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A legislative affairs manager handles various activities related to local, state or federal programs, events, operations and organizations. Legislative affairs managers may work in the private sector and represent their organization to the government, or they may represent government agencies with political, community and commercial organizations. Most legislative or government affairs managers make from $100,000 to $140,000 annually, according to Salary.com.
Policy Affairs Management
Some legislative affairs managers spend their time developing and advocating state public policy positions that support their constituent employers. They direct employee political involvement, political action committees, membership recruitment, participation campaigns, advocacy outreach and employee grassroots initiatives and activities. They identify and analyze relevant bills, legislature and policy positions regarding their potential impact on the organization and industry. They lead solicitation campaigns and supervise the preparation of solicitation materials, event planning and media recognition programs.
They manage state contribution and lobbying reporting filings in compliance with state regulations. This requires them to assess and qualify corporate activities, events and expenditures. They develop, manage and disburse annual political budgets. They may arrange visits of public officials to the organization’s offices, which includes preparing background briefs and company information. These legislative affairs managers will need either a bachelor’s degree with 10 years or a master’s degree with eight years of previous related experience in government affairs. They will need excellent critical thinking, problem-solving, organizational and analytical skills.
Political Outreach Management
Some legislative affairs managers only handle political outreach activities and programs. They develop and manage donor solicitation and engagement programs. They supervise the creation of digital and physical materials for targeted outreach activities. They ensure compliance with all federal registrations and state reports. They routinely attend and coordinate fundraisers for congressional candidates and community representatives on behalf of their company. They manage activities involving legislative, regulatory and political affairs.
They may track and analyze proposed legislation and regulations in order to create draft briefs for key stakeholders. They assist in the development of outreach strategies related to legislative and regulatory matters. They provide staff support to advocacy councils, boards of directors and community organizations. They attend meetings, preparing reports and disseminate agendas. They coordinate local, state and regional advocacy efforts when needed. They establish and maintain contact with relevant organizations and agencies. They must have knowledge and experience in political action committees and their legal requirements.
Project Management
Legislative affairs managers may only work on short- and long-term projects. They may manage concurrent medium to large projects for highly complex legislative initiatives. For example, may be responsible for supporting the successful implementation of voter and constituent technology solutions. This will require facilitation and coordination with project staff, stakeholders, IT professionals and contractors to define project duties, scopes, activities, deadlines and schedules. They will solve problems, redefine project scopes as needed and sequentially arrange project activities.
In order to initiate projects, they are responsible for obtaining official authorization, eliciting support and commitment, demonstrating business needs and maintaining project feasibility. They develop and manage master project plans that detail individual work tasks, schedules and budgets. These legislative affairs managers assemble and lead meetings with team members and stakeholders to ensure that projects stay on schedule and within prescribed budgets. They monitor the progress of work assignments in order to adjust and revise project schedules.
Related Resource: Analytics Manager
Legislative affairs managers will need extensive knowledge and understanding of lobbying disclosures, political action committees, government management and legislative and policy making processes.