Legislative Director

LEGISLATIVE DIRECTOR

Job Description

Our team is seeking a Legislative Director who will help lead the development of a multi-year policy agenda for the organization and will be primarily responsible for executing on the legislative portions of that policy agenda, as directed by the Senator and Chief of Staff (COS). This high-profile and impactful position will require work in all aspects of political action including policy research and development, legislative drafting, media and strategic communications to expand public awareness, stakeholder engagement, and coalition building and management.

The essential requirements are top-flight analytical and research skills, a passion for making a policy difference, a willingness to work hard, and a flexible, creative, and adaptive approach to addressing democracy’s problems. Grit, hustle, and motivation to fight for change are an absolute must in order to succeed in this role.

ESSENTIAL JOB FUNCTIONS:

• Supervisory: Oversees up to three legislative team members, including interns. Responsibilities include participation in interviewing, hiring, and training legislative staff; planning, assigning and directing work and deadlines for completion and meeting identified goals; appraising performance; addressing complaints; and resolving problems;

• Ensures that the legislative staff is properly focused on carrying out the Senator’s legislative goals;

• Works with the Senator to formulate positions on legislative issues;

• Monitors legislative activity on the Senate floor and handles long-term and short-term legislative planning for the Member;

• Oversees the progression of bills with which the Member is involved as they move from Committee to the floor;

• Recommends strategies and tactics on bills and positions;

• Assigns legislative staff areas of responsibility and monitors and assists the Chief of Staff in evaluating the legislative staff work;

• Trains and supervises legislative staff and ensures that legislative staff complies with office policies, practices, and procedures;

• Schedules and directs legislative staff meetings;

• Recommends co-sponsorships of legislation to the Member;

• Writes and reviews legislative memos and works with senior legislative staff to draft legislation;

• Assists in overseeing activities of the office in the absence of the Chief of Staff;

• Maintains up-to-date status reports on all legislation affecting the district, legislation in which the Senator is a principal sponsor, or legislation on which the Senator is a cosponsor;

• Monitors and reports on action taken in both the Senate and the House, and state agencies;

• Coordinates responses to all legislative mail and outreach, ensuring adequate, informative, and timely responses and follow-ups are achieved and documented in the iConstituent tracking platform;

• Assists organizations and constituents in the district with state matters that have concerns or questions about legislation or policy initiatives including meeting with groups of constituents or other office visitors, as directed by COS;

• Maintains a honest and informative working relationship with the Senator, members of the team, constituents, and other Senate staff;

• Uses performance -based feedback as opportunities to improve and advance both professional development and public service efforts;

• Works a flexible schedule including long hours, nights, and weekends when necessary;

• Meets attendance requirements as established by the office;

• Works well under pressure and handles stress and takes initiative to get things done; and

• Performs other duties as assigned.

Skills and Knowledge Required:

• Comprehensive knowledge of legislative process and of the PA General Assembly organization and procedures; ability to analyze and communicate both orally and in written form, including bill analyses, drafting of amendments, interpret and explain the components of a bill and/ or fiscal note, or other policy documents/ proposals

• Thorough knowledge of Employee Handbook, Senate Rules and Mason’s Manual;

• Ability to work cooperatively and courteously with others;

• Temperament to communicate with a variety of personalities in a tactful, pleasant, and professional manner;

• Provides necessary organization, supervisory, leadership and motivation to manage the legislative staff and interns;

• Knowledge and understanding of Senate and office policies, practices, and procedures;

• Knowledge of and ability to implement office computer applications including Microsoft Office, Microsoft Teams, Zoom, Google Drive / Shared Drive platforms, iConstituent tracking system, and legislative platforms such as PLS and LDP;

• The ability to think flexibly, creatively, and innovatively about the future of PA’s democracy and the changes that can improve it;

• 3-7 years of experience working on policy and/or legislation in Pennsylvania and strong skills with policy development and advocacy;

• 2-4 years of experience working in and managing coalitions;

• Experience with grassroots organizing and/or advocacy campaigns;

• Professionalism, composure, advocacy skills, and speaking skills necessary to represent the Senator meetings with the agency secretaries, legislative leadership staff, constituents and other critical stakeholders;

• Excellent communication skills, both written and verbal, as well as understanding and implementing effective messaging strategies.

