Vice President of Government + Community Affairs

Job Description

Job Description

Vice President of Government + Community Affairs

The Vice President of Government + Community Affairs is a senior leadership role responsible for driving Essential Access Health’s policy, advocacy, and government engagement strategy at the state and federal levels. This individual will serve as the organization’s primary voice in policy spaces, cultivating high-value relationships with legislators, regulators, and public agencies while positioning Essential Access Health as a trusted implementation partner and thought leader in sexual and reproductive health.

Reporting directly to the Chief of External Affairs, the VP will ensure strategic coherence across government relations, public funding positioning, community affairs, and lobbyist management. This role operates at the intersection of policy influence, public sector engagement, and mission-driven advocacy, requiring both sophisticated policy acumen and a collaborative, equity-centered approach to systems-level change.

KEY DUTIES + RESPONSIBILITIES:

• Develop and execute a multi-year government affairs strategy aligned with Essential Access Health’s organizational priorities and mission. Translate strategic goals into actionable policy objectives, ensuring the organization is proactively positioned on key legislative and regulatory issues
• Represent Essential Access Health in legislative, regulatory, and coalition spaces, advancing policy positions that reflect the organization’s expertise and the communities it serves
• Identify and strategically position the organization to secure public funding opportunities by aligning programmatic expertise with evolving state and federal priorities
• Oversee community affairs strategy to ensure the organization maintains meaningful, trust-based relationships with the communities it serves and that community perspectives inform advocacy positions
• Manage the organization’s relationship with its contracted lobbyist(s), ensuring alignment between external advocacy activities and organizational priorities.
• Lead and develop the Government + Community Affairs team, building a high-performing function that operates with clarity, coordination, and impact
• Serve as an active partner to Fund Development, Communications, and other internal teams, ensuring coordinated and complementary external engagement

QUALIFICATIONS:

To perform this job successfully, an individual must be able to perform each essential duty satisfactorily.  The requirements listed below are representative of the knowledge, skill, and/or ability required to perform this job.

·       10–12+ years of progressive experience in government affairs, public policy, advocacy, or related fields, preferably in a nonprofit, health, or social services context

·       Demonstrated track record of influencing state and/or federal policy outcomes, including direct engagement with legislators, regulatory agencies, or executive offices

·       Experience managing contracted lobbyists or external government relations consultants

·       Established relationships with California state government officials and/or federal health policy stakeholders (strongly preferred)

·       Experience navigating the intersection of nonprofit advocacy, government funding, and political compliance requirements

·       Other duties as assigned

Mission: Essential Access Health champions and promotes quality sexual + reproductive health care for all

At Essential Access Health (Essential Access), our values are our compass. We believe bodily autonomy is a human right, and that everyone deserves to make decisions about their lives, families, and futures with dignity and respect. Today’s reproductive health landscape is marked by escalating attacks on access, deepening inequities, and state-sanctioned violence against people who can get pregnant. Yet this moment—while challenging—has also become a catalyst for change. It has demanded clarity, courage, and creativity. It has pushed us to reimagine and redesign our work, to ask who is better off because of it, and to expand our sense of what is possible and necessary. This strategic plan sets our direction for the next three years: to lead with our values, transform systems rather than defend the status quo, and shape a future in which sexual and reproductive health care is just, equitable, and centered on people.

Commitment to Equity, Diversity, Justice + Inclusion
Since our founding in 1968, Essential Access has been guided by a foundational belief: every person has the right to access the health services and information they need—with dignity and respect. That belief is as urgent today as it has ever been.

We know that access is not enough on its own. Systemic barriers—rooted in race, identity, ability, and circumstance—continue to determine who receives care and who is left behind. Addressing those barriers is not peripheral to our work; it is central to it. We are committed to embedding a health equity lens across our policies, programs, and services, and to taking meaningful action to ensure that sexual and reproductive health outcomes are just and equitable for everyone we serve, including LGBTQ+ individuals and people with disabilities.
This thread runs through five decades of work, and it shapes how we show up—for our communities, our partners, and one another.

Join Us
With our home office in Southern California and employees throughout the West Coast and Hawaiʻi, our team includes leading experts in sexual and reproductive health—researchers, trainers, clinicians, advocates, and operational leaders who bring both expertise and purpose to their work every day.

We are a mission-driven organization, and that extends to how we show up for our staff. We are committed to building a workplace where people feel seen, supported, and valued—where the same dignity and respect we champion for our patients and communities is reflected in the employee experience. We invest in professional growth, foster a culture of collaboration and psychological safety, and work continuously to ensure Essential Access is a place where talented, passionate people can do the best work of their careers.

Company Description

Mission: Essential Access Health champions and promotes quality sexual + reproductive health care for all\r\n\r\nAt Essential Access Health (Essential Access), our values are our compass. We believe bodily autonomy is a human right, and that everyone deserves to make decisions about their lives, families, and futures with dignity and respect. Today’s reproductive health landscape is marked by escalating attacks on access, deepening inequities, and state-sanctioned violence against people who can get pregnant. Yet this moment—while challenging—has also become a catalyst for change. It has demanded clarity, courage, and creativity. It has pushed us to reimagine and redesign our work, to ask who is better off because of it, and to expand our sense of what is possible and necessary. This strategic plan sets our direction for the next three years: to lead with our values, transform systems rather than defend the status quo, and shape a future in which sexual and reproductive health care is just, equitable, and centered on people. \r\n\r\nCommitment to Equity, Diversity, Justice + Inclusion\r\nSince our founding in 1968, Essential Access has been guided by a foundational belief: every person has the right to access the health services and information they need—with dignity and respect. That belief is as urgent today as it has ever been.\r\n\r\nWe know that access is not enough on its own. Systemic barriers—rooted in race, identity, ability, and circumstance—continue to determine who receives care and who is left behind. Addressing those barriers is not peripheral to our work; it is central to it. We are committed to embedding a health equity lens across our policies, programs, and services, and to taking meaningful action to ensure that sexual and reproductive health outcomes are just and equitable for everyone we serve, including LGBTQ+ individuals and people with disabilities. \r\nThis thread runs through five decades of work, and it shapes how we show up—for our communities, our partners, and one another.\r\n\r\nJoin Us\r\nWith our home office in Southern California and employees throughout the West Coast and Hawaiʻi, our team includes leading experts in sexual and reproductive health—researchers, trainers, clinicians, advocates, and operational leaders who bring both expertise and purpose to their work every day.\r\n\r\nWe are a mission-driven organization, and that extends to how we show up for our staff. We are committed to building a workplace where people feel seen, supported, and valued—where the same dignity and respect we champion for our patients and communities is reflected in the employee experience. We invest in professional growth, foster a culture of collaboration and psychological safety, and work continuously to ensure Essential Access is a place where talented, passionate people can do the best work of their careers.