Associate Director, State Government Affairs

The Associate Director, State Government Affairs serves as a liaison on state regulatory and legislative matters. This role monitors and analyzes state legislative and regulatory initiatives affecting FINRA and the securities industry, delivering actionable intelligence to senior leadership. The position manages critical stakeholder relationships by serving as a point of contact for state regulators and legislative staff on negotiations involving complex inter‑organizational issues, and represents FINRA at meetings, conferences and events. Key responsibilities include independently preparing comment letters and testimony on state proposals, managing external lobbying consultants, coordinating with internal stakeholders to assess regulatory impacts on FINRA programs, and advising executives on enterprise‑wide state relationship strategies. This position is an individual contributor who works independently with minimal oversight and collaborates effectively with stakeholders.

Essential Job Functions

• Identifies and monitors state legislation, regulations and issues that could impact FINRA programs and oversight of the securities industry and capital markets.
• Maintain coalition of partners and stakeholders.
• Monitors, analyzes and tracks individual state initiatives that effect FINRA or regulated broker‑dealers and capital markets and communicates key information to senior leadership across the organization.
• Serves as a point of contact for state regulators, legislative staff and associations to facilitate communication between FINRA and state officials and staff, and leads or participates in negotiations to resolve issues among the organizations.
• Independently prepares comment letters and testimony on state legislative proposals.
• Recommends and oversees external state lobbying consultants.
• Responds to requests for information from state regulatory officials and staff, state legislative staff and contract lobbyists.
• Coordinates with internal stakeholders and advises FINRA Executives on enterprise‑wide and program relationships with the states.
• Represent FINRA at meetings, events and conferences featuring state officials.
• Provides accurate, timely information and guidance to internal and external stakeholders.
• Demonstrates FINRA’s values.
• Collaborates, both in‑person and virtually, in furtherance of FINRA’s mission of investor protection and market integrity.

Education and Experience Requirements

Bachelor’s degree and a minimum of seven (7) years of experience in government relations, securities law and/or securities regulation field required; or an equivalent combination of education and directly related professional experience. Advanced degree preferred. Strong working knowledge of securities regulation. Strong working knowledge of state legislative and government processes is preferred. Strong analytical and critical thinking skills with demonstrated ability to apply sound judgment when assessing complex regulatory matters. Excellent written and verbal communication skills, including the ability to articulate technical concepts clearly to both specialized and non‑technical audiences. Superior attention to detail and accuracy in reviewing documentation, preparing reports, and maintaining records. Effective interpersonal skills with ability to build collaborative relationships across all organizational levels. Ability to operate in a highly complex operational, technical, policy and legal environment.

Work Conditions

Hybrid work environment, with defined in‑person presence requirements. Extended hours required. Travel required (15%).

Salary Range

• CO/FL/TX: Minimum Salary $114,200, Maximum Salary $207,200
• IL/PA: Minimum Salary $125,900, Maximum Salary $228,000
• MA/MD/VA/Washington, DC: Minimum Salary $131,200, Maximum Salary $238,300
• NY/NJ: Minimum Salary $131,200, Maximum Salary $248,700

Benefits

• Employees may be eligible for a discretionary bonus in addition to base pay.
• Non‑exempt employees are also eligible for overtime pay in accordance with federal, state, or local law.
• As part of its dedication to employee wellness, FINRA provides comprehensive health, dental and vision insurance.
• Additional insurance includes basic life, accidental death and dismemberment, supplemental life, spouse/domestic partner and dependent life, and spouse/domestic partner and dependent accidental death and dismemberment, short‑and long‑term disability, long‑term care, business travel accident, disability and legal.
• FINRA offers immediate participation and vesting in a 401(k) plan with company match and eligibility for participation in an additional FINRA‑funded retirement contribution, tuition reimbursement, commuter benefits, and other benefits that support employee wellness, such as adoption assistance, backup family care, surrogacy benefits, employee assistance, and wellness programs.
• Time Off and Paid Leave* FINRA encourages its employees to focus on their health and wellness in many ways, including through a generous time‑off program of 15 days of paid time off, 5 personal days and 9 sick days, unless otherwise required by law (all pro‑rated in the first year). Additionally, we are proud to support our communities by providing two volunteer service days (based on full‑time schedule). Other paid leave includes military leave, jury duty leave, bereavement leave, voting and election official leave for federal, state or local primary and general elections, care of a family member leave (available after 90 days of employment); and childbirth and parental leave (available after 90 days of employment). Full‑time employees receive nine paid holidays. *Based on full‑time schedule.

