How to hire a public policy mediator

How to hire a public policy mediator, step by step

Here's a step-by-step public policy mediator hiring guide:

• Step 1: Identify your hiring needs
• Step 2: Create an ideal candidate profile
• Step 3: Make a budget
• Step 4: Write a public policy mediator job description
• Step 5: Post your job
• Step 6: Interview candidates
• Step 7: Send a job offer and onboard your new public policy mediator
• Step 8: Go through the hiring process checklist

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1. Identify your hiring needs

   Before you start hiring a public policy mediator, identify what type of worker you actually need. Certain positions might call for a full-time employee, while others can be done by a part-time worker or contractor.

   Determine employee vs contractor status

   Is the person you're thinking of hiring a US citizen or green card holder?

   Yes

   No

   A public policy mediator's background is also an important factor in determining whether they'll be a good fit for the position. For example, public policy mediators from different industries or fields will have radically different experiences and will bring different viewpoints to the role. You also need to consider the candidate's previous level of experience to make sure they'll be comfortable with the job's level of seniority.

   This list shows salaries for various types of public policy mediators.

   Type of Public Policy Mediator	Description	Hourly rate
   Public Policy Mediator	Arbitrators, mediators, and conciliators facilitate negotiation and dialogue between disputing parties to help resolve conflicts outside of the court system.	$13-42
   Policy Internship	A policy intern is responsible for supporting the government in researching and analyzing legislation policies, recommending revisions to match law guidelines and state regulations. Policy interns perform administrative tasks under the guidance of a direct supervisor, such as writing reports, drafting content for policy proposals, scheduling meetings, and facilitating public programs and activities... Show more	$16-56
   Public Affairs Internship	A public affairs intern is responsible for performing administrative duties to support the public affairs operations on media relations and developing strategies to maintain the department's integrity for social responsibility. Public affairs interns assist with press releases, community programs, and dissemination of information to the public... Show more	$12-19

2. Create an ideal candidate profile

   Common skills:

   • Congressional Hearings

   Responsibilities:

   • Utilize strategic negotiation tactics and creative problem-solving skills to achieve amicable settlements.
   • Conduct analysis of international climate change implications and participate in the selection of tools for government agencies to monitor climate change.
   • Encourage negotiation in a variety of cases involving employment discrimination, co-worker conflicts, and landlord-tenant disputes.

3. Make a budget

   Including a salary range in your public policy mediator job description is one of the best ways to attract top talent. A public policy mediator can vary based on:

   • Location. For example, public policy mediators' average salary in wyoming is 48% less than in alaska.
   • Seniority. Entry-level public policy mediators 69% less than senior-level public policy mediators.
   • Certifications. A public policy mediator with certifications usually earns a higher salary.
   • Company. Working for an established firm or a new start-up company can make a big difference in a public policy mediator's salary.

   Average public policy mediator salary

   $50,308yearly

   $24.19 hourly rate

   ---

   Entry-level public policy mediator salary

   $28,000 yearly salary

   Updated December 14, 2025

4. Writing a public policy mediator job description

   A good public policy mediator job description should include a few things:

   • Summary of the role
   • List of responsibilities
   • Required skills and experience

   Including a salary range and the first name of the hiring manager is also appreciated by candidates. Here's an example of a public policy mediator job description:

   Public policy mediator job description example

   A3T is seeking qualified candidates to work with our client and provide policy, oversite, compliance guidance, implementation, synchronization and execution services to meet the Government's mission requirements. We will be providing quick-response services, such as document reviews and preparing technical and procedural information papers, as well as providing technical services in support of conferences and meetings as directed.
   
   The Access Management SME (PKI) will support and conduct PKI Governance and Policy Analysis, PKI Modernization Analysis, and the performance of PKI initiatives for the strategic and tactical environments in support of Federal, Department of Defense (DoD) and Army mandates.
   Responsibilities:
   
   Ensure that strategic and tactical PKI are aligned with modernization initiatives and support network and security performance requirements.
   
   Develop policy, standards, planning metrics, and strategy recommendations that ensure Army networks and systems are secure and emerging integrated capabilities meet prescribed regulatory guidelines.
   
   Analyze trends in DoD and Army PKI technology advancement and ensure PKI policy directives reflect technology advancements in a manner that sustains cybersecurity for the Army.
   
   PKI Policy and Governance Analysis: Support oversight, tracking, and validation of the Army's PKI Modernization Initiatives and Integration efforts by coordinating with OSD, DoD CIO, National Security Agency (NSA) and the Army stakeholders.
   
