Job Title: Government Relations Manager
Position Status: Full time, salaried, exempt
Work Location: Washington, D.C. (working remotely from home during the COVID-19 pandemic)
Posting date: 3/22/22
Position summary:
Free Press and Free Press Action work to amplify the voices of people and communities in the crucial decisions that shape our media. We believe that positive social change, racial justice and meaningful engagement in public life require equitable access to technology, diverse and independent ownership of media platforms, and journalism that holds leaders accountable and tells people what’s actually happening in their communities. We work at the intersection of media and technology to strengthen our democracy.
We’re looking for a government relations manager with knowledge of Capitol Hill and legislative processes — and an understanding that changing policy also requires getting outside the Beltway. The government relations manager will educate members of Congress and lawmakers at other government entities and their staff about Free Press’ most pressing issues. They will coordinate Free Press’ legislative outreach and lobbying efforts while tracking the rest of the team’s outreach strategy. They will also convene legislative briefings, and prepare and support Free Press staff when they testify before Congress.
The government relations manager will work with our team’s campaign leads to coordinate D.C. activities with online activism, in-district meetings, constituent visits and other grassroots advocacy activities taking place outside Washington. The government relations manager will also coordinate with coalition allies and partners, as well as industry trade association and company representatives working to advance policy positions that are aligned with Free Press priorities. The government relations manager will analyze legislative, agency and other policy proposals on internet freedom, press freedom, media ownership issues, media reparations, and tech accountability, and will write posts and articles for popular audiences on these topics, along with “leave behind” summaries, one-pagers and vote recommendations for allies and government staff.
The government relations manager reports to the vice president of policy. This job requires flexibility in work schedule, generally aligning to the U.S. East Coast hours. This position may require evening and weekend work during peak campaign cycles or in the lead up to special events, including potential evening and weekend events convened by congressional staff or associated caucuses and foundations. Regular local, regional and national domestic travel may be required, including to events or meetings hosted by others, as and when such events take place in person and subject to COVID safety policies.
Free Press is composed of two separate organizations, Free Press and Free Press Action. Both entities share the same overall mission and employees will have time assigned to one or both entities. This job description refers collectively to the two organizations under the name “Free Press.”
Primary Responsibilities:
Desired Skills and Attributes:
Experience and Qualifications:
Covid-19 Vaccination:
All Free Press employees must be fully vaccinated against the COVID-19 virus or have an approved medical or religious/ethical/moral accommodation.
Compensation:
Free Press is committed to offering competitive pay and generous benefits, including group medical insurance, short- and long-term disability insurance, retirement benefits, health-reimbursement accounts and paid family leave. Annual paid time off is a total of nine weeks, including vacation, health-care leave and holidays.
This position is categorized as a “tier 2” position, in the context of five possible functional classifications at Free Press, ranging from coordinator (tier one) to executive (tier five).
The starting salary at Free Press for a development director who meets the above qualifications is $75,000 - $90,000. Starting salary is based on the selected candidate’s qualifications and experience. To counter pay inequality and uphold internal parity, we use a nonnegotiable starting salary system, while benchmarking our pay to competitive markets in the nonprofit sector.
Free Press Is an Equal Opportunity Employer.
We value excellence and diversity in our workforce. People of color, women, people with disabilities, lesbian, gay, bisexual, queer, transgender, gender-nonconforming and formerly incarcerated individuals are strongly encouraged to apply.
If you meet some of the qualifications above, we encourage you to apply or to reach out for more information. We know groups subjected to systemic oppression– including people of color, women, people from working class backgrounds, and people who identify as LGBTQ – are less likely to apply unless and until they meet every requirement for a job. Therefore, we strongly encourage applications from people with these identities or who are members of other communities who are marginalized.
How to apply:
Complete our online application. Fully answering the application questions is an important part of the application process; 4-5 sentences in response to each question will help us understand your thinking.
Our hiring process includes an initial 20-30 minute interview with one staff person, one or two hour-long interviews with 3-4 staff members, and reference checks after the final interview.
We provide reasonable accommodations for the application, interview, or any other aspect of the employee selection process to applicants with disabilities. Please email amartyn@freepress.net to request an accommodation.
Key dates:
Applications submitted by April 15, 2022 will be reviewed with priority; applications submitted after that date will be reviewed on a rolling basis. This search will remain open until the position is filled. The ideal candidate will be available to begin work in June 2022.
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