Government Relations Associate

What We Can Achieve Together:

As our Government Relations Associate, you will play a key role on the Policy and Government Relations team for the MNDK Chapter of TNC (supporting Minnesota-North Dakota-South Dakota.) In coordination with the Director of Policy and Government Relations for MN-ND-SD, you will help drive forward our policy work at the Minnesota State Capitol and work broadly in support of The Nature Conservancy’s conservation priorities and goals across MN, ND, and SD.

You will also advance the Conservancy’s policy and public funding goals and provides research, policy analysis and strategy development for policies related to the Conservancy’s land, water, climate, and agriculture objectives. This includes tracking hearings, policies and decisions directly related to these policy areas, while also providing additional internal and external coordination, research, meeting and communications coordination as needed. You will provide research and policy analysis in support of legislative, corporate and/or policy priorities;

and collaborate with team members to prepare lobbying materials, memos, and other communications for elected and other public officials, internal staff and the Chapter Board of Trustees. You will develop strategic partnerships with relevant agencies, conservation organizations, and/or industry.

Other responsibilities include but are not limited to supervising interns or temporary staff, financial management (developing and working within a budget, processing check requests, and completing travel expense reports,) supporting Policy and Government Relations team projects, administrative functions or similar duties, ensuring program compliance with internal policies and external requirements.

Are you looking for work you can believe in? At TNC we strive to embody a philosophy of Work that You Can Believe in where you can feel like you are making a difference every day.

The Government Relations Associate is a self-starter who thrives working independently in a complex organization with multiple priorities. Additionally, you have strong organizational skills and meticulously detailed oriented.

You will support TNC’s conservation goals by serving as a liaison and informational contact between the organization and outside agencies or companies, so relationship building and networking is critical to the position.

• Bachelor’s degree and a minimum of 2 years related work experience or equivalent combination.
• Fluency in English.
• Experience researching information from divergent sources and compiling it into a cohesive report.
• Experience preparing written materials such as, but not limited to memos, research documents, policy summaries, official correspondence.
• Experience presenting to and communicating with internal and external audiences.
• Experience interacting with senior leadership in a professional manner.

• Multi-lingual skills and multi-cultural experience appreciated.
• Experience with strategy development for legislative, planning, and policy initiatives at the state and local level.
• Experience presenting to and communicating with government or corporate staff and/or program leadership.
• Experience working with partners including government agencies and the corporate sector.
• Experience coordinating complex projects in a decentralized organization, working across teams, operating units and functions to achieve optimal results.
• Experience building networks, facilitating informational sessions, increasing internal knowledge and capacity, and identifying key stakeholders.
• Experience, coursework, or other training in public policy, government relations environment, conservation, energy, agriculture, or climate-related…