• Excellent research skills;

• Strong organizational skills and attention to detail, including proof reading and critical thinking;

• Ability to remain on track with multiple priorities and projects simultaneously, and meet project deadlines as assigned;

• Ability to work independently, as well as guide and oversee projects in a remote environment with other team members to ensure project completion, and provide informative updates on status of projects and goals to COS and Senator;

• Strong idealism and optimism about our power to build a better democracy and advance public awareness on important issues.

Additional Responsibilities:

At the direction of the Senator and COS, the Legislative Director will work to create, implement, develop, and advocate for a policy agenda aimed at building a more inclusive, accessible, equitable, representative, honest, accountable, and trustworthy democracy in Pennsylvania. This includes but not limited to:

• * Policy Vision – The Legislative Director will be an innovative policy thinker who can effectively represent the Senator’s legislative and policies goals and initiatives.

• * Legislation –the Legislative Director will develop ideas for legislation, draft legislation, devise legislative advocacy strategies, find bill authors, create preparation materials and briefings documents for legislative hearings and affiliated board meetings, work to build coalitions with stakeholders and other legislative staff, negotiate and draft amendments, and manage all other parts of the legislative process for the Senator.

• * Writing – At the direction of the COS and Senator, the Legislative Director will work with the Communications Director to draft op-eds, legislative factsheets, research reports, and memos, including citations and links to sources, to ensure the Senator’s legislative efforts and initiatives are being consistently and effectively communicated across all channels.

• * Diplomacy and Coalition-Building – The Legislative Director will engage partners and key stakeholders on the Senator’s policy priorities, including entrenched power players who may dislike some of the organization’s positions. The Legislative Director will build coalitions behind the organization’s legislation and other policy projects, and manage those coalitions.

The following are considered a bonus but not required to apply:

• Knowledge of the policy issues pertaining to Pennsylvania’s democracy, regulations, state constitution and laws.

• A law degree or an advanced degrees in public policy or related field of study.

• Some experience with administrative advocacy, including at watchdog agencies and entities working toward improved government transparency and accountability.

WORK/OFFICE/TRAVEL REQUIREMENTS:

This is a full-time role. The person filling the role must have flexibility to work some nights and weekends, especially during peak periods in the legislative calendar, which is subject to change since the majority party determines all session days and hearings. Location of in-person work assignment will vary mostly between the Capitol in Harrisburg, PA, and the Royersford, PA, district office, depending on schedule. The Legislative Director will attend assigned events with the Senator or on her behalf, and must work in- person at the Capitol for all session days, and any other days as directed by the Senator and COS. Remote work days will be determined by the COS, Senate HR, and the Senator, and are not guaranteed. Efforts to reduce time spent on travel will be considered so all members of the team have the most efficient and balanced work schedule relative to the nature of public service.

COMPENSATION:

Salary Range: based on experience and Senate job classification for this role (Legislative Support level

3- LS3 range ~$65k-87k and Legislative Support level 4 -LS4 range ~$70k-102k).

Also available: comprehensive healthcare package available, including vision and dental, for both team member and family; retirement fund options; life insurance options; paid sick leave; paid vacation; more detail available if selected for interview.

TO APPLY:

Please submit resume, cover letter, a brief write up on why you are applying for this position, and three references (including relationship to person listed, email, phone number, address, years known, and job title of reference) and include “Legislative Director” in the subject line.

All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, national origin, protected veteran status, or disability status. Senator Muth is committed to equity, diversity and inclusion throughout the organization and believes strongly in the increased effectiveness that comes from a diverse workforce.

**Please note this job description is not designed to cover or contain a comprehensive listing of activities, duties or responsibilities that are required of the employee for this job. Duties, activities or responsibilities may change at any time with or without notice.**

We do not discriminate in employment on the basis of race, color, religion, sex (including pregnancy and gender identity), national origin, sexual orientation, marital status, disability, genetic information, age, membership in an employee organization, retaliation, parental status, military service, or other non- merit factor. We are committed to creating a diverse, inclusive and harassment-free environment for all employees.

Job Type: Full-time

Benefits:

• Dental insurance
• Employee assistance program
• Health insurance
• Life insurance
• Paid time off
• Parental leave
• Retirement plan
• Vision insurance

Schedule:

• Day shift
• Evening shift
• Holidays
• Weekend availability

Work Location: One location