Government Relations and Advocacy Manager—Housing Alliance of Pennsylvania

The Housing Alliance of Pennsylvania is currently accepting applications for a Government Relations and Advocacy Manager. See the full description below or on Idealist. Please share with your network.

ABOUT THE HOUSING ALLIANCE:

The Housing Alliance of Pennsylvania is a statewide coalition dedicated to increasing access to safe, decent, and affordable homes. We organize, unify, and amplify the voices of people and organizations that recognize that every Pennsylvanian needs access to a safe, decent, and affordable home. We advocate for increased funding and improved state and federal public policy, promote solutions to take affordable housing strategies to greater scale, and convene our network to learn from each other and about new ways to address common challenges. Our network includes organizations on the front lines providing housing and supportive services to lower income families as well as people who have experienced housing instability and homelessness.

POSITION LOCATION

Willingness to work remotely and within geographic proximity to Harrisburg, PA preferred; Will also consider candidates that would prefer an office within geographic proximity to Harrisburg, within geographic proximity to the Housing Alliance’s Philadelphia office or anywhere in Pennsylvania  

ABOUT THE POSITION

This is an exciting opportunity for the right candidate with a passion for increasing access to affordable housing for lower wage households. There is significant opportunity for growth as a government and public affairs professional with a highly respected and highly effective statewide nonprofit advocacy organization.

The Government Relations and Advocacy Manager will manage and implement the Housing Alliance’s efforts to educate state and federal policymakers on housing, homelessness, and community development. This position has a combined focus of building relationships and direct advocacy with state and federal legislators and their staff as well as building relationships and engaging with local partner organizations and people with lived experience to advance the organization’s policy agenda.

Responsibilities

  • EDUCATION & DIRECT ADVOCACY
    • Build relationships with state and federal legislators and their staff in support of the Housing Alliance policy and legislative agenda
    • Propose, schedule, and attend meetings with legislators and their staff at the state and federal levels to continuously promote legislative agenda and confirm actions legislators will take in support or opposition to legislation
    • Respond to requests from legislators, legislative staff, and other organizations regarding organizational position on legislative, budgetary, and regulatory issues
    • Plan local site visits / tours of programs for state and federal legislators and their staff in coordination with local partner agencies
    • Coordinate with other Housing Alliance staff to design materials, analysis, and talking points on various budgetary, legislative and regulatory state and federal policy proposals utilizing effective messaging on affordable housing and stories from organizations and people with lived experience to make the case for support
    • Build and maintain relationships with members of federal and state government agencies
  • GRASSROOTS AND GRASSTOPS ENGAGEMENT
    • Engage local organizations in target legislative districts in state and federal advocacy
    • Organize and oversee planning of Advocacy Days in Harrisburg and in Washington, DC; implement tasks, delegate, and supervise staff on all aspects of planning, including but not limited to, participant recruitment, event marketing, event agenda, and speaker and presenter confirmation
    • Plan local community events to engage individuals with lived experience and the organizations that serve them in state and federal advocacy efforts
    • Track engagement of local organizations and people with lived experience; with guidance and support from the Executive Director refine and / or develop new partner engagement strategies
    • Convene local partners in committees, working groups, and advisory councils
  • PARTNERSHIP DEVELOPMENT
    • Build and maintain relationships with state and national organizations to collaborate on policy initiatives
  • POLICY & LEGISLATIVE PROPOSAL DEVELOPMENT, TRACKING & ANALYSIS
    • Update annual policy and legislative agenda; organize and coordinate obtaining partner and member input; perform research to inform legislative proposals
    • Propose, develop, and draft legislative proposals
    • Track and monitor state and federal legislation; prepare summaries and analyze legislation and regulations
    • Attend legislative hearings and committee meetings
  • EDUCATION & COMMUNICATIONS
    • Design and coordinate workshops during the organization’s annual conference
    • Prepare legislative reports internally for Housing Alliance staff, Board of Directors, and externally for public dissemination
    • Prepare regular communications and articles with legislative updates for dissemination through emails, the newsletter, the website, and other communication vehicles to educate membership and partners on legislative advances and opportunities
    • Create, finalize, and disseminate action alerts to request our network contact elected officials
    • Prepare information and talking points for outreach to the media
  • OTHER
    • Supervise staff and interns
    • Perform other duties as assigned including but not limited to drafting and editing grant proposals and reports

Requirements:

  • Knowledge of state public policy process and the Pennsylvania political landscape
  • Experience in political advocacy and sound political judgment
  • Comfort in working with individuals with various political beliefs and ideologies
  • Highly organized, analytical and detail oriented; proficient in setting and meeting deadlines
  • Excellent verbal and written communications skills; must be an effective public speaker, presenter, and communicator with diplomacy and tact
  • Ability to take complicated information and communicate it simply and clearly
  • Ability to work with groups and coalitions

Qualifications:

  • Bachelor’s Degree, Law Degree or Masters Degree a plus but not required
  • One to three years of experience in government, politics or nonpartisan advocacy
  • One to three years of experience in the housing and / or homeless services and / or community development sector
  • Experience supervising and supporting staff
  • Travel is required; must possess a valid driver’s license.

Compensation

  • Salary based on experience; Minimum salary of $55,000 plus generous benefits package

How to Apply:

Submit cover letter and resume to careers@housingalliancepa.org with the subject line “Government Relations and Advocacy Manager.”

The Housing Alliance of Pennsylvania does not discriminate on the basis of race, color, sex, religion, national origin, disability, age, genetic information veteran status, sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, or marital status. Minorities, people with lived experience, disabilities, fluency in languages other than English and veterans, are strongly encouraged to apply.

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.