Director of Government Relations

The Director of Government Relations will lead and support Houston Livestock Show and Rodeo’s government relations strategy, stakeholder engagement, and public-sector relationship management at the state, county, and municipal levels. This position will be responsible for developing, maintaining, and strengthening trusted relationships with statewide elected officials, members of the Texas Legislature, elected and appointed officials at the City of Houston and Harris County, and other public-sector leaders whose work intersects with HLSR’s mission, operations, facilities, public policy priorities, and annual Show.

The successful candidate will be a highly experienced, professional, and politically astute relationship-builder who understands Texas government, the legislative process, local government operations, public policy advocacy, and the importance of maintaining HLSR’s reputation as a nonpartisan, mission-driven organization. A key responsibility of the role will be developing and maintaining year-round relationships with HLSR’s ex-officio board members, with particular emphasis on communications, engagement, and coordination prior to and during HLSR’s annual Show.

ESSENTIAL DUTIES AND RESPONSIBLITIES include but are not limited to the following:

• Develop, implement, and maintain a comprehensive government relations strategy aligned with HLSR’s mission, strategic priorities, facility interests, community partnerships, and long-term organizational objectives.
• Build and maintain strong, trusted, and professional relationships with top statewide elected officials, members of the Texas Legislature, legislative staff, agency officials, City of Houston elected officials and senior staff, Harris County elected officials and senior staff, and other key governmental stakeholders.
• Serve as a primary point of coordination for HLSR’s engagement with ex-officio board members, including year-round relationship management, communication planning, contact management, and coordination of invitations, briefings, and Show-related interactions.
• Lead planning and execution of government official engagement prior to and during the annual Houston Livestock Show and Rodeo, including outreach, scheduling support, briefing materials, attendance coordination, issue preparation, and on-site stakeholder experience.
• Monitor state, county, and municipal legislative, regulatory, policy, and budget developments that may affect HLSR, NRG Park, related entities, nonprofit operations, public events, public safety, transportation, taxation, economic development, agriculture, education, and community programming.
• Coordinate with internal leadership, legal counsel, communications, operations, security, marketing, and other divisions to ensure government relations activities are accurate, coordinated, timely, and consistent with HLSR policies and messaging.
• Prepare briefing materials, talking points, summaries, legislative updates, stakeholder profiles, meeting notes, issue trackers, and other written materials for HLSR leadership, officers, board members, and staff.
• Support HLSR leadership in meetings with elected officials, public agencies, governmental partners, consultants, and community stakeholders, including preparation, follow-up, and tracking of action items.
• Maintain current and accurate records of governmental contacts, ex-officio board members, public official engagement, correspondence, meeting history, and Show-related attendance or participation.
• Represent HLSR professionally in external meetings, governmental forums, civic settings, and stakeholder engagements while preserving HLSR’s nonpartisan standing and reputation for integrity, service, and community impact.
• Coordinate with outside government relations consultants, legal advisors, and strategic partners as directed to support legislative and policy initiatives.
• Identify opportunities to strengthen HLSR’s relationships with governmental and community partners in support of HLSR’s mission, annual Show, facilities, educational impact, Western heritage, and long-term strategic priorities.

QUALIFICATIONS AND EXPERIENCE

• Bachelor’s degree from an accredited college or…