Kimberly-Clark Corporation ("K-C") seeks to hire an experienced government affairs professional for the position of Senior Director - Government Affairs. The position would be based in Washington, DC and will report to the Vice President and Corporate Secretary.  The person hired for this position will be responsible, either individually or with others on the Government Affairs team, for:

• Representing K-C on a wide range of matters before federal and state and local governments in several states, including elected and appointed officials in the executive and legislative branches.
• Supporting K-C business units (Family Care, Personal Care, Professional, Health Care, Safety, and Nonwovens), key staff organizations (Energy/Environment, Human Resources, Legal, Tax, Regulatory Affairs, etc.), and assigned manufacturing and office locations on legislative, regulatory and economic development matters of strategic importance to K-C.
• Keeping K-C organizations apprised in a timely manner of legislative and other government developments of strategic importance to K-C. This requires diligently consulting K-C organizations to understand their current and future business objectives generally and understanding in a timely manner how specific legislative and other governmental developments might affect K-C.
• Influencing, when appropriate, actions of legislative or executive bodies on strategic matters using resources such as trade associations, issue coalitions, direct relationships and contract lobbyists from a position that supports K-C business objectives.
• Securing commitments of discretionary economic development incentives (tax abatements, public financing, infrastructure or training grants, etc.) from state and local development agencies to support K-C facility expansion or new location projects.
• Developing and maintaining working relationships with key federal, state and local officials (particularly those serving states and communities with K-C locations), as well as personnel in key business associations (Chambers, Manufacturers associations, trade associations, etc.) to enable effective and economical lobbying activities.
• Ensuring that the above engagements with government officials, business associations and contract lobbyists are conducted in a manner that is professional, compliant with federal and state ethics laws, compliant with the K-C Code of Conduct and Corporate Financial Instructions, and otherwise reflective of K-C corporate values.

The work performed by the government affairs professional in this position will often involve financial, operational, organizational and other areas requiring extensive knowledge of the corporation.  In addition, the person in this position often performs an important role as K-C's primary or sole representative to certain government officials and communities.

This position typically functions with minimal day-to-day supervision and requires sound judgments concerning when and to what extent to seek guidance from others within Government Affairs or from other units within the corporation.  The person in this position may provide supervision to one clerical or administrative staff member.

The assignments and workflow for this position is expected to initially involve shared responsibility for federal matters and sole responsibility for several states. The person performing the position would be expected to gradually take on greater responsibility for federal matters and less responsibility for state matters.  The pace of such transition would depend largely on the experience and capabilities of the person.  Currently, the states that host K-C locations and comprise our primary state and local government affairs work are Alabama, Arkansas, California, Connecticut, Georgia, Kentucky, Michigan, Mississippi, North Carolina, Oklahoma, Pennsylvania, South Carolina, Tennessee, Texas, Utah, Washington, and Wisconsin.

Compensation will be commensurate with the qualifications and experience of the selected candidate.  Domestic and international business travel will depend on current projects, travel budgets and the use of trade associations, issue coalitions, direct relationships and contract lobbyists.

PROFESSIONAL EXPERIENCE:

A competitive candidate should possess the following qualifications and experience:

• A minimum of ten years of government affairs experience, at least five years being in a business, business association, lobbying firm or law firm and engaging in direct lobbying of federal or state elected officials or giving direction to contract lobbyists on dealings with such officials.
• Substantial experience working on staff in a federal or state legislative body or the office of a statewide elected official is desirable but not required.
• Experience working in policy areas such as tax, environmental, energy, transportation and employment/labor.
• Undergraduate degree earned with good academic credentials. A law or other relevant graduate level degree is desirable but not required.

PERSONAL QUALIFICATIONS:

To qualify for this position candidates should have the following personal characteristics:

• Extremely bright with strong written and verbal communication skills enabling this person to be persuasive and able to communicate efficiently and effectively with a diverse group of government officials, K-C personnel and others.
• Ability to work with government officials, K-C personnel and others in a non-partisan and sustainable manner.
• Good business acumen with good judgment which will enable the person to provide business partners with timely and appropriately risk balanced advice and guidance.
• Strategic, innovative, creative and inquisitive quality of mind that ensures that the person develops a 360 perspective on how a legislative or other governmental development - and the person's specific approach to representation - might affect K-C business objectives and public image.
• A team player who is cooperative, encourages collaboration and builds consensus, one who easily gains trust and support of superiors and peers and who can find common ground and solve problems.
• Stamina and self assurance to maintain effective working relationships and quality government affairs representation in a demanding and diverse environment.
• Demonstrated integrity and commitment to the highest ethical standards and personal values.
• Self motivation and initiative to prioritize work and otherwise perform the job with minimal supervision.
• Leadership qualities that are likely to translate over to those recognized in K-C as important: Building Talent; Collaborative; Decisive; Innovative; Inspirational; and Visionary.

Interested candidates please email angela.long@kcc.com.