Government Relations Job Description

'Government Relations Associate

Seeking an Entry-level or Junior Government Relations Associate. Experience or familiarity with political law issues is also required. The position includes counseling a wide range of clients on compliance with federal and state campaign finance regulations, Congressional and Executive Branch ethics and lobbying regulations, IRS requirements for tax-exempt issue advocacy and other issues of this nature. The practice also includes representation of clients in federal court and administrative agency litigation. Excellent academic credentials, including graduation from a top-tier law school and law review or journal experience, are required.

Vice President, Government Relations, Florida

Duties: Execute a comprehensive public policy advocacy program in coordination with the Florida Division, including management and oversight of legislative/state executive/administrative lobbying, grassroots volunteer development and deployment, media advocacy and fundraising.  Provide leadership, support, direction, and supervision to state-based and other advocacy staff consistent with mission priorities and annual goals.  Serve as a partner on the Executive Leadership Team of the Florida Division and represent with the Florida Division Board as needed.  Manage fiscal and staff resources within an established budget.  Lead fundraising efforts for staff team.  Ensure staff compliance with relevant laws, rules and lobby registration/reporting.   Develop and execute a comprehensive public policy advocacy program and legislative agenda for Florida.  Handle local, state, and field-based federal lobbying activities.   Direct lobbying in one or all states, in addition to the work that their staff members do. Serve as a partner on the Division Executive Leadership Team to ensure staff and program are appropriately coordinated with the Florida Division's program of work. Represent as necessary with the Division Board.   Provide public policy advocacy campaign strategy and leadership to state-based staff within the Florida Division, including development and management of an annual budget designed to achieve public policy advocacy campaign success. Hire, lead, and manage the performance of State Government Relations Directors and other staff to achieve annual goals and objectives. Serve on the Leadership Team of the Southern Region. Provide guidance and approval on the hiring and management of contract lobbyists, where applicable. Oversee recruitment, development, and recognition of advocacy volunteers and implementation of grassroots action plans. Oversee fundraising for staff team, including the annual planning and goal-setting process as well as implementation of the plan (together with Florida Division staff).   Work with other executive level leaders of Florida Division departments in support of income development and other organizational priorities. Represent with national and regional coalition partners and at national and regional meetings and conferences as required, and guide staff in their state and local coalition work. Ensure staff is in compliance with laws, rules, and lobby registration/reporting, as well as internal processes for legal review and for collaboration and coordination with other field team staff. Ensure consistent business practices and adherence to policy, including financial, staff management, and program tracking and measurement. Lead by example, personally demonstrating the values and behaviors expected of staff. Travel extensively as needed by car and plane or rail, including some overnights and weekends. Perform other duties as assigned. 

Requirements: Bachelor's or master's degree in law, political science, public administration, public policy or related field and 7+ years government or private sector policy advocacy experience and in-depth knowledge of and experience with legislative and administrative policy making. Experience in leading political and/or policy advocacy campaigns; progressively responsible experience preferred. Staff management experience required. Knowledge of health care policy preferred. Familiarity with legislative and political structures in Florida preferred. Ability to manage professional staff, including hiring, performance management, and professional development. 

Government Relations Manager

Responsibilities: The candidate will help in research complex legislation and regulations of importance to people with MS. Analyze policies, legislation and regulations and make recommendations on pursuit of policies. Monitor movement on top policy priorities, state and local levels. Analyze and provide updates to advocacy team on movement of priorities. Represent Society at coalition meetings, partner meetings and briefings. Develop and manage relationships with key state and local legislators and agency staff. Monitor, attend and report on Legislative briefings and committee hearings. Draft testimony, support letters, position papers and talking points to advance Society legislative and political priorities. Draft content (articles, op-eds, blog posts) for newsletters, website, intranet and other communications. Manage and help produce staff and volunteer trainings on public policy content and advocacy strategies. Oversee statewide Government Relations Committee and Activist Network. Develop and implement training for volunteers in all levels of volunteer engagement. Cultivate relationships with activists with direct experiences to support policy priorities. Support story collection process to highlight personal impact of policies. Utilize action alerts to mobilize grassroots efforts. Plan and develop State Action Day which includes secure location. Plan agenda; develop strategy for meetings. Oversee scheduling of visits with legislators and coordinate volunteer participation. Provide on location assistance and coordinate volunteer participation at annual Federal Public Policy Conference. Lead activist teams on visits to elected officials.

Requirements: The candidate should have a Bachelor's Degree. Masters or law degree preferred and may substitute for some work experience. 3-5 years experience in related work. Experience in a legislative office (Congressional or state) and/or experience in healthcare and/or disability policy preferred. Strong written and oral communication skills, and strong interpersonal skills. Strong policy research and analysis skills. Demonstrated ability to work within deadline pressures and manage multiple simultaneous projects. Ability to work and collaborate in team environment, including with remote team members. Experience working with volunteers and/or grassroots activists. Demonstrated ability to problem solve. Relationship building skills. Knowledge of Microsoft Office Suite. Knowledge of state and/or federal legislative and regulatory processes. Ability to analyze legislation.  

Manager, Government Relations

Duties: Assist in development and execution of government relations and economic incentive strategy. Work with legislative bodies, elected officials, state governmental, provincial, and/or quasi-governmental agencies. Will establish and maintain external relationships with government officials as well as work to obtain economic development objectives, legislative and regulatory solutions. Develop and execute project initiatives to support legislative as well as economic incentive growth strategy. Establish and maintain relationships with key government officials. Assess and provide legislative and regulatory solutions. Monitor, assess, and summarize legislation that could impact key business lines. Lead a cross functional team with internal partners in Facilities, Supply Chain, Customer Care, Information Technology, Client Services, Business Development, Marketing / Communication, and Program Management that are involved in the capture of the incentives. Manage the submission of periodic data for incentives, support the remote site resources involved in submitting data for the capture of incentives as needed; help implement systemic, cross functional processes for capture where needed. Present updates to executive leadership. Establish key performance indicators and reporting tools to measure the progress and/or success of established programs.  

Qualification: Bachelor's degree required; MBA preferred. JD Degree from an ABA-accredited law school required. 3+ years of relevant experience with - and a keen understanding of - the legislative process. Prior legislative experience - state or federal mandatory. Outstanding written, oral, and interpersonal communications skills. Very high proficiency in Microsoft Word, PowerPoint, and Excel required. Skilled at building cross-functional and multi-level relationships. Experience in economic development preferred. Experience in wireless communication and/or insurance industry preferred. Ability to adjust to a steep learning curve. Proven track record of consistently productive collaboration with diverse colleagues in a highly-matrixed work environment. Demonstrated ability to effectively and comfortably interact at the highest corporate and/or political levels. Strong judgment/decision-making skills and political acumen. Ability and willingness to work across multiple time zones, travel required. '