Director of Government Relations

Washington, DC, United States

Job Description Job Description

Learning Ally is a leading nonprofit education solutions organization that transforms the lives of struggling learners by delivering proven literacy solutions that help students reach their potential. Its mission is to radically change education, transforming the lives of children by providing reading interventions and solutions to help them succeed academically, build self-confidence, and thrive in school and beyond.

Today, Learning Ally reaches over 2,300,000 students, 615,000 educators, and 23,000 schools across the country and continues to expand its reach. With a continued commitment to supporting students who learn differently, Learning Ally has joined researchers and neuroscientists from renowned institutions, including UCSF and MIT, to better understand and address learning issues. You will find that our culture is one that is mission-driven, innovative, and committed to professional growth, diversity, equity, and inclusion.

About the Job

As a member of Learning Ally’s Government Relations team, you'll work to develop key partnerships with the federal and state governments that serve to improve literacy outcomes. In pursuit of literacy for all, our objective is to lobby states to secure state funding to provide Learning Ally’s Whole Child Literacy solutions to all students in need. This role requires a combination of creativity, intellectual rigor, and organizational skills to manage, execute and make strategic decisions on various campaigns, projects, and initiatives.

An ideal candidate is passionate about education and achieving equity for students through literacy. The Government Relations department leads Learning Ally’s engagement with educational stakeholders - including government officials, professors, businesses, and lawyers - in the formation and execution of public policy that benefits innovation in educational technology and teaching strategies. We accomplish this by: introducing legislation, applying for RFPs, appropriations, rule making, and engaging in the budget process to provide Learning Ally’s literacy solutions.

As a member of our organization, you will help educate policymakers and key opinion leaders, advise internal teams on the political landscape, and work across Learning Ally to develop coherent, strategic plans to increase revenue and support Learning Ally’s public policy priorities that align with our whole child literacy solution. While we focus on challenges affecting students who struggle with reading, our scope is increasingly broad and encompasses the intersection of public policy, technology solutions, teacher training, educational strategies, and curriculum development.

Our team's mission is to grow Learning Ally’s networking by creating new partnerships and funding opportunities with the federal and state governments. Through relationship-building and by procuring state and federal funds, we can increase Learning Ally’s reach in addition to helping legislative leaders responsibly navigate the social, political, and economic issues associated with literacy and how best to teach reading. Learning Ally takes its responsibilities seriously, including engaging with government and other stakeholders on important educational policy challenges.

What we Need from You

Minimum Qualifications and Experience:

Bachelor's Degree or relevant experience required

10+ years experience in a relevant field, such as public policy or government relations, specifically in the area of regulatory affairs, public affairs, education policy, and advocacy.

Experience with securing government funding through legislation,, pursuing appropriations, rule making, and engaging in the budget process.

Experience managing and developing political strategy to result in increased revenue in partnership with external consultants and lobbyists to provide Learning Ally’s literacy solutions.

Demonstrated ability to research, analyze, and develop public policy advocacy strategies

Experience with advocacy work with volunteers and elected officials.

Proven experience in a government relations role.

Strong understanding of the legislative and regulatory process, political landscape in Learning Ally’s key states, and knowledge of education policy

Excellent written and verbal communication skills, with the ability to analyze complex information

Exceptional organizational skills, with the ability to prioritize multiple tasks and meet deadlines.

Strong analytical and problem-solving abilities, with a keen attention to detail.

Proactive and self-motivated, with the ability to work independently and as part of a team.

Demonstrated leadership and interpersonal skills, with the ability to build relationships and collaborate effectively with diverse stakeholders.

Commitment to equity.

Familiarity with government relations tools and platforms such as Politico Pro.

Experience collaborating, and managing projects with cross-functional teams that require input and engagement of multiple stakeholders with diverse perspectives.

Experience with coalition building, managing projects that include multiple external stakeholders to drive policy and revenue generating outcomes.

Possesses strong communication skills (written and verbal), organizational, and time and project management skills to effectively work on a portfolio of projects with a variety of collaborators, holding the team accountable and helping prioritize opportunities.

Ability to juggle travel and relationship building with project management and executional work to deliver on commitments.

Experience with driving and implementing grassroots campaigns

Job Responsibilities:

Collaborate with cross-functional partners, both internally and externally, to create public policy strategies for our whole-child literacy solutions that drive legislative and regulatory outcomes to meet or exceed Learning Ally’s revenue goals.

Engage with education stakeholders - including government officials, educational institutions, professors, businesses, and attorneys - to position Learning Ally as a partner and solution provider to increase revenue. This includes: introducing legislation, applying for RFPs, appropriations, rule making, and engaging in the budget process to provide Learning Ally’s literacy solutions.

Manage and develop political strategy to expand or develop new state contracts to grow Learning Ally’s presence in the state and increase revenue with the support of external consultants and state specific lobbyists.

Help meet or exceed yearly goals and objectives by making informed strategic decisions and help monitor progress towards achieving goals and objectives.

Manage and drive relationships with third-party advocacy organizations, (example the Democratic Governors Association and Republican Governors Association).

Travel frequently to meet with government officials, other stakeholders and/or attend political association events

Advise organization leaders about the policy and political environment affecting our products

Other administrative and/or executional duties: track progress, schedule meetings, manage follow-up, manage consultant engagement, create proposals, slide decks, background research, project management etc.

Work with volunteers to drive engagement with legislatures.

Work with outside legal counsel to ensure learning ally is in full compliance with all laws regarding lobbying and related activities.

Desired Characteristics:

Driven and has the ability to work effectively with minimal supervision and sound professional judgment.

Enjoys organizing, planning, measuring and monitoring progress against goals. Managing multiple projects and priorities at the same time and creating and maintaining structure to keep track of the work, while also flexible to changing needs and priorities.

Is invigorated by the unexpected. Excited by impromptu opportunities to travel and meet with government officials.

Enjoys juggling travel and relationship building with project management and executional work to deliver on commitments.

Passionate about education equity, literacy, and Learning Ally’s vision and mission.

Learning Ally is an equal opportunity employer. All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, national origin, disability or veteran status.

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