, you:
have English proficiency at CEFR level C1 or above; English is the working language of Volt Europa's policy teams.
can critically analyse policy proposals, arguments and supporting material and communicate clear conclusions in writing and conversation.
can volunteer approximately 5-10 hours per week remotely; the work is largely asynchronous. Online meetings are scheduled based on the wider team's availability and may take place during working hours or in the evening.
are a Member of Volt Europa.
are committed to diversity, participation and evidence-based policymaking.
Nice to have
It would be helpful if you have:
formal training or practical experience in policymaking, policy analysis, academic research, law, economics or a related field.
experience reviewing policy, research, strategy or other analytical documents against defined criteria.
experience in a political, advocacy or volunteer-led organisation.
experience engaging stakeholders or assessing participatory processes.
additional European language skills.
What do we offer?
We offer:
a flexible, remote volunteering environment with collaborators across Europe.
a central role in strengthening the quality, credibility and inclusiveness of Volt's policy portfolio.
hands-on experience assessing policy content, evidence and participatory development processes.
the opportunity to help shape a newly established review function and its standards.
collaboration with European Communities and policy developers across Volt Europa.
How to apply
Does this volunteering opportunity excite you? We want to hear from you! To ensure that we assess all applications objectively, we are not asking you to submit a cover letter or a CV. Instead, please answer the questions below through the application form accompanying this vacancy. We ask all applicants the same questions so that we can understand what they could bring to the role. Please prepare your answers carefully and make sure that you submit the form correctly. Applications are assessed on a rolling basis.
If you have questions about the vacancy or experience difficulty accessing the form, please contact [email protected].