POSITION DESCRIPTION

TITLE:Sr. Manager, Advocacy and Government Relations

SUPERVISOR: Sr. Director, Ethics and Professional Practice
DEPARTMENT: Government Relations/Advocacy
FLSA STATUS: Exempt

INCUMBENT: Vacant
HOURS: TBD

EDUCATION/TRAINING REQUIREMENTS:

Bachelor's degree and minimum of six years of experience in federal government relations, or equivalent combination of education and related experience. Significant experience in communications and management strongly preferred.

COMPETENCIES:

  • • Strong strategic planning skills and strong vision for government relations and advocacy for NSPE.
  • • Capacity to lead an integrated advocacy team that works closely with communications and senior management.
  • • Ability to influence federal and state legislative and regulatory outcomes by identifying and analyzing relevant public policy issues and mobilizing NSPE resources.
  • • Knowledge of the legislative, administrative, and judicial branches of government, including familiarity with the congressional committees, the legislative and regulatory rulemaking processes.
  • • Strong coalition-building and partnership skills to build important alliances with associations, industry, and corporate partners.
  • • In partnership with Senior Director, Ethics and Professional Practice, understanding of federal election and lobbying laws, including PAC operations procedures.
  • • Strong leadership skills, including the ability to work effectively, independently, and cooperatively with all levels of staff, NSPE members and constituents, key government officials, and the general public and the ability to harmonize and build consensus among competing professional interests. Ability to direct all advocacy-related initiatives for organization.
  • • Strong supervisory skills: must be able to supervise and mentor all Advocacy employees under supervision, set and monitor staff's goals, manage staff's performance and discipline, and participate in hiring of the employees within the department.
  • • Excellent written and oral communication skills to represent and promote the engineering profession by producing publications, making presentations, and attending conferences and meetings.
  • • Excellent internal communications skills to integrate advocacy initiatives into the broader strategic vision and mission and clearly communicate these activities across departments.
  • • Strong interpersonal and customer-service skills to work with NSPE leadership, state executive directors, COPA Committee, and other volunteers, elected and appointed government officials, other association staff, the general public, and NSPE staff. Financial management skills, including the ability to develop and maintain a budget.
  • • Computer applications skills, including but not limited to Microsoft Office, MagnetMail, net:FORUM, Quorum, and other software.

JOB PROCESSES:

  • • Initiate and lead NSPE Advocacy programs, overseeing all federal, state, and PAC activities and supervise Policy Associate with final approval from Senior Director
  • • Evaluate and track federal and state legislative and regulatory issues relevant to professional engineers. With NSPE leadership and the COPA Committee, craft NSPE's federal and state legislative and regulatory agenda and develop a plan to achieve positive legislative and regulatory outcomes through participation in issue-based coalitions with like-minded organizations, manage lobbying, grasstops action, and grassroots action.
  • • Develop and maintain relationships with elected and appointed officials, including Members of Congress, key federal agency personnel, and their staff.
  • • Initiate and lead NSPE-state society collaborative efforts on advocacy initiatives with support from Policy Associate. Provide advocacy services to state societies.
  • • Initiate, establish, and maintain partnerships with like-minded organizations that seek to advance NSPE's broader advocacy goals, including legislative and regulatory interests. Work with senior staff to address possible collaboration opportunities. Also identify and work with coalitions as deemed beneficial to NSPE. Currently, these responsibilities include PCC, ARPL, and Resilient Building Coalition.
  • • Serving as a key member of the NSPE Content Strategy team, maximize and leverage broad and extensive advocacy content on all media channels. Communicate information to NSPE members about advocacy issues in publications such as the "Policy Perspectives" column in PE magazine, the Latest News, social media, state society updates issue briefs, and the Issues and Advocacy website. Collaborate regularly across staff teams to ensure communications are coordinated and to ensure that all staff teams are informed and engaged with advocacy's content. Currently also include development and production of Committee Corner.
  • • Develop new content products including state-by-state assessments and webinars.
  • • Serve as primary staff liaison to the COPA Committee, its subcommittees and advisory groups. Work with senior staff to utilize PAC resources and restricted funds.
  • • Work with Senior Director and Executive Office on governance issues stemming from policy development and advocacy initiatives.
  • • Supervise Policy Associate in development of legislative and regulatory goals specific to the Policy Associate's issues portfolio.
  • • Track and communicate information about state legislative and regulatory issues to NSPE members and state society executives. Working with Policy Associate, expand NSPE Government Relations offerings to state societies, including state legislative and regulatory tracking and state-by-state assessments.
  • • Manage the online Advocacy Center, publishing legislative information and sending Action Alerts to NSPE members.
  • • Oversee management of QBS Award with Policy Associate. Work with NSPE volunteers and partner organizations to determine award and grant recipients.
  • • Create and submit quarterly FEC reports, maintaining compliance with all regulations.
  • • Develop and manage the Advocacy budget.
  • • All other duties as assigned.