Government Relations Executive - South, Great Plains, Mountain West
$150k - $185k USD
Join Cartwheel to help tackle the student mental health crisis.
Kids spend most of their days in the classroom. And teachers and staff, who play a vital role in their development, are often the first to notice when something is off. But with 1 in 5 young people struggling with mental health, schools are getting crushed by a downward spiral in student crises and staff burnout.
With large increases in state and federal funding for healthcare innovation, schools are reimagining what mental health support can look like for their students, staff, and families.
Cartwheel is an early-stage startup building technology-enabled mental health services that put schools at the center. We see our role as supporting both families and the on-campus school staff who see kids every day. This means:
- Earlier intervention
- Higher student and family engagement in care
- Better coordination among the trusted adults in a student’s life
Kids shouldn't just aspire to get out of bed and drag themselves to class. They should be able to experience joy. They deserve to envision and build a life they’re excited to live. If you join Cartwheel, you’ll help make this vision a reality for millions of students across the country. We’re backed by top investors including Menlo Ventures, General Catalyst, Reach Capital, and A Street Ventures, and we're looking for mission-driven teammates to join our team.
LOCATION: Remote (US) with ability to travel 2x a month including weekly during peak seasons (e.g., legislative session).
TERRITORY: Preference for South, Great Plains, or Mountain West homebase.
COMPENSATION: $150,000–$185,000 base + variable compensation
START DATE: May 2026
ABOUT THE ROLE
In 3 years, Cartwheel has grown to serve more than 325 school systems in 16 states, making us the nation's largest mental health provider that collaborates with schools. We're now building the government relations function to match that scale — securing the statewide contracts and legislative appropriations that let us serve entire state school systems, not one district at a time.
This is a new function. There's no inherited pipeline, no established playbook, and no hand-holding. What exists is a proven model in Georgia and Arizona, a product that works, and a mission that resonates with state officials across the political spectrum.
You'll own a portfolio of 5–10 states across the South, Great Plains, and Mountain West — and your job is to build the government affairs infrastructure that turns those states into Cartwheel markets.
WHAT YOU'LL DO
Own strategy and execution for your state portfolio
- Develop state-by-state government affairs strategies — stakeholder maps, legislative calendars, messaging, milestones, and critical path
- Pursue two primary win types: (1) state funding and appropriations that schools use to procure Cartwheel, and (2) Securing direct statewide contracts that make Cartwheel the sole vendor available to districts at no cost
- Example of #1 is Georgia HB68 school mental health grant funding that gives $20,000 to each middle and high school to contract for mental health services
- Example of #2 is our partnership in Arizona with the AZ Department of Education to serve all rural school districts and charter schools
- Track legislative opportunities, RFPs, and policy developments to stay ahead of the curve in your territory
Build and steward relationships with state leaders
- Cultivate trust-based relationships with governors' offices, state legislators, education and health agencies, and key statewide organizations
- Navigate regulatory and political environments to create favorable conditions for Cartwheel — tailoring messaging to each state's context
- Manage external lobbyists in your states with clear objectives, accountability, and measurable deliverables
Drive revenue and operational rigor
- Own the full government sales cycle — from cold relationship to signed contract or secured appropriation
- Maintain pipeline tracking and stakeholder mapping in Salesforce; report weekly to the VP of Government Relations on status and forecast
- Collaborate with Sales, Marketing, Product, and Customer Success teams to ensure Cartwheel delivers the outcomes required to renew and expand statewide contracts year-over-year
WHO YOU ARE
- 7+ years operating at the intersection of government and private sector revenue — government affairs, government sales, or policy roles where your work had a direct commercial outcome
- Demonstrated track record getting government entities to say yes — whether that's a contract, an appropriation, a regulatory approval, or a procurement — and owning that process personally, not as part of a team
- Experience navigating state or local government structures: legislative cycles, agency relationships, executive office dynamics
- Comfortable managing long, ambiguous sales cycles across multiple simultaneous markets
- Experience directing or coordinating external partners (lobbyists, consultants, advocacy orgs) toward specific outcomes
- CRM proficiency; strong written and verbal communicator across stakeholder types
- Based in or willing to commute extensively in South, Great Plains, or Mountain West; able to travel 2x/month plus weekly during peak legislative seasons
- Energized by building from scratch — this role has no inherited infrastructure
Sector experience that would accelerate your ramp:
- State education agencies, K–12 policy, or school district procurement
- Healthcare, behavioral health, or Medicaid/CHIP funding structures
- EdTech or healthcare startups where you sold into or through government
WHY YOU’LL LOVE CARTWHEEL
Our hope is that Cartwheel will be your best career decision! In addition to tackling one of the biggest challenges of our time, at a company well-positioned to do so, you’ll have:
- Mission-oriented and inclusive colleagues who will go to bat for you
- Competitive compensation and benefits
- Meaningful equity ownership stake in Cartwheel
- Generous PPO medical, vision, and dental coverage
- Unlimited/flexible PTO plus federal holidays
- Paid parental leave
- 401K with employer match
Cartwheel is proud to be an equal opportunity employer. We embrace diverse backgrounds and perspectives and an inclusive work environment. We're committed to equal employment opportunity regardless of race, color, religion, ancestry, national origin, gender, sexual orientation, disability status, or veteran status.
We participate in E-Verify. Please be prepared to provide acceptable documentation to verify your identity and work authorization
Note: Please do not contact our Care, Provider, or Patient Services lines regarding job postings or application status. These teams support our patients and families and are not involved in the hiring process. For all recruitment-related questions, please email talent@cartwheelcare.org.