Vice President, State Government Relations
1 day ago
Washington
Job DescriptionSalary: $120,000 - $140,000 annually The National Grocers Association (NGA) is the national trade association for Americas 21,500 independent community grocers. NGA members include retail and wholesale grocerslocatedin every congressional district across the country, as well as state grocers associations, manufacturers, and service suppliers. The NGA Government Relations (GR) team manages government relations, political activities, member casework, and more. We lobby on issues across a range of policies, including food, nutrition, antitrust, payments, labor and employment, tax, privacy,pharmacy,among others. NGA isseekinga strategic, politically astute, and resultsdriven professional to serve as Vice President of State Relations. This role will leadthe development and execution of NGAs statelevel advocacy strategy at a time when governors, legislatures, and state attorneys general are playing a growing role in food, antitrust, and retail policy. POSITION SUMMARY The Vice President of State Relations is responsible forbuilding and executing a credible, coordinated, and proactive state government affairs function for NGA. The role focuses on protecting independent grocers from harmful statelevel policies, advancing a pro-competition agenda, and strengthening NGAs value to members and state association partners. This individual will serve as a trusted national resource on state policy issues, translating complex legislative and regulatory developments into actionable intelligence and effective advocacy strategiesin close partnership withstate grocery and retail associationsand NGA members.The role requires strong political judgment, experience managing multi-stateadvocacy efforts, and the ability to align NGAs state and federal priorities in a rapidly evolving policy environment. RESPONSIBILITIES State Government Relations & Advocacy Strategy • Lead the development and execution of NGAsstate-levellegislative and regulatory strategies in response to the growing influence of states on food and retail policy., • Create systems and protocols tomonitor, analyze, and assess state legislation, regulations, attorney general actions, and waiver activity affecting independent grocers, including SNAP restrictions, EBT modernization, WIC administration, antitrust enforcement, labor mandates, taxes, utility costs, retail crime, and supply chain issues., • Engagewith governors offices, legislatures, state agencies, and attorneys general to prevent burdensome or harmful policies before enactment and to advancepro-competitionsolutions., • Develop and support advocacy strategies that address the risk of inconsistent state rules that increase compliance costs and operational complexity for NGA members., • Develop anddisseminateresearch, testimony, issue briefs, and model legislation., • Build partnerships with state policymakers, coalitions, and thirdparty organizations to ensure independent grocersconcerns are reflected in enforcement and legislative decisions., • Represent NGA in statebased coalitions, regional industry groups, and multistate policy initiatives advancing shared goals., • Provide strategic political intelligence related to gubernatorial and state legislative elections, including insights relevant to advocacy strategy and policy outcomes., • Direct and coordinate contract lobbyists and external advocacy consultants in key states, as needed, to advance NGA priorities., • Coordinatewith the PAC manageronpolitical engagement activities, including statelevel political giving strategies, in compliance with varying state ethics, reporting, and disclosure requirements, working with legalcounselas necessary., • Work withexternalcompliance consultant to ensure lobbying registration compliance. State Association & Member Engagement • Serve as NGAs primary liaison to state grocers associations, ensuring close coordination and avoiding duplication of existing state efforts., • Support and manage a StateGovernment RelationsAdvisory Committee composed of state association executivesand NGAretailerand wholesaler memberstoprovidestrategic guidance, share intelligence, and align advocacy efforts., • Delivertimely, actionable intelligence tailored to the needs of independent grocersoperatingin diverse state environments. Communications & Thought Leadership • Develop briefing materials, policy analyses, issue papers, testimony, and position statements related to state policy issues., • Contribute to NGA government relations communications, includingstate focusedalerts, member updates, and strategic memos., • Present state legislative and regulatory updates to NGA boards, committees, conferences, and member audiences., • Coordinate closely with NGAs Government Relations and Communications teams to ensure consistent messaging and integrated advocacy. Operational & Organizational Leadership • Support the development and implementation of NGAs state affairs operating model, including internal staffing, use of monitoring software, consultant engagement, and reporting structures., • Help define success metrics and expected outcomes for NGAs state affairs efforts over time, including policy wins, improved responsiveness, and strengthened state relationships., • Ensure effective project management across multiple concurrent initiatives., • Contribute to cross-departmental initiatives and broader organizational strategy., • Perform other duties as assigned in support of NGAs mission. SKILLS AND EXPERIENCE Deep understanding ofstatelegislative and regulatory processes and advocacystrategy. • 8-10yearsof experience in state government affairs, public policy, or legislative strategy., • Demonstrated success managing statelevel advocacy efforts across multiplejurisdictions., • Strong understanding of state legislative, regulatory, and attorney general processes., • Experience managing contract lobbyists, consultants, or multistate advocacy programs strongly preferred., • Familiarity with food, retail, nutrition, agriculture, or consumerfacing regulatory policy preferred., • Excellent analytical, written, and verbal communication skills., • Proven ability torepresentan organization publicly through effective speaking engagements, including panels, conferences, legislative briefings, and member meetings., • Strong relationshipbuilding skills and sound political judgment., • Bachelorsdegreerequired.Advanced degree preferred. WORK LOCATION AND FLEXIBILITY This position may be performed remotely from anywhere within the contiguous United States. While NGAs headquarters is based in Washington, DC, the Vice President of State Relations role is national in scope and designed to support advocacy across all 50 states. Asuccessful candidate must be able to travel regularly to state capitols, member meetings, coalition engagements, and NGA events, andmaintainstrong working relationships with NGA staff, state association partners, and policymakers through both virtual andin-personengagement. The base salary range for this position is$120,000-140,000per yearwith a performance bonusdepending on qualifications. Applicationswillbe reviewed on a rolling basis. NGA is an equal opportunity employer offering generous benefits including employer paid health and dental insurance, 11 paid holidays and one floating holiday, generous PTO, and 401(k) eligibility starting on the 1stquarter of the following 6 months of employment.