Important Information

FINRA’s Code of Conduct imposes restrictions on employees’ investments and requires financial disclosures that are uniquely related to our role as a securities regulator. FINRA employees are required to disclose to FINRA all brokerage accounts that they maintain, and those in which they control trading or have a financial interest (including any trust account of which they are a trustee or beneficiary and all accounts of a spouse, domestic partner or minor child who lives with the employee) and to authorize their broker‑dealers to provide FINRA with duplicate statements for all of those accounts. All of those accounts are subject to the Code’s investment and securities account restrictions, and new employees must comply with those investment restrictions—including disposing of any security issued by a company on FINRA’s Prohibited Company List or obtaining a written waiver from their Executive Vice President—by the date they begin employment with FINRA. Employees may only maintain securities accounts that must be disclosed to FINRA at one or more securities firms that provide an electronic feed (e‑feed) of data to FINRA, and must move securities accounts from other securities firms to a firm that provides an e‑feed within three months of beginning employment. You can read more about these restrictions here.

Search Firm Representatives

Please be advised that FINRA is not seeking assistance or accepting unsolicited resumes from search firms for this employment opportunity. Regardless of past practice, a valid written agreement and task order must be in place before any resumes are submitted to FINRA. All resumes submitted by search firms to any employee at FINRA without a valid written agreement and task order in place will be deemed the sole property of FINRA and no fee will be paid in the event that person is hired by FINRA.

Equal Opportunity Employer

FINRA is an Equal Opportunity Employer All qualified applicants receive consideration for employment without regard to any legally protected category, including race, color, age, national origin, ethnicity, religion, disability, genetic information, military or veteran status, sex, or any other status or classification protected by state or local law. FINRA strives to make our career site accessible to all users.

Disability Accommodations

If you need a disability‑related accommodation for completing the application process, please contact FINRA’s Employee Relations team at View phone number on click.appcast.io or by email at View email address on click.appcast.io. Please note that this process is exclusively for inquiries regarding accommodations in the application process. FINRA abides by the requirements of 41 CFR 60-741.5(a). This regulation prohibits discrimination against qualified individuals on the basis of disability and requires affirmative action by covered prime contractors and subcontractors to employ and advance in employment qualified individuals with disabilities. FINRA abides by the requirements of 41 CFR 60-300.5(a). This regulation prohibits discrimination against qualified protected veterans and requires affirmative action by covered prime contractors and subcontractors to employ and advance in employment qualified protected veterans.

About FINRA

FINRA is an independent, non‑governmental regulator for all securities firms doing business with the public in the United States. FINRA works to protect investors and maintain market integrity in a public‑private partnership with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), while also benefiting from the SEC’s oversight. In its role as investor guardian, FINRA is informed, but not influenced, by the industry that it regulates. FINRA’s independent regulation plays a critical role in America’s financial system–all at no cost to taxpayers. FINRA touches virtually every aspect of the securities business—from registering and educating industry participants to examining securities firms; writing rules; enforcing those rules and the federal securities laws; informing and educating the investing public; providing trade reporting and other industry utilities; and administering the largest dispute resolution forum for investors and registered firms. FINRA uses technology powerful enough to look across markets and detect potential abuses. Using a variety of data gathering techniques, we work to detect insider trading and any strategies firms or individuals use to gain an unfair advantage. In today’s fast‑paced and complex global economy, FINRA is a trusted advocate for investors, dedicated to keeping the markets fair and proactively addressing emerging regulatory issues before they harm investors or the markets. FINRA operates from Washington, DC, and New York, NY, with other offices around the country.