State Initiatives Director

The American Flood Coalition is a nonpartisan group that drives transformational adaptation to higher seas, stronger storms, and more frequent flooding. AFC comprises more than 500 elected officials, local leaders, military groups, and businesses that work together to advance resilient and equitable flood solutions at the local, state, and federal levels. As the only organization that focuses on flooding across all levels of government, AFC is uniquely positioned to advance solutions that keep communities safe.

Position Summary

The American Flood Coalition is seeking an experienced people and project manager to build and lead our growing team of regional state government relations directors. As theState Initiatives Director, you will support the State Government Relations Director on strategic initiatives and serve as the operational backbone of AFC's state government relations team - designing systems that drive accountability and coordination, and ensuring that our team is positioned to scale flood adaptation policies across states.

This is a new, senior-level position at the Coalition, created to support the growing scale and complexity of our state government relations work. Reporting to the State Government Relations Director, this full-time position is primarily internal-facing, and is based at our headquarters in Washington, DC to enable close collaboration with other AFC teams. The job requires an estimated 10% travel. If you are energized by building structure, coaching high-performing teams, and helping passionate advocates do their best work, we want to hear from you.

Responsibilities

• Develop and manage a team of approximately four highly-autonomous regional government relations directors, who are focused on developing and strengthening relationships with state government officials and driving the uptake of flood adaptation policy in states. Provide ongoing coaching, performance feedback, and professional development support to help each team member grow and succeed; and foster collaboration and knowledge-sharing across the regional team, ensuring that insights, best practices, and lessons learned are captured and applied consistently
• Serve as core contributor to team planning and strategy setting and contribute to team-wide planning processes, including contributing as a member of AFC's semi-annual organizational strategy development, and overseeing hiring and onboarding for the regional government relations team
• Build and oversee internal project management systems, workflows, and reporting processes to coordinate across regions, track progress against goals, ensure team-wide accountability, keeping the State Government Relations Director and broader leadership well-informed on team activities, wins, and challenges
• Serve as the primary bridge between regional directors and DC-based headquarters staff including state policy and technical teams, translating field-level insights and needs into actionable guidance while ensuring regional directors have the context, resources, and organizational support they need to operate effectively
• Support regional directors in their day-to-day advocacy and relationship-building work, providing project management support, helping troubleshoot challenges, and connecting them to the right internal resources

Qualifications

• Demonstrated track record of building, leading, and developing high-performing teams, with a people-first approach to management and a genuine investment in staff growth
• 10+ years of experience in strategy-focused roles in mission-driven organizations or companies, with at least 5 years in a formal people management role
• Strong project management skills, including demonstrated experience designing and implementing systems to manage complex, multi-workstream programs across a distributed team without losing sight of the bigger picture
• At least 3 years of experience in a state government relations, association management, lobbying, or senior legislative staffing role, sufficient to effectively advise and support tenured regional staff navigating diverse political environments
• Strong written and verbal communication skills, including the ability to synthesize complex information and communicate it clearly to diverse internal audiences
• Bachelor's Degree required

Location

Washington, D.C.

Benefits

• Salary range: $130,000-$160,000
• Generous and flexible paid time off
• 12 weeks of paid parental leave
• Health,dental, and vision insurance, including a $0 monthly premium health insurance option for employees.
• 401k plan with 4% employer match
• Company-paid short-term and long-term disability, as well as basic life insurance and other voluntary benefits
• Up to $4,000 in relocation assistance to DC for new employees living outside of the D.C. metropolitan area

We also offer:

• A hybrid work schedule: All D.C.-based are in-person in our D.C. office on Tuesdays and Thursdays, with the option to regularly work from home on Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays.
• Company-sponsored outings, such as happy hours, after-work activities, a holiday party, an annual retreat, and more
• Office closure the week between Christmas and New Year's Day
• A modern office with amenities, including gym access, snacks and drinks, a smart casual dress code, and a collaborative floor plan with options to suit every workstyle

The American Flood Coalition is committed to attracting and retaining a diverse staff, and we are proud to be an equal opportunity employer. We invite applications from candidates with unique backgrounds and strive to create and maintain an environment that is inclusive, equitable, and welcoming.