Empire Government Strategies is seeking to recruit a highly motivated professional who demonstrates a strong commitment to excellence and understands the vital importance of personal accountability to join its team. 

About the Company

Empire Government Strategies is a New York based government relations firm that focuses on direct lobbying, mobilization campaigns, and government grants. We aggressively assist our clients with their issues, whether in Washington, City Hall, or in Albany. We are the “maverick” of the industry utilizing non-traditional approaches to achieve success for our clients. Just going door-to-door to legislative offices is a thing of the past. We believe a government relations firm should do more for the client.  

Over the last decade Empire has grown in size and influence in the political world.  Our team has been successful in representing a diverse group of clients that include the following industries: energy, transportation, entertainment, food & beverage, travel, real estate development, homeland security, manufacturing, education, local government, and financial services. 

Purpose of the Position

The Government Relations Associate (“GRA”) will work directly under the Vice President and interact with the President and Chairman.  The GRA provides support to the executive staff of Empire Government Strategies in all internal and external operations. This position will act in a key supporting role, working with both internal staff as well as with clients and public officials of federal, state and local governing bodies to ensure a balance between internal and external priorities and responsibilities. 

Essential Duties & Responsibilities

Create and maintain a bill tracking process for matters of importance to EGS and our clients, and create and maintain timelines for all relevant legislative hearings, committee meetings, and events. 

Research pending legislation at the local, state and federal levels. Prepare special reports, summary statements, analyze basic statistics/data and prepare draft correspondence pertaining to this research. 

Compose original correspondence in a variety of formats (eg. letters, agendas, memos, emails, reports, summary statements, etc.) requiring knowledge of the legislative process, bill and committee hearing work. Prepare and distribute documents for internal and external audiences. 

Assist staff in coordinating communications for Office. Support web-site content development, find legislative alert material, newsletter topics, Legislative Update, etc. Develop and maintain various stakeholder contact lists for communications. 

Coordinate program materials, including memos, brochures, marketing materials, PowerPoint presentations, forms, reports and confidential correspondence. 

Prepare daily and weekly executive folders with all necessary relevant news and current events. Organize and maintain comprehensive electronic and hard file system. 

Requirements

Bachelors degree in Political Science, Public Policy, Public Administration or related field with at least (3) three years of relevant work experience in a government office, lobbying firm or trade association.  Masters or Law degree preferred, but not required.   

The ideal candidate must possess strong organizational skills, be detail-oriented, and have a strong political acumen. 

Skill in reading, analyzing, and interpreting state legislation and other complex documents.

Ability to develop written materials (memoranda, white-papers, testimony, etc.) related to client matters. 

Have the ability to exercise independent judgment and to prioritize and manage multiple projects.

Must be flexible to handle multiple assignments with changing priorities and meet deadlines.

Must possess strong oral and written communication skills and have the ability to effectively interact with public officials at various levels of government. 

Must have knowledge of state/local government structure and the legislative process.

Strong interpersonal and communication skills are mandatory.  

Proficient in word, outlook, excel, PowerPoint as well as industry-specific Legislative Monitoring software including StateWatch. 

Benefits
Our firm offers excellent benefits including Vacation, Holidays, Health Insurance, and Dental Insurance. 

Salary: commensurate with experience

Location: Uniondale, Long Island, NY

Application Requirements

Writing Sample: Candidates will be asked to provide a short writing sample (I.E. news article, blog post, memo, policy paper, etc.) editorializing a current political issue facing the government on the federal, state or local level.

Note: Candidates can apply by emailing their resume, cover letter, and writing sample to: afigliola@empiregs.com

SOURCE: PUBLIC AFFAIRS COUNCIL 01/03/12