Senior Director of Business Development and Government Affairs

: Share Our Purpose. Be Yourself. Feel Valued. People are the heart of our business. As an American Water employee, you will be offered a competitive salary and health benefits package, along with opportunities to develop, grow, and evolve your career. Our benefits packages focus on key areas such as health & wellness, emotional & well-being, and savings for current & future goals. We are Beautifully Different . We strongly believe having diversity across our company makes us more successful and helps us provide essential services to our customers. We are stronger because we embrace different ideas, viewpoints, experiences, and backgrounds. American Water is the best choice for your next role! Click here for more information on our inclusion, diversity, and equity journey. About American Water American Water (NYSE: AWK) is the largest regulated water and wastewater utility company in the United States. With a history dating back to 1886, We Keep Life Flowing® by providing safe, clean, reliable and affordable drinking water and wastewater services to more than 14 million people across 14 regulated jurisdictions and 18 military installations. American Water's 6,500 talented professionals leverage their significant expertise and the company's national size and scale to achieve excellent outcomes for the benefit of customers, employees, investors and other stakeholders. As one of the fastest growing utilities in the U.S., American Water expects to invest $30 to $34 billion in infrastructure repairs and replacement, system resiliency and regulated acquisitions over the next 10 years. The company has a long-standing history of executing its core operations, aligned with sustainable best practices, through its commitments to safety, affordability, customer service, protecting the environment, an inclusive workforce and strengthening communities. American Water has been recognized on the 2025 Bloomberg Gender-Equality Indexfor the fifth consecutive year, ranked 18th on Barron's 100 Most Sustainable U.S. Companies 2025 List, earned the U.S. Department of Homeland Security SAFETY Act designation and U.S. Environmental Protection Agency's WaterSense® Excellence Award, among additional state, local and national recognitions. For more information, visit amwater.com and join American Water on LinkedIn, Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.

Primary Role

Provide the strategic and tactical growth and government affairs objectives of the state. This includes driving governmental relationships to accomplish the growth, regulatory, and legislative goals of the company and will be accomplished through personal effort and direction of other managers. Setting and delivering a budget which includes the acquisition of municipal and investor-owned utilities as well as driving of water contract sales.

Key Accountabilities

• Develop and maintain key regulatory, legislative and local governmental relationships to meet strategic growth goals. This includes establishing and maintaining relationships with state and local government officials and regulators, working closely with an array of political, utility, industry, and business-related state organizations to create strategic alliances and issue-oriented coalitions (i.e., Environmental Regulations, Public Utility Regulations, etc.), and contacting municipal and privately owned water and wastewater operations to discuss acquisition, negotiating sales for resale contracts and developing other related business opportunities.
• Setting and delivering a strategic growth plan for the state; and developing the tactical plan for delivery of the strategic plan, including setting related growth goals and delivering a budget for new sales and related expenses.
• Direct the Business Development and Government Affairs team members and perform all supervisory and employee development activities/ Drive legislation which furthers the success of the company, including directing all lobbying activities and management of local contract lobbyists. Manage a state-focused PAC.
• Ensure American Water is effectively represented in meetings, conferences, seminars, etc., at various national, state, and municipal levels, and in a position to present the advantages of ownership transfer whenever possible. Represent the company at key business organization functions, political fundraisers, etc. and ensure senior management is poised to participate.
• Communication with and engagement of the state and corporate senior management teams in delivering sales growth and relationship management.

Knowledge/Skills

• Business acumen, communication (written and verbal), networking.
• Position requires superior financial modeling skills, including knowledge of spreadsheet software packages, as well as legal aspects of the regulatory environment.
• Strong verbal and written communication skills (presentation skills: fluency, report writing).
• Interpersonal skills, (e.g., persuasion negotiation, cooperation, diplomacy).
• Strong planning organization and coordinating skills.
• Strong internal consulting skills.

Experience/Education

• Bachelor's Degree in related field of business, public administration, communication, law, or related.
• Master's Degree preferred.
• Ten (10) to Fifteen (15) years business experience and knowledge of the water industry.

Travel Requirements

• Up to 50% within Illinois.

Certifications & Licenses

• Valid Driver's License Required.

Work Environment

• Office and travel.
• Must work out of any Illinois American Water office with the option to work from home 2 days per week.

Competencies

Prioritizes & Role Models Safety Self-Awareness Develops Talent Plans, Aligns, & Directs Drives Engagement Decision Quality Join American Water... We Keep Life Flowing ™ American Water is firmly committed to Equal Employment Opportunity (EEO) and prohibits employment discrimination for employees and applicants based on his or her age, race, color, pregnancy, gender, gender identity, sexual orientation, national origin, religion, marital status, citizenship, or because they are an individual with a disability, protected veteran or other status protected by federal, state, and local laws.