State Government Relations Director (Arlington)

FMI – The Food Industry Association: We’re Hiring a State Government Relations Director

Are you a government affairs professional who can break down complex policies and confidently present them to executives, committees, and industry leaders? Do you enjoy building coalitions, leading working groups, and bringing people together around shared priorities? Then this might be the role for you. Keep reading!

Quick Snapshot: In this role, you’ll provide expertise on state legislation, laws, and regulatory actions that impact our members, and deliver presentations to key FMI committees and meetings. You will also engage with state and local industry partners and represent FMI and its members to external stakeholders.

What you’ll do in This Role:

• Provide research, analysis, and strategic guidance to FMI members, state associations, and staff on priority state government affairs issues.
• Monitor, analyze, and report on pending and enacted state legislation and regulatory activity, as directed by the Vice President of Government Relations, utilizing FMI’s legislative tracking system to assess member impact and compliance requirements.
• Manage state relationships to benefit FMI’s strategic initiatives, programs, and policies.
• Identify, report, and collaborate on emerging state public policy initiatives and share findings with the FMI team and committees.
• Create and run FMI member state legislative working groups and coalitions on key issues as the need arises.
• Research and prepare information on priority state issues, including developing and drafting policy papers, background documents, and other deliverables.
• Collaborate with the FMI State Affairs team to build State Retreat and State Regional Legislative Planning agendas and obtain speakers for these meetings.
• Create and write articles for FMI Government Affairs or other issue-specific newsletters.
• Assist in the recruitment of new members.

The Background and Skills That You’ll Need to be Successful:

• A college degree and a minimum of seven to ten years of professional work experience in government or government affairs.
• Knowledge of and/or experience working in the food industry, working with state legislatures and regulatory authorities and agencies.
• Excellent written communication skills, including editing and proofreading.
• Excellent oral communication skills, including the ability to create presentations using Microsoft PowerPoint, and experience giving presentations to a variety of audiences.
• Must be self-directed with excellent time and project management skills and an ability to organize, prioritize, and accomplish multiple tasks with strict attention to detail and with minimal supervision.

Why FMI? We are the champions for the food industry and the issues that make a difference to our members in the food industry. Our work touches the lives of over 120 million households in the U.S. and representing a $1 trillion industry with over 6 million employees. By joining our team, you will become part of a diverse, engaging, and supportive environment where your contributions directly impact the future of the food retail industry.

Our Benefits: We offer a generous benefits package that includes health benefits, 401(k), 11 paid holidays, paid leave benefits, a summer hours program allowing you to work only four hours on Fridays during the summer, plenty of additional remote work opportunities including two weeks at the end of August, the week of Thanksgiving and two weeks at the end of December, volunteer opportunities (if you want to give back to your community), the chance to join our employee wellness group and much more!

This position requires you to work in our Arlington, Virginia office for a minimum of two full days per week. You’ll also receive a parking space in our building or be reimbursed for up to $175 per month for commuting expenses via Metro bus or train, MARC train, etc.

*The annual salary range listed reflects the minimum and maximum annual compensation for this position and has been established in good faith and in accordance with Virginia and federal law. Individual salary offers within this range will be based on the candidate's relevant experience, education, skills, certifications, and other job-related factors.

Apply Now: If you're ready to drive meaningful change on state legislative and regulatory issues that shape the food industry, apply now.

Learn more about FMI by visiting our website at

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FMI is an Equal Opportunity Employer.