Director of Government Affairs

(State Affairs & Grassroots)

Application Deadline: April 15, 2025

Locations: Flexible, near a major U.S. Midwest airport preferred

Anticipated Start Date: May-June 2025 

Organizational Profile: 

The Director of Government Affairs helps lead PF & QF’s legislative, regulatory, and political activities to advance mission-oriented state-level conservation policies that benefit upland wildlife, their habitats, and the people who enjoy them. Under general direction from the Vice President of Government Affairs, the Director will be responsible for developing and executing state affairs and grassroots activities, including direct lobbying, coalition building, advocacy communications, and supporting our Legislative Action Fund fundraising efforts, as well as building a new team of regional advocacy leads. The Director works closely with the Conservation Operations, Chapter & Volunteer Services, Development, and Marketing & Communications teams.

Duties:

• Develop and execute PF & QF’s state government affairs strategy on key habitat conservation, education, and hunting access policy issues, including by direct lobbying; providing strategic direction, training, and oversight to PF & QF state coordinators and contract lobbyists; and recruiting and onboarding a new team of regional state affairs staff.
• Cultivate and maintain relationships with state and national policymakers, regulators, conservation partners, consultants, and coalitions.
• Leverage the strength of PF and QF’s grassroots volunteers across the nation via advocacy campaigns, action alerts, and events across the country throughout the year.
• Prepare regulatory comments, testimony, one-pagers, briefings, blog posts, social media content, op-eds, and other communication materials to highlight PF & QF’s policy positions with internal and external stakeholders, including policymakers and the general public.
• Maintain issue trackers for internal visibility and alignment on advocacy efforts, and prepare reports for PF & QF leadership and staff.
• Work closely with internal stakeholders to understand the interests of our volunteers, members, supporters, and staff as they relate to habitat conservation, education, and hunting access policy developments; involve subject matter experts and other departments as appropriate.
• Work cross-functionally with the Conservation Programs and Conservation Delivery teams to allocate resources, identify priorities, and ensure consistency of approach across all programs and geographic regions, including on annual updates to state-level strategic plans.
• Work cross-functionally with the Development team to support fundraising for PF & QF’s Legislative Action Fund and other organization priorities.
• Provide additional GA functional support as needed.

Qualifications and Experience:

• A passion for Pheasants Forever and Quail Forever’s mission, as well as knowledge and appreciation of conservation, hunting, and the outdoors.
• Four-year or advanced degree, preferably in political science/government, natural resources conservation, or related field. JD desired.
• Minimum of 7 years of relevant experience in state government affairs; knowledge of conservation, agriculture, hunting, and/or outdoor recreation issues preferred.
• Supervisory experience preferred, with a proven ability to lead and coach effectively.
• Demonstrated knowledge of state legislative and regulatory activities and procedures, and the ability to research and comprehend technical information, regulations, and legislation.
• Excellent policy communication skills, including speaking, writing, and delivering presentations, testimony, position papers, and articles for publication; ability to convey PF & QF’s mission, vision, and policy priorities to a wide range of audiences is essential.
• Strong political acumen, and the ability to be effective with members of both political parties.
• Knowledge of best practices around grassroots engagement and advocacy.
• Demonstrated ability to manage multiple ongoing projects and tight deadlines, and to maintain a high level of initiative, collaboration, and attention to detail in a remote work environment.
• Strong skills in PowerPoint, Word, Excel, SharePoint, Teams, and Outlook; experience with Quorum preferred.
• Willingness to travel frequently within the U.S.
• Location flexible, near a major Midwest airport preferred.

Compensation and Benefits: Salary ranges from $85,000-$110,000 depending on location and experience. Competitive starting salary and benefits commensurate with experience and qualifications. See our benefits summary at www.pheasantsforever.org/jobs