Shire Jobs

Job Statement:Responsible for monitoring and disseminating information regarding legislative and regulatory issues and their impact on company policy development, legal and regulatory compliance, and utility industry impact. Represent the interests and positions of Huntsville Utilities as liaison to federal, state and local governmental entities, customers, industry and civic organizations. In conjunction with Director, manage legislative and regulatory advocacy strategy along with company pursuit of grant funding opportunities in the public and private sector, including the execution of awarded grants through the supervision of the Grants Administrator. Occasionally serve as spokesperson for Huntsville Utilities to create goodwill in the community and enhance the company's image.

Essential Duties:

1. Monitor regulatory issues and proposed legislation to assess potential impacts on Huntsville Utilities, the utility industry, and customers served. Interpret, analyze, and disseminate information on pertinent legislation and new or changing regulatory policies, working in close conjunction with Director and senior management to develop positions and strategies for addressing said issues.
2. Collaborate with management to ensure timely and effective communication to both internal and external stakeholders and formulate a competitive strategy to garner support and influence initiatives, maximizing service benefits to customers and growth of the company. Communicating Huntsville Utilities positions and policies to elected officials, news media and community leaders when necessary.
3. Collaborate with Director and senior management to identify and monitor grants and other funding opportunities. Through management and assistance of a Grants Administrator who directly reports to the Legislative and Regulatory Manager, and in conjunction with Director, engage with various government, trade and nonprofit groups to cultivate relationships pursue said funding opportunities.
4. Maintain a network for gathering information, sharing ideas, and promoting company interests and positions to utility industry associations, federal, state and local governments, along with local civic, service and community groups. Coordinate with legislative and regulatory officials, TVA and other utility oriented external relations groups to support company interests and initiatives.
5. Determine and develop key performance indicators for governmental and regulatory advocacy, reporting progress to departmental leadership and senior management. Collaborate on strategy to engage public and customers at a grass-roots level to promote awareness of regulatory challenges to all types of customers.
6. Participate in media relations and social media monitoring for departmental PR On-Call rotation to cover utility events, outages, and/or other occurrences of interest to the media and public taking place outside of regular business hours.
7. Listen, respond, ask questions and engage Huntsville Utilities social media audience. Ensure general customer inquiries, complaints, suggestions and compliments are answered in a timely manner to enhance responsiveness to customers. Monitor news and social media, both locally and nationally, for events that may impact company strategic objectives.
8. Record and maintain accurate documentation of applicable public events, collateral materials, news releases, speaking engagements, and interactions including meeting summaries, attendance, comments, etc. Compile for reporting to departmental management, senior management and the boards.
9. Maintain a company legislative matrix document for purposes of tracking pertinent legislative activity that impacts company operations and business practices, including research on the origin and reasoning behind any such legislation and evaluation on how it could affect customers.
10. Other duties as assigned.

Job Requirements:

*Education/Certification/Training * Bachelor's degree in political science, public administration, business administration, communications or another related field is required.

Experience/Skills: A minimum of ten (10) years of work experience in government relations, communications or liaison with utility or government agencies is desired. Knowledge and experience interpreting legislation and regulations at the local, state, and federal level is preferred. Experience on staff with governmental officials or agencies, community and/or civic organizations is preferred. Proficiency in the use of digital media, legislative tracking software, Microsoft Office products, including Outlook, Word, Excel, Internet Explorer, PowerPoint, and other graphics and/or presentation software is needed.

Equipment: Smartphone, personal computer, audio/visual equipment, mobile tablet, and camera.

Physical Demands/Environmental Control: Primarily sedentary activity at desk. Occasional light lifting up to 50 lbs. Occasional exposure to severe weather. Subject to on-call duty. Some occasional travel maybe required to support and perform legislative and advocacy duties.

Other:Ability to handle stressful situations, organize and prioritize work and meet tight deadlines. May be required to keep sensitive information confidential. Must be able to work independently with little direction. Proficiency in communicating effectively across various mediums. Experience in research, tracking, and reporting relevant legislative issues is preferred.

Job Specific Competencies:

1. Acquiring Information
2. Composing and Writing Text
3. Creating and Maintaining Networks
4. Presenting and Public Speaking
5. Sharing Information
6. Supporting Organizational Goals