Government Affairs Manager

Location: Remote within the US

Salary Range: 

• Most regions in the United States: $72,000- $78,750
• California-specific: $72,000- $87,500
• NYC-specific: $80,000- $87,500

Offers will vary based on experience and location-based cost-of-living calculations.

• Level: Mid
• Supervisory role: No
• Classification: Exempt, Full-time

About our organization:

Democracy Works is a nonpartisan, nonprofit organization that collaborates with election officials, leading tech platforms, and world-class partners to drive voter access and participation. We help Americans vote by providing reliable, useful voting guidance through the sites, apps and groups they trust. This includes TurboVote, Democracy Works Election Data, the Voting Information Project (VIP), and Ballot Scout. We also co-founded the Civic Alliance alongside the CAA Foundation. Democracy Works is committed to diversity and inclusion in everything we do and aspires to have a team that's representative of the voters we serve. 

The impact you’ll make:

As the Government Affairs Manager, you will be responsible for managing Democracy Works’ strategy for engaging with election administrators around our voter engagement work. You will also represent the interests of states internally. Furthermore, you will monitor changes in laws and processes that inform how elections are administered in all 50 states and communicate changes to stakeholders–both internal and external.

You will: 

• Design, document, and execute a government outreach strategy
• Build relationships and communicate with states about our tools for voters, and communicate states interests internally
• Monitor changes in laws and processes that shape election administration practices in all 50 states, and communicate these developments across Democracy Works and to our partners
• Develop and utilize expertise in election law and election administration to inform decision making across teams
• Support election official advisory groups
• Regularly meet with state and local election officials, traveling across the country as needed, and attending/speaking at statewide and national convenings of election officials as safe to do so
• Create clear and accurate written communications for an audience of election officials

You are:

• A strategist who is capable of seeing the big picture and planning how to reshape complex systems
• A relationship builder who is undeterred by people skeptical of what you’re bringing to the table
• Persuasive and able to meet stakeholders where they are and understand their perspective
• A skilled communicator who is comfortable answering questions without preparation and dealing with the unexpected
• A self-motivated planner who is capable of defining goals and working toward them independently
• Diligent in following up on conversations and commitments
• Organized and attentive to detail
• Comfortable discussing data and technology with both technical and non-technical audiences

You have experience:

• 2 -4 years working in government affairs or elections
• Working collaboratively with stakeholders, both internal and external
• Tracking and analyzing legislation
• Building relationships with external stakeholders who may challenge your work
• Public speaking
• Crafting written documents for a government audience
• Working on, or adjacent to, the development of technology
• Creating strategy for your role

How we work

Because elections take place everywhere, our employees work from all across the country. We embrace working remotely as the default. Our positions require regular, daily use of a computer (including the use of G-Suite and Slack) to conduct work and communicate with colleagues. We also have regular operating hours (10 am to 6 pm Eastern, Monday to Friday).

For those who prefer to work from an office, we are headquartered in Brooklyn, NY. We are happy to share more details about the office, including accessibility information, as on-site visits are planned. 

There may be travel for occasional staff retreats or meetings as part of certain roles.

Benefits

As a member of the team, some of the benefits you’ll enjoy include:

• 100% employer-paid medical, dental, and vision option for you and your dependents
• 12 floating holidays and 25 days of Paid Time Off (PTO) per year
• 12 weeks of paid parental leave
• $1,000 per year towards professional development activities

We also offer a 403(b) retirement plan, stipends for equipment and internet reimbursement, and annual Calm or Headspace subscription reimbursements.

To Apply

Please attach your resume and answers to the following questions:

• How did you find this job listing?
• Why are you interested in this role and working at Democracy Works?
• Please briefly describe your experience working with election administrators and election officials.
• Are you authorized to work lawfully in the United States for Democracy Works?

Our Commitment to Diversity, Equity & Inclusion (DEI) in Hiring

Democracy Works is an Equal Opportunity Employer and does not discriminate against applicants based on race, religion, color, disability, medical condition, legally protected genetic information, national origin, gender, sexual orientation, marital status, gender identity or expression, sex (including pregnancy, childbirth or related medical conditions), age, veteran status or other legally protected characteristics. 

As part of our application, you’ll see an optional form used to collect U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) demographic information. Please note the categories used in this survey are set by the EEOC and may not reflect all existing categories.The data collected in this form is anonymized and is used in our EEOC reporting and in ongoing assessment of our recruitment practices. Please reach out to hr@democracy.works if you have any questions about our process or if you need an accommodation for a medical condition during the hiring process.