Director of State Policy and Government Partnerships

Overview
PowerLines is a national nonprofit organization that aims to modernize the utility regulatory system for American energy consumers to lower utility bills and grow the economy. It focuses on state public utilities commissions (PUCs), which play a critical role in determining how much people pay for utility bills, how utilities invest in different types of energy, and where new energy projects are built. These 200 commissioners oversee more than $200 billion in utility spending each year and have significant influence over the future of our energy system.

Rising utility bills are quickly becoming a national economic and political issue. In 2025, utilities requested a record-setting $31 billion in rate increases, double the previous record, while 80 million Americans are struggling to pay their utility bills. Meanwhile, the U.S. grid is experiencing the fastest rise in electricity demand in decades with the growth of AI data centers and manufacturing. Utility bills have become a defining national economic and political issue with a growing bipartisan set of policymakers voicing concern over these issues and conveying a desire to advance policy solutions to respond to these issues.

Recognized on the 2025 “TIME100 Next” list, PowerLines is rapidly becoming a go-to source and leader in informing the national discussion of this issue and has already shaped the conversation in the New York Times, Washington Post, Wall Street Journal, Politico, Bloomberg, CBS News, NPR, Marketplace, Financial Times, TIME, Vox, The Daily Mail, and MIT Technology Review. PowerLines is quickly establishing credibility as a nonpartisan expert on utility regulatory and energy affordability issues while reaching a bipartisan set of policymakers, including initial partnerships with the National Governors Association, National Conference of State Legislatures, and Western Governors Association.

PowerLines is in a period of significant organizational growth and seeks a full-time Director of State Policy and Government Partnerships as it seeks to strategically build relationships with policymakers across the states and advance policy impact. The majority of the role will focus on state-level policymakers, including governors and state legislators, and engagement with state-level advocacy groups. The ideal candidate will be a senior leader who has experience building relationships with state policymakers, working on bipartisan initiatives, engaging with a politically diverse set of stakeholders, and managing a team.

PowerLines is a rapidly growing, early-stage startup nonprofit organization. This person will be expected to expand PowerLines’ base of partnerships with state-level policymakers, manage coalitions, tackle complex problems, and translate strategy and ideas into execution. The Director of State Policy and Government Partnerships will be able to build on an existing platform to interface with a variety of public sector stakeholders, have a front row seat in settings with the potential to shape the energy landscape, and tackle an important national problem at a critical time.

PowerLines is headquartered in Washington, DC. The Director of State Policy and Government Partnerships is a remote position, with travel of up to 25% expected. The Director of State Policy and Government Partnerships will work closely with and report directly to the Founder and Executive Director. As the organization scales, this position is expected to oversee a team to broaden and deepen our state engagement.

Key Responsibilities

Policymaker Engagement

Lead development of PowerLines’ state policymaker engagement strategy

Build relationships with state policymakers, including governors and state legislators

Attend policymaker convenings such as National Governors Association (NGA) and National Conference of State Legislatures (NCSL) and manage PowerLines’ engagement with these partners

Develop state policymaker-relevant external engagement strategy for the organization, including internal calendar with key dates and timelines, conferences, media engagement and speaking opportunities, and strategic events and convenings

Lead engagement with lobbying partners

Policy Research

Oversee policy research and analysis, including tracking of key state policies

Identify state-level successes (e.g., legislative wins, executive orders, etc.) and maintain a catalogue of case studies that can be referenced and used to update PowerLines’ materials for elected officials

Lead drafting of materials relevant for state policymaking efforts, such as letters of support, testimony, briefing memos, training presentations, and talking points

Coalition Building

Build partnerships with a politically diverse set of partners, including NGOs, advocacy groups, and think tanks, ensuring coalitions and partnerships reflect PowerLines’ commitment to bipartisan engagement

Support PowerLines’ existing partnerships and identify growth opportunities to expand coordination with additional partners

Conduct power mapping and landscape analysis of key state policymaker environments as needed

Engage with coalitions in a variety of external engagement opportunities including events

Operations

Support leadership and operations of state policy workstream, including running of internal team meetings and external policymaker meetings

Provide operational support to PowerLines projects and teams as needed, including support on strategy memos, ad hoc requests, and special projects

Support high-level drafting of fundraising materials as needed

Lead cross-team relationship tracking and management

Team

Support hiring of additional team members as needed

Manage additional team members as the team grows

Role Requirements
The ideal candidate will be a senior leader who has experience building relationships with state policymakers, working on bipartisan initiatives, engaging with a politically diverse set of stakeholders, and managing a team of staff and consultants. The ideal candidate will be strong in both high-level strategy and fine-grained execution, bring a high degree of emotional intelligence to complex settings, and can manage multiple high-impact workstreams in a high-velocity startup environment.

Preferred Qualifications

7-15+ years of experience in state-level policy, politics, government affairs, government relations, or a related field, with a preference for experience with NGO, advocacy, government, or startup settings

Experience with energy policy and utility issues is valued, and/or an ability to learn complex, technical utility regulation topics quickly

Experience building relationships with policymakers, particularly state-level policymakers

An ability to build relationships with a politically diverse set of stakeholders, and a proven track record of building bipartisan relationships or leading bipartisan coalitions

Experience engaging with policymaker settings such as National Governors Association (NGA) and National Conference of State Legislatures (NCSL)

A “get stuff done” and “whatever it takes” mentality to deliver success and execute strategy

Strong project management skills, including an ability to track progress of complex workstreams

Strong emotional intelligence skills, including savviness in navigating complex settings with a diverse set of stakeholders

Experience managing staff and consultants

Strategic thinking and creative problem solving skills, including an ability to think big-picture and translate ideas into strategy

Capacity to thrive in an early-stage, fast-paced, dynamic, and uncertain startup environment, including an ability to identify priorities, function independently, and operate with tight timelines

A passion for advancing PowerLines’ mission of modernizing the utility regulatory system to lower utility bills and grow the economy through a consumer-centered lens

Compensation and Benefits

The expected salary range for this role is $125,000-$175,000. Compensation may be based on skills, qualifications, experience, location, and other factors.

The benefits package includes unlimited PTO, paid holidays, health insurance, a 401k employer match, sick leave, and health and wellness benefits.

How To Apply

Please include your CV/resume and a letter that addresses the question of why you are interested in the Director of State Policy and Government Partnerships role at PowerLines. All materials submitted will be carefully read and considered.

Priority consideration will be given to applications received by April 30, 2026, but applications will be accepted on a rolling basis.

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