   Participate with DoD, Army, NSA, Defense Information System Agency (DISA) and other Services in Integrated Process Team (IPT), configuration management, portfolio management, planning and strategy meetings, budget reviews, and coordination meetings.
   
   Analyze the Army's cybersecurity posture as it relates to the DoD PKI/Public Key Enabled (PKE) infrastructure and program.
   
   Analyze and evaluate Registration Authority Operations to identify policy or strategy gap issues with Certificate Practice Statement (CPS) and/or Registration Practice Statement (RPS) compliance, and Army certificate management practices, such as but not limited to, Army smart card/ token audit responsibilities, identity verification of the requester/subscriber, certificate issuance (hard and soft), key recovery, certificate revocation, and suspensions.
   
   PKI Modernization: Analyze the Army's PKI while concurrently tracking emerging Federal and DoD identification, authentication, and encryption technology (i.e. technologies that have not been fielded) requirements with respect to the technical recommendations, the contractor shall develop technical recommendations that allows the Army to meet, track, and report on Army-wide goals in the transformation of the Army networks across the enterprise.
   
   Provide PKI evaluation and assessment papers that focus on topics (such as but not limited to) test and evaluation of potential DoD / Army PKI strategic and tactical environment solutions, analysis of newly implemented technologies and how they are improving or impacting the Army and DoD PKI and reviews of the Army's present-state PKI infrastructure.
   
   Research current-state technologies and develop analyses, bridging existing capabilities with future capabilities allowing Army to transform Army PKI software/hardware-based certificate technologies.

   Copy this example

   

5. Post your job

   There are a few common ways to find public policy mediators for your business:

   • Promoting internally or recruiting from your existing workforce.
   • Ask for referrals from friends, family members, and current employees.
   • Attend job fairs at local colleges to meet candidates with the right educational background.
   • Use social media platforms like LinkedIn, Facebook, and Twitter to recruit passive job-seekers.

   Post your job online:

   • Post your public policy mediator job on Zippia to find and recruit public policy mediator candidates who meet your exact specifications.
   • Use field-specific websites.
   • Post a job on free websites.

6. Interview candidates

   Your first interview with public policy mediator candidates should focus on their interest in the role and background experience. As the hiring process goes on, you can learn more about how they'd fit into the company culture in later rounds of interviews.

   It's also good to ask about candidates' unique skills and talents. You can move on to the technical interview if a candidate is good enough for the next step.

   The right interview questions can help you assess a candidate's hard skills, behavioral intelligence, and soft skills.

7. Send a job offer and onboard your new public policy mediator

   Once you've selected the best public policy mediator candidate for the job, it's time to write an offer letter. In addition to salary, this letter should include details about the benefits and perks you offer the candidate. Ensuring that your offer is competitive is essential, as qualified candidates may be considering other job opportunities. The candidate may wish to negotiate the terms of the offer, and you should be open to discussion. After you reach an agreement, the final step is formalizing the agreement with a contract.

   It's also good etiquette to follow up with applicants who don't get the job by sending them an email letting them know that the position has been filled.

   After that, you can create an onboarding schedule for a new public policy mediator. Human Resources and the hiring manager should complete Employee Action Forms. Human Resources should also ensure that onboarding paperwork is completed, including I-9s, benefits enrollment, federal and state tax forms, etc., and that new employee files are created.

8. Go through the hiring process checklist

   • Determine employee type (full-time, part-time, contractor, etc.)
   • Submit a job requisition form to the HR department
   • Define job responsibilities and requirements
   • Establish budget and timeline
   • Determine hiring decision makers for the role
   • Write job description
   • Post job on job boards, company website, etc.
   • Promote the job internally
   • Process applications through applicant tracking system
   • Review resumes and cover letters
   • Shortlist candidates for screening
   • Hold phone/virtual interview screening with first round of candidates
   • Conduct in-person interviews with top candidates from first round
   • Score candidates based on weighted criteria (e.g., experience, education, background, cultural fit, skill set, etc.)
   • Conduct background checks on top candidates
   • Check references of top candidates
   • Consult with HR and hiring decision makers on job offer specifics
   • Extend offer to top candidate(s)
   • Receive formal job offer acceptance and signed employment contract
   • Inform other candidates that the position has been filled
   • Set and communicate onboarding schedule to new hire(s)
   • Complete new hire paperwork (i9, benefits enrollment, tax forms, etc.)

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