Responsibilities of the role:
• Congressional relationships are critical to this job, with a strong focus on the House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee, the Senate Environment and Public Works Committee, House and Senate Appropriations, and others with an impact on water and environmental policy. A strong understanding of the process and procedures of both chambers is required and relationships with senior staff is preferred.
• The EPA relationship is key to the firm’s ongoing federal business, and the ideal candidate for this person should have a strong understanding of the EPA’s budget and related Congressional authorizations and appropriations. A robust knowledge of EPA water, PFAS, sustainability, energy and climate regulations is a plus. A general understanding of EPA’s SRF program, Superfund and WIFIA programs is strongly preferred.
• A strong candidate for the position will have an understanding of the federal budgets and programs of federal agencies with critical infrastructure programs that include Interior, FEMA (specifically the Pre-Disaster Mitigation, Hazard Mitigation, and Flood Mapping Programs), and the US Army Corps of Engineers Civil Works Program (including an understanding of the WRDA process).
• Finding available federal funding sources is vital to many of Jacobs’ clients. Ideal candidates will have a very strong understanding of the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act, and how funding flows into federal, state, and local pots and understand best practices. The position will serve as a critical connection between federal grant programs and our municipal clients nationwide, as this candidate will spend a portion of their time working directly with clients. The candidate will need an understanding of the Congressional earmarking process.
• Monitoring, analyzing, reporting, and making recommendations to the Senior Vice President for Government Relations on legislation and regulation driven by the Congress or the Administration on environmental, sustainability, water or transportation regulatory actions impacting the firm or our clients in the engineering or construction industry. This includes climate-related regulatory activity on the federal level
• Update a wide variety of internal stakeholders, including senior leaders, on pressing Congressional or Administration actions that impact the company or clients
• Persuasively communicating public policy strategies and messages to a wide assortment of constituencies, both internal and external to the organization
• Establishing and maintaining relationships with a variety of elected officials, their staff, key Administration officials, thought leaders and other public policy stakeholders outside of the organization, regardless of their political affiliation
• Assisting internal business development activities as necessary, including taking part in internal strategy development, and developing an understanding of competitors and industry trends
• Represent Jacobs at external stakeholder meetings and events (such as award banquets, conferences, and dinners) when necessary
• The Director, Government Relations role is also a key advisor to the firm’s leadership with respect to the political landscape of Washington, DC. The preferred candidate will have a strong understanding of the political process and the ability to analyze how the process may impact the firm
• Participate in the planning and execution of the Jacobs PAC, including attendance at events before and after regular business hours
