Senior Manager, California State Affairs

The State Affairs program of the Political Affairs department leads EDF’s efforts to achieve our policy goals through legislative, regulatory, and political engagement at the state and local levels. Our lobbyists, communicators, organizers and experts work together to achieve progress on our priority issues.
Overall Function

The Senior Manager, California State Affairs will lead the development and implementation of key aspects of EDF’s California-based work. Reporting to Senior Director, California, the Senior Manager’s responsibilities will include leading the collaborative design and implementation of effective education and policy advocacy campaigns to support EDF’s major workstream priorities in California. This work will entail managing consultants, coordinating among multiple EDF workstreams and experts, coordinating with partner organizations, owning relationships with key stakeholders, influential decisionmakers and/or government agencies, and representing EDF and organizational positions to external stakeholders. The Senior Manager will be a key “on the ground” presence for EDF and EDF Action in Sacramento, representing the organization and its priorities.

Flexibility and willingness to learn and develop functional subject matter expertise in the areas of climate change, clean energy, forestry, water, and/or clean transportation is required. The Senior Manager will take responsibility for tracking policy for specific subject areas and coordinating with the relevant EDF experts, external stakeholders and policymakers.

The Senior Manager will manage 1-2 junior staff members, will independently guide and manage specific projects, and serve as the main point of internal and external contact for discrete projects or campaigns. Independent judgement is required to plan, prioritize, and organize workload. Ideal candidates are driven self-starters with the ability to learn new subject matter, with demonstrated success in California government or government relations.

Qualifications

Minimum of eight years’ experience working to effect change in California, including a demonstrated history of success in state environmental policy through engagement with industry, regulators, elected officials and other public-interest stakeholders.
Bachelor’s degree or equivalent required, in science, policy, economics or law in areas related to the environment. Master’s degree or equivalent may substitute for up to two years of work experience.
Experience with California legislative process and politics, and solid understanding of the political dynamics surrounding a broad range of environmental issues and the wider political context in which they operate; understanding of state and federal policy making and political processes.
Demonstrable people and project management skills.
Ability to represent and speak for EDF in public and with the press.
Demonstrable written and oral communication skills.
Demonstrable negotiation skills with the ability to garner consensus between disparate groups with conflicting priorities.
Capable of working with a variety of concerned parties, including government agencies, grassroots organizations and private firms, within strategic coalitions.
Demonstrates self-awareness, cultural competency and inclusivity, and ability to work with colleagues and stakeholders across diverse cultures and backgrounds.
Ability to travel for in-state meetings (10-25%, depending on candidate location) with occasional out-of-state travel required.

Salary: $110,000 – $120,000 USD/Yr.

Tagged as: Law/Policy