Director, Advocacy Engagement

Position Summary: AHLA is seeking a full-time Director of Advocacy Engagement to lead the recruitment, organization and mobilization of the hotel industry and its allies in support of the association’s advocacy goals. The director will lead the development and implementation of an industry grassroots and grasstops strategy focused on volunteer engagement through regular communications, advocacy training, and calls to action to raise issues and demonstrate support for the association’s advocacy goals at all levels of government.

Responsibilities:

• Develops and implements a strategic plan around the recruitment, mobilization, and retention of grassroots advocates across various political districts in support of the lodging industry.
• Maintains regular communication with grassroots supporters and grasstops advocates to keep them engaged and active throughout the year, including alerts, newsletters, email updates, virtual and in-person meetings, social media messaging, etc.
• Activates and engages grassroots supporters in both online and offline tactics, as appropriate, to impact public policy campaigns.
• Writes and launches action alerts to mobilize volunteers to send communications to lawmakers, regulators and industry leaders.
• Works closely with government affairs and communications staff to develop such communications materials for grassroots supporters that will most effectively lead to engagement by such advocates with policymakers on behalf of the lodging industry.
• Identifies opportunities for the recruitment of grasstops advocates with outsized potential influence toward policy outcomes.
• Works with the federal and state and local government affairs divisions to execute hotel tours (“Heart of House”) for elected officials in key districts and municipalities.
• Plays a leading role in the planning and execution of federal, state and local fly-ins in order to leverage member and state hotel association engagement.
• Plans and implements training for supporters and staff as needed to educate on legislative priorities and how they can make an impact through advocacy.
• Regularly evaluates growth of the grassroots and grasstops programs through various metrics, including but not limited to tracking performance of communications and analyzing network trends through web-based action and reporting systems

Requirements

Education and Experience:

• Bachelor’s Degree in Political Science, Communications, or related area or equivalent work experience.

• 5-10 years of experience in government or advocacy; or a combination of education and experience.
• Knowledge of the legislative process at the federal, state, and local levels. 

Skills and Attributes:

• Experienced computer and software knowledge, including Microsoft Office Suite (Word, Excel, PowerPoint, Outlook)
• Demonstrated ability to work in diverse political climates with legislators, regulators, governors, attorneys general and municipal officials and staff. 

• Excellent project management skills with great attention to detail and strong work ethic. 

• Excellent oral and written communication skills; ability to write and edit clear, engaging, and grammatically correct content; willingness to be coached. 
• Self-motivated individual who is also a team player with a high level of professionalism and emotional intelligence.  

• Ability to thrive in a fast-paced environment. 

Other:

• Occasional travel required.
• In-office position – Based in Washington, D.C.
• Target salary range for this position is between $110,000 - $130,000 annually

Benefits

AHLA is an equal opportunity employer. We encourage you to apply even if your experience is not a 100% match with the position. We are looking for someone with relevant skills and experience, not a checklist that exactly matches the job description. We want to help you grow and in return, you help us grow into a stronger, more inclusive organization. We celebrate diversity and are committed to creating an inclusive environment for all employees.