Summary Duties and Responsibilities:
The Vice President of Government Relations serves as a senior legislative advocate and public policy strategist. Working in close alignment with the VP of Corporate Affairs, they are responsible for designing, establishing, and executing comprehensive government relations strategy that advance Nevada HAND’s mission to develop, preserve, and operate high-quality affordable housing communities.
The Vice President of Government Relations is responsible for a variety of capacities, to include monitoring legislation and policy activities, tracking hearings and events, scheduling elected official meetings, preparing briefings and presentations, leading the planning and execution of property tours and events with elected officials, and other administrative tasks. In coordination with the VP of Corporate Affairs, they direct contract lobbying teams, cultivates and maintains relationships with elected officials, agency directors, and community leaders.
Essential Functions and Work Duties:
- Cultivate, maintain, and engage trusted relationships directly with a sophisticated network of key stakeholders, including elected officials and housing coalitions (local, state, federal), and any entity who has the potential and ability to impact/influence the organization’s top legislative issues.
- Develop and drive the organization’s objectives involving local, state, and federal government relations and policy.
- Serve as the principal legislative and public policy advisor to the Vice President of Corporate Affairs; partner to provide timely, authoritative counsel and executive briefings on the strategic implications of public policies and statutory shifts
- Monitor and track proposed legislation and conduct policy research on key areas of priority.
- Maintain a comprehensive understanding of legislation and emerging issues, ensuring the VP of Corporate Affairs and relevant stakeholders throughout the organization are informed with analyses of the significance, relevance, and business impact of these developments in a timely manner.
- Develop a wide-range of materials in support of Nevada HAND’s Government Relations agenda, such as talking points, legislative summaries, factsheets, testimony, reports, letters, hearing digests, events memos, etc.
- Plan and execute property tours, events, and other activities to support Nevada HAND’s government relations goals, such as town halls, property visits, and meetings.
- Manage legislative team meetings with internal staff and Nevada HAND’s lobbyist with collaboration of VP of Corporate affairs.
- Utilize strong communication skills to explain, interpret, and summarize new and existing information.
- Manage calendar, scheduling, travel, reservations, and expense reports for the Government Relations team.
- Perform administrative duties, both internally and externally, to execute Government Relations team meetings and logistics.
- Track and report on departmental goals, benchmarks, and other KPIs.
- Serve as an active member of the Leadership Team, attending weekly leadership meetings, retreats, strategic planning sessions, and organizational leadership initiatives.
Other Functions and Work Duties:
- Perform other duties from time to time that may be determined necessary for the well-being of the total operation.
- Coordinate with colleagues to ensure projects and tasks within the department or the collaboration with other departments support and further the efforts of Nevada HAND.
- Perform tasks which are supportive in nature to the essential functions of the job, but which may be altered or re-designed upon individual circumstances.
Qualifications and Skills Required:
To perform this job successfully, an individual must be able to perform each essential duty satisfactorily. Requirements listed below are representative of the knowledge, skill and/or ability required. Reasonable accommodations may be made to enable individuals with disabilities to perform the essential functions.
Education and/or Experience:
- Bachelor’s degree in political science, public policy administration, government public administration, journalism or in a related field. Master’s degree, JD or other advanced degree preferred.
- Minimum of five (5) to ten (10) years of government relations experience, working for either a corporate government affairs department, housing organization; and/or on a federal, state, or local candidate’s political campaign; and/or working for a federal, state, or local elected official.
- An exception to the stated years of experience may be considered for candidates who possess verifiable, directly relevant experience and demonstrated accomplishments that clearly demonstrate the knowledge, capabilities, leadership, and relationships required to successfully perform the role.
Other Skills and Abilities:
- Excellent written and oral communications skills.
- Superb team player, independent worker, and comfortable with substantive content.
- Understanding of the U.S. and Nevada political process.
- Strong research skills.
- Work style exhibiting a high level of discretion and independent judgment.
- Proficient in Microsoft Office Suite.
- Ability to manage multiple, shifting priorities under tight deadlines while performing in a fast-paced, team-oriented environment.
Physical Requirements:
Reasonable accommodations may be made to enable individuals with disabilities to perform the essential functions.
- Stooping – frequently bending body downward and forward by bending spine at the waist, requiring full use of the lower extremities and back muscles.
- Kneeling – frequently bending legs at knees to come to rest on knee or knees.
- Reaching – frequently extending hand(s) or arm(s) in any direction.
- Handling – frequently seizing, holding, grasping, turning, or otherwise working with hand or hands.
- Ability to transport files up to approximately 20 pounds.
- Ability to lift files up to 20 pounds from the ground level to 4 feet in height and move them from shelf to shelf in storage.
- Walking – moving about on foot to accomplish tasks.
- Regularly required to use hand to finger, handle, or feel, reach with hands and arms, and talk or hear using telephone, computer keyboard, mouse and calculator while seated at a desk.
- Able to sit at desk for extended periods of time.
- Specific vision abilities required by this job include close vision, depth perception and ability to adjust focus.
- Light work: Exerting up to 20 pounds of force occasionally, and/or up to 10 pounds of force frequently, and/or a negligible amount of force constantly to move objects. If the use of arm and/or leg controls requires exertion of forces greater than that of Sedentary Work and worker sits most of the time, the job is rated Light Work.