Director of State Policy and Government Partnerships
Internetwork Expert, washington, dc, United States
Overview
PowerLines is a national nonprofit organization that aims to modernize the utility regulatory system for American energy consumers to lower utility bills and grow the economy. It focuses on state public utilities commissions (PUCs), which play a critical role in determining how much people pay for utility bills, how utilities invest in different types of energy, and where new energy projects are built. These 200 commissioners oversee more than $200 billion in utility spending each year and have significant influence over the future of our energy system.
Key Responsibilities
- Policymaker Engagement
- Lead development of PowerLines’ state policymaker engagement strategy
- Build relationships with state policymakers, including governors and state legislators
- Attend policymaker convenings such as National Governors Association and National Conference of State Legislatures and manage PowerLines’ engagement with these partners
- Develop state policymaker‑relevant external engagement strategy for the organization, including internal calendar with key dates and timelines, conferences, media engagement and speaking opportunities, and strategic events and convenings
- Lead engagement with lobbying partners
- Policy Research
- Oversee policy research and analysis, including tracking of key state policies
- Identify state-level successes (e.g., legislative wins, executive orders, etc.) and maintain a catalogue of case studies that can be referenced and used to update PowerLines’ materials for elected officials
- Lead drafting of materials relevant for state policymaking efforts, such as letters of support, testimony, briefing memos, training presentations, and talking points
- Coalition Building
- Build partnerships with a politically diverse set of partners, including NGOs, advocacy groups, and think tanks, ensuring coalitions and partnerships reflect PowerLines’ commitment to bipartisan engagement
- Support PowerLines’ existing partnerships and identify growth opportunities to expand coordination with additional partners
- Conduct power mapping and landscape analysis of key state policymaker environments as needed
- Engage with coalitions in a variety of external engagement opportunities including events
- Operations
- Support leadership and operations of state policy workstream, including running of internal team meetings and external policymaker meetings
- Provide operational support to PowerLines projects and teams as needed, including support on strategy memos, ad hoc requests, and special projects
- Support high‑level drafting of fundraising materials as needed
- Lead cross‑team relationship tracking and management
- Team
- Support hiring of additional team members as needed
- Manage additional team members as the team grows
Role Requirements
The ideal candidate will be a senior leader who has experience building relationships with state policymakers, working on bipartisan initiatives, engaging with a politically diverse set of stakeholders, and managing a team of staff and consultants. The ideal candidate will be strong in both high‑level strategy and fine‑grained execution, bring a high degree of emotional intelligence to complex settings, and can manage multiple high‑impact workstreams in a high‑velocity startup environment.
Preferred Qualifications
- 7‑15+ years of experience in state‑level policy, politics, government affairs, government relations, or a related field, with a preference for experience with NGO, advocacy, government, or startup settings
- Experience with energy policy and utility issues is valued, and/or an ability to learn complex, technical utility regulation topics quickly
- Experience building relationships with policymakers, particularly state‑level policymakers
- An ability to build relationships with a politically diverse set of stakeholders, and a proven track record of building bipartisan relationships or leading bipartisan coalitions
- Experience engaging with policymaker settings such as National Governors Association and National Conference of State Legislatures
- A “get stuff done” and “whatever it takes” mentality to deliver success and execute strategy
- Strong project management skills, including an ability to track progress of complex workstreams
- Strong emotional intelligence skills, including savviness in navigating complex settings with a diverse set of stakeholders
- Experience managing staff and consultants
- Strategic thinking and creative problem‑solving skills, including an ability to think big‑picture and translate ideas into strategy
- Capacity to thrive in an early‑stage, fast‑paced, dynamic, and uncertain startup environment, including an ability to identify priorities, function independently, and operate with tight timelines
- A passion for advancing PowerLines’ mission of modernizing the utility regulatory system to lower utility bills and grow the economy through a consumer‑centered lens
Compensation and Benefits
- The expected salary range for this role is $125,000-$175,000. Compensation may be based on skills, qualifications, experience, location, and other factors.
- The benefits package includes unlimited PTO, paid holidays, health insurance, a 401(k) employer match, sick leave, and health and wellness benefits.