Legislative & Policy Analyst

Specific duties for this position include:

• Monitoring state legislative committee hearings and meetings prior to and during regular and special sessions where Arlington Countys adopted legislative priorities are under consideration;

• Coordinating work with contracted professional lobbyists;

• Attending or directing meetings and hearings to stay informed and to represent County interests or concerns;

• Explaining complex legislative or regulatory issues to different audiences;

• Advocating and promoting County and community interests to legislative representatives and community groups or similar organizations;

• Building coalitions through consensus forging and developing collaborative relationships and strategic partnerships with legislative representatives policy developers community members constituent and business groups regional organizations and executives at the County local regional state and federal levels;

• Advising and developing action plans with input from the County Manager the County Board Policy Manager and County Board Members for attaining legislative objectives and coordinating the Countys response among all County agencies;

• Identifying researching and analyzing financial operational legal and policy issues;

• Conducting benchmarking research to formulate best-practice strategies;

• Monitoring and providing timely updates on project timelines and associated activities with particular focus on critical deadlines and sensitive political and or policy issues;

• Leading and/or participating in cross-departmental project work groups as a County Managers Office representative to provide the County Manager and Deputy County Managers with updates and key information; and

• Drafting executive summaries on project status results findings and recommended actions.

The successful candidate will have the following:

• Familiarity with local government challenges opportunities and interests;

• Experience effectively assessing operational and fiscal impacts of public policy issues and legislation;

• Technical writing skills to draft legislation written communications or narrative reports;

• Working knowledge of state and local legislative processes with strong lobbying skills and the ability to represent and advance issues or interests on behalf of the Arlington community; and

• Proven ability to successfully lobby the Countys public policy interests with legislative and executive officials or with special interest groups agencies or organizations.

This employee reports directly to the County Managers Chief of Staff makes judgments and decisions independently while representing the County on critical legislative issues handles a large volume of work in a high pace environment and reacts quickly to changes in priorities and new information.

Minimum:

• Bachelors Degree in Public Administration Public Policy Political Science Communications Governmental Affairs or related field from an accredited college or university; plus

• Significant and progressively responsible experience as a legislative specialist that included the following:

• Representing governmental agency legislative interests at the local andstate or federal levels;

• Building community coalitions to advance issues of mutual concern;

• Analyzing and advising agency executives of the impacts of legislative regulations on government agency policies and operations; and

• Developing policies and executing strategies to achieve agency legislative agendas.

Licenses/Certifications:

Ability to register as a Lobbyist with the Virginia General Assembly.

Substitution:Additional qualifying related experience may be substituted for the education requirement on a year-for-year basis.

Desirable Qualifications:Masters degree in a related area. If you have experience in one or more of the following areas you may be given preference:

• Serving at an executive level as a legislative liaison or policy analyst for a local government agency;
• Performing legislative affairs or serving as a registered lobbyist with the Virginia General Assembly;
• Building partnerships and coalitions on local state and federal levels to promote local and/or regional legislative actions or community issues and interests; and/or
• Working with state and federal lobbyists to advance local government or community interests.

Special Requirements

Please note: An online application is required. A complete application includes a cover letter and resume. Please provide a cover letter that explains how your education experience and training meet the qualification requirements of this position and highlight your accomplishments in these areas. Please use the space provided in the Supplemental Questions section of the online application for your cover letter or attach the cover letter and resumeto your online application.

Completion of the Commonwealth of Virginia Statement of Economic Interest form will be required of the successful candidate upon hire and annually thereafter. A background check will be made on all candidates who are finalists for the position. It may include checks on the following: criminal record driving record education professional licensure and credit rating and may require signing a release authorizing the County to obtain this information.

This position requires considerable travel. This Liaisonwill represent the County during the annual legislative session of the Virginia General Assembly and attend legislative meetings throughout the year primarily in Richmond as well as other sites in the state. Applicant must possess or obtain by the time of appointment a valid motor vehicle operators license (or CDL) from the applicants place of residence.

Additional Information

Starting salary will depend upon the qualifications and experience of the candidate selected and by applicable pay rules within the yearly salary range of $103084.80 - $159764.80 (effective 7/1/2025).

Arlington County offers a generous benefit package. For details about our benefits please follow theCounty Benefits link.

The County Government consists of 13 departments and 5 elected constitutional offices providing a full array of urban services with over 3500 employees. In addition there is a close working relationship with Arlingtons school system which is funded through the County Board. For more information about the County please clickhere.

Applicants who have questions or need assistance with the application may telephone or visit the Human Resources Department. Our staff will be happy to work with you to enter your application into the system. Public access computers are available at all County Libraries and in the Human Resources Department.