Senior Policy and Government Affairs Specialist

Vicinity Energy is North America’s largest provider of district energy solutions, offering low carbon energy to most of the iconic buildings you see in the skylines of Boston, Cambridge, Philadelphia, Baltimore and many other cities in the US. As a member of the communities we serve, all of us at Vicinity understand the critical role we play in reducing the impacts of climate change and being a leader in decarbonization. We are committed to net zero and eliminating our reliance on fossil fuels, but we need the best and the brightest minds on our team to help us reach our goal, not only for us as a company, but for our customers, our communities, and our planet.

Summary

Vicinity Energy is seeking a bright, motivated individual to join our organization as Senior Policy and Government Affairs Specialist supporting the company’s strategic growth and sustainability objectives. The successful candidate will be responsible for monitoring the legislative and policy landscape impacting our business and supporting the formulation and execution of our government affairs strategy to influence public policy.

As a member of Vicinity’s Customer Organization reporting to the Vice President of Government Affairs, the Senior Policy and Government Affairs Specialist’s role and responsibilities will be tightly aligned with our growth, account management and business development activities. The role will work very closely with the Chief Sustainability Officer and the Chief Customer Officer. This individual will work with our internal teams of technical experts to tell our story to public officials in an understandable and effective way, paving the way for Vicinity to expand its footprint and be the national leader in urban decarbonization.   

This is a full-time exempt position located in Baltimore, MD. The compensation range for this position is $95-135K plus a 15% bonus target.

Responsibilities

Positioning:  

• Analyze the political landscape and determine which policies could be advantageous to Vicinity and which trends might negatively impact the company; leverage this information to drive and influence our government affairs strategy. 
• Develop a deep understanding of Vicinity’s products, services, customer objectives and value proposition in order to identify legislative or regulatory changes that could impact our organization both negatively and positively. 
• Develop an engagement plan for state and local government relations with clear goals and objectives; advance the goals by monitoring legislation, working closely with relevant industry organizations and groups, and advocating on behalf of Vicinity Energy. 
• Engage with Vicinity’s leadership team to set legislative goals and create policy proposals. 
• Draft public comments, letters to public officials, and other public documents. 
• Understand activities of business line representatives and ensure a coordinated and aligned approach to key stakeholder engagement.  
• Drive Vicinity Energy’s policy priorities around energy issues in Baltimore and Annapolis, and clearly communicate positions to internal and external stakeholders. 

Stakeholder/Community Engagement:  

• Engage with government officials, policy makers, and other stakeholder groups to convey our legislative goals in Annapolis and Baltimore.
• Evaluate current and new industry organization memberships, sponsorships, and other participation opportunities on an ongoing basis. 
• Foster positive relationships with the Baltimore local and environmental community, facilitating open communications on upcoming projects and rallying grassroots support.

• Implement outreach strategy to ensure transparency and support for our initiatives.
• Collaborate with internal and external stakeholders to help organize community events and volunteer activities.
• Develop communication plans to address concerns and build trust within the community.

Research: 

• Perform research and closely monitor legislative and regulatory environment.  
• Identify key stakeholders in each market and develop engagement plans for each individual or organization.  

Communications:  

• Engage with marketing and communications team to guide internal and external communication with stakeholders and media; ensure continuity and consistency of our messaging across the organization on major policy issues. 
• Support with the development and implementation of strategic communications around thought leadership themes, advancing the objectives of Vicinity Energy at industry meetings and events. 
• Present to senior leadership on priorities and progress. 

Thought Leadership:  

• Represent Vicinity Energy as key spokesperson at external events. 
• Develop speaking opportunities for Senior Leadership Team and other internal subject matter experts at relevant industry meetings. 
• Serve as a subject matter expert for media, engaging with marketing and communications to ensure messaging is aligned and will resonate with our key audiences. 
• Create and maintain a speakers bureau of subject matter experts to support policy initiatives.  

Qualifications

Required Education and Years of Experience:  

• Bachelor’s Degree in Public Administration, Environmental Policy, Business, or related field. 
• 3+ years of experience in public policy field.  Experience in government, energy, or environmental public policy a plus. 

Desired Knowledge, Skills and Abilities:   

• Some background in clean energy but, above all, must be able to quickly become a subject matter expert on policies affecting district energy and climate.
• A passion for clean energy and effecting change.  
• Superior writing ability. 
• Strong interpersonal skills and likeable, outgoing personality. 
• An ability to engage effectively with government, community, and business leaders on his/her own and with other company executives and representatives. 
• Effective at working cross-culturally and with people of all ages and backgrounds. 
• Superior listening and public speaking skills.    
• Strong skills for applied research of public policy issues and regulations without assistance, including the ability to navigate legislative and regulatory material and history. 
• Comfort acting as company spokesperson with relevant industry and government organizations. 
• Well organized with an ability to prioritize time and resources effectively, meeting all critical deadlines. 
• Persuasive communicator with an ability to articulate positions clearly and influence and guide outcomes and the performance of others. 
• The ideal candidate thrives in a collaborative environment and is a strong independent worker who is adept at completing tasks on time. 
• Knowledge of Microsoft Office suite, including cloud-based sharing, and CRM platforms. 
• Ability to use variety of video/telecommunications platforms and their features (e.g. MS Teams, Zoom, Webex). 

Benefits

• Personal Leave 
  • FMLA up to 12 weeks based on approval
  • Nonpaid benefit
• Paid Time Off (PTO)
  • 120 hours accrued annually which equals 4.62 hours per pay period
• Sick Leave
  • 40 hours per calendar year prorated based on month of hire
• Paid Parental Leave
  • 100% pay up to 160 hours upon birth or adoption of a child; must be used in weekly increments
• 7 paid holidays annually
• Floating holidays
  • 40 hours per calendar year prorated based on month of hire
• Pension Plan
  • Not available
• 401K plan
  • Including Roth option with matching contributions: 100% of first 1% your contributions and 50% of the next 5% of your contributions.

Vicinity is committed to fostering an inclusive environment and we believe that creativity, innovation, and successful teams are diverse. We strongly encourage candidates to apply, even if all requirements of this job description are not met. While we offer this as a list of desired qualifications, we also know that the perfect candidate may not check every box. If this role sounds right for you, connect with us!  

EQUAL EMPLOYMENT OPPORTUNITY POLICY STATEMENT Vicinity North America is an Equal Employment Opportunity (EEO) employer. It is the policy of the Company to provide equal employment opportunities to all qualified applicants without regard to race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, national origin, age, protected veteran or disabled status, or genetic information.