Senior Agriculture Policy Manager

Summary

The Senior Agriculture Policy Manager (Manager) works to combat one of the most critical unmet water quality challenges in the Great Lakes. They plan and execute policy analysis, advocacy, and project implementation under the Source Water sections of the Alliance’s strategy. The Manager implements work across the Basin – with a particular emphasis in Michigan, Ohio, and Wisconsin – to achieve the Alliance’s agriculture and water goals. They are the lead liaison to state and local decision-makers, project partners, and stakeholders across the Alliance’s focus states. The Manager maintains a working knowledge of Great Lakes agriculture and source water programs and policies as they affect the Great Lakes and uses that knowledge to recommend new opportunities within the Alliance’s programs. The Manager ensures timely and high-quality execution of relevant Alliance strategic plan deliverables, and partners with a variety of other staff members to support internal work planning, external communications, grant proposals, and reports.

A typical workday at the Alliance is often self-directed and is based on balancing immediate tasks – drafting comments on land application rules in Ohio – and longer-term projects within the Source Water Program like understanding trends in water quality monitoring data in Western Basin of Lake Erie headwaters. These short-term and longer-ranging projects and tasks are developed in close coordination with the Source Water Policy Director based on the goals under the Alliance’s strategic plan, but the Manager is afforded the flexibility and autonomy to develop their own approach to advance these goals on a day-to-day basis. Our policy work is highly collaborative, and the Manager should feel comfortable engaging – independently – with legislative offices and agency staff as well as facilitating meetings with stakeholders and partners on a regular basis.

The Manager position can be based in any of the Great Lakes states but a preference is given to those candidates based within the state of Michigan, Ohio, and Wisconsin.

Responsibilities

Planning & Policy

• Work in collaboration with the Source Water Policy Director (Director), to assist with the implementation of policy, governance, and funding mechanisms to support the reduction of agricultural pollution across the Great Lakes region.
• Manage relationships with state administrations, lawmakers, and regulatory agencies -including tracking relevant legislation and administrative programs.
• Identify emerging issues and programmatic reform opportunities to improve surface and groundwater quality in the Great Lakes Basin with particular emphasis on Michigan, Ohio, and Wisconsin.
• In coordination with the Director, assist in advancing policy and advocacy efforts across the Great Lakes Basin.
• Identify trends in mission areas, create fundable concepts, and leverage work and ideas for increased organizational impact related to agricultural pollution reduction.

Outreach

• Build issue-focused networks of key stakeholders.
• Be a leadership voice for the Alliance and for the Great Lakes across the region.
• Create and conduct external outreach opportunities, such as public speaking, conferences, and presentations.
• Serve as an Alliance liaison to the broader environmental community, identifying advocacy and partnership opportunities and engaging other Alliance staff as appropriate.
• Work with the Communications and Engagement team to determine and take advantage of opportunities to communicate to the media and Alliance supporters about the Alliance’s work in the Great Lakes Basin.

Administrative

• Assist in the development of short- and long-term work plans.
• Create opportunities to add strategic capacity to Alliance work through affiliate programs, fellowships, and staff recruitment when possible.
• Contribute content to grant proposals and reports

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Knowledge/Skills

• Bachelor’s degree, graduate degree preferred, with at least seven years of increasing professional experience in agriculture and or water policy analysis, natural resources management, government affairs, natural resources management, or similar field.
• Specific knowledge of state and federal agricultural and water quality policies and programs.
• Working knowledge of agronomy and on-farm nutrient management.
• Familiarity with the process of policy development and advocacy as well as addressing the barriers and opportunities for policy implementation to be successful.
• Excellent diplomacy skills – the ability to read and respond productively to the needs of different stakeholders at any time is essential.
• Ability to communicate a working knowledge of Great Lakes issues with confidence to diverse audiences.
• Excellent listening, writing, and speaking skills. Must be able to speak publicly in a clear, compelling, and engaging manner.
• Able to identify and engage target constituencies that are most likely to have an affinity for the Great Lakes and motivate them to act on that affinity.
• Desire and ability to both lead and work as part of a staff team located in different offices with varying types of expertise and priorities.
• Ability to pivot strategies and tactics to an ever-changing policy landscape.
• Unwavering commitment to diversity, equity inclusion, and justice. Adhere to and exemplify these principles in addition to our values of community, relationships, courage, integrity, and optimism in everyday practice.

• This position can work remotely from anywhere in the Great Lakes region, with a preference in the states of Wisconsin, Michigan, and Ohio. If located in the Chicagoland area, applicants can work from and host meetings at the Alliance’s downtown Chicago office. This position must have the ability to attend evening and weekend meetings when necessary. Applicants must also be able to travel locally with occasional overnight travel required.
• Benefits include medical, dental, short- and long-term disability, life insurance, FSA, 12-week paid parental leave and 11 paid holidays plus the business days between 12/26 and 12/30 (staff who must work on any holidays may take those holidays at another time subject to the employee handbook). Employees start with 3 weeks’ vacation annually + 5 sick days; Fidelity 401(k) with a match of up to 6% of salary after one month of employment.
• This position can work remotely from anywhere in the Great Lakes region, with a preference in the states of Wisconsin, Michigan, and Ohio. If located in the Chicagoland area, applicants can work from and host meetings at the Alliance’s downtown Chicago office. This position must have the ability to attend evening and weekend meetings when necessary. Applicants must also be able to travel locally with occasional overnight travel required.