Deputy Director, State and Local Government Relations, North America Team

The Foundation

We are the largest nonprofitfighting poverty, disease, and inequity around the world. Founded on a simple premise: people everywhere, regardless of identity or circumstances, should have the chance to live healthy, productive lives. We believe our employees should reflect the rich diversity of the global populations we aim to serve.We provide an exceptional benefits package to employees and their families which include comprehensive medical, dental, and vision coverage with no premiums, generous paid time off, paid family leave, foundation-paid retirement contribution, regional holidays, and opportunities to engage in several employee communities.As a workplace, were committed to creating an environment for you to thrive both personally and professionally.

The Team

The mission of the Global Policy & Advocacy (GPA) division is to understand and shape the public policy debates affecting the foundation’s work, build support for its major program and policy objectives, and develop partnerships and alliances that can advance the foundation’s objectives nationally and globally. Because the foundation’s resources alone are not enough to solve the challenges ahead, GPA also supports advocacy efforts to engage diverse stakeholders and promote innovative solutions that advance our program goals. We work in close partnership with grantees, our colleagues in the Global Health, Global Development, Global Growth & Opportunity, U.S. and Gender Equality programs and Foundation Communications to build the environment in which all people have the opportunity to lead healthy and productive lives.

The North America Team (NAT) develops and executes policy, advocacy, communications, and government relations strategies to build political support and advance domestic and global programmatic priorities that are funded by, or executed within, the United States, Canada, and the United Nations.

Application Deadline: Friday, November 3, 2023

Your Role

The Deputy Director of State and Local Government relations leads a team of program officers that will design, develop and help implement government relations strategies in support of the foundations domestic priorities. Reporting to the Director, US Government Relations, you will be a key member of NATs senior leadership and provide strategic guidance and expertise to further our core mission in the U.S. of strengthening educational opportunities and improving economic mobility.

Our ideal leader is a creative problem solver, thoughtful and trusted partner, and intellectually curious government relations expert with a range of expertise to drive the work of diverse grantees. You will collaborate with colleagues using diplomacy and flexibility to help solve important issues in a dynamic environment.

This position will be based in our Washington, DC office. Candidates must be able to commute to the office. Relocation will be provided.

What Youll Do

• Lead the development of government relations strategies designed to advance the foundations perspective on issues such as education data access and privacy, K-12 math, higher education degree completion and value, education finance, early learning, high school-to-postsecondary pathways, and economic mobility and opportunity.

• Work with staff and diverse partners to provide innovative government relations efforts to sophisticated and challenging problems. Assist Director with the development, refinement and execution of high-impact, cross-team strategies.

• Guide preparation for regular updates to NAT, GPA and foundation leadership on the direction and progress of team strategies and investments based on agreed-upon goals and measurable outcomes; also, brief leadership as needed on broader trends and developments at the state and local level affecting our issues and policies in education and economic mobility.

• Review and discuss program officer funding proposals to ensure plans effectively and efficiently support and move program strategies forward towards impact.

• Prepare and manage large investment portfolio, meeting all required achievements within the foundations annual budget cycle, and ensure clear and consistent communications with the leadership of our grantees and vendors.

• Responsible for hiring the talent as needed to achieve the foundations goals, ensuring successful employee onboarding, communicating performance expectations, creating goal alignment, integrating project and change management, giving and seeking feedback, providing coaching, measuring progress, and holding people accountable, supporting employee development, and recognizing achievement and lessons learned.

Your Experience

• Bachelors degree in related field with 10+ years of state and/or local government relations experience, including at least three years of experience managing government relations professionals or equivalent combination of education and work experience.

• Leader in developing government relations strategies, designing and managing multifaceted projects and initiatives, and building strong partnerships around issues.

• Significant knowledge and experience developing government relations strategies in K-12 and higher education at the state and federal level. Demonstrated ability to develop written analysis and reports in response to internal requests as well as proactively around emerging priorities.

• Agility to envision new ways to scale tools and solutions to complex and challenging problems.

• Demonstrated success leading and managing change and cultivating strong cross-team relationships in a large, matrixed organization with a diverse array of internal stakeholders and external partners.

• Outstanding writing and editing ability and excellent verbal communication and presentation skills.

• Strong initiative, analytical skills, organizational skills, and ability to work towards real results within and across teams while remaining adaptable and flexible in an environment with evolving priorities, tasks, and roles and responsibilities.

Other Attributes

• Advanced degree in related field.

• Grantmaking or grant management experience.

• Professional integrity

• Ability to work in a hybrid work arrangement from Washington, DC and travel up to 25% of the time.

The typical salary range for this role is $177,500-$330,200 USD. The exact offer will be determined by a variety of factors such as the candidates individual skills, qualifications, and experience relative to the requirements of the role.

*Must be able to legally work in the United States without visa sponsorship.

Hiring Requirements

As part of our standard hiring process for new employees, employment will be contingent upon successful completion of a background check.

Candidate Accommodations

If you require assistance due to a disability in the application or recruitment process, please submit a request here.

Inclusion Statement

We are dedicated to the belief that all lives have equal value. We strive for a global and cultural workplace that supports ever greater diversity, equity, and inclusion of voices, ideas, and approaches and we support this diversity through all our employment practices.

All applicants and employees who are drawn to serve our mission will enjoy equality of opportunity and fair treatment without regard to race, color, age, religion, pregnancy, sex, sexual orientation, disability, gender identity, gender expression, national origin, genetic information, veteran status, marital status, and prior protected activity.