Head of State Government Affairs

Liberty Mutual Insurance•Boston, MA

19h•$204,000 - $366,000

About The Position

The Head of State Government Affairs leads Liberty Mutual's state government affairs strategy and execution across multiple U.S. regions. The role manages regional government affairs officers and external lobbying resources, oversees the state team budget, and serves as a principal advisor to the Chief Government Affairs Officer, senior leaders, and business stakeholders on legislative, regulatory, political, and business developments. The successful candidate brings deep state government affairs expertise, extensive insurance knowledge, strong strategic judgment, persuasive communication skills, disciplined execution, and the ability to align diverse internal and external stakeholders. The role independently evaluates complex and ambiguous issues and develops and leads advocacy strategies that advance Liberty Mutual's business, legal, and public policy priorities. This is also a change management role. Beyond running a high-performing team, the successful candidate will modernize how that function works — scaling AI into core processes as standard practice, starting with legislative and regulatory tracking — so the team scans more jurisdictions, spots developments earlier, and advises with sharper insight than traditional approaches allow.

Requirements

Bachelor's degree required, with Juris Doctor or other advanced relevant degree preferred, and demonstrated academic or professional excellence.
Typically, 15 or more years of progressively responsible experience in law, government, government affairs, public policy, or a related field, including leadership of multi-state strategies, internal teams, outside lobbying firms, coalitions, and/or trade association engagement.
Expert knowledge of state legislative, administrative, regulatory, and political processes — including key decision makers, timing, and influence points — together with strong command of insurance issues, corporate operations, and business objectives.
Sound judgment and strong problem-solving and execution skills, with the ability to assess complex or ambiguous issues, anticipate developments, balance business objectives and risk, prioritize competing demands, coordinate resources, and deliver results on deadline.
Demonstrated change management experience — having shifted how a team or function operates and achieved sustained adoption of new ways of working.
Strong project and program management capability, with a record of delivering complex, multi-workstream initiatives to plan.
Clear, concise, credible, and persuasive written and verbal communication, including the ability to translate complex issues for executives, policymakers, regulators, business partners, employees, and external stakeholders.
Proven ability to advise senior executives, influence without authority, navigate competing interests, and build consensus among internal and external stakeholders.
Inclusive and effective people leadership, including setting direction, delegating effectively, holding others accountable, coaching and developing talent, and championing the use of technology and AI to improve how work gets done.
Ability to travel as needed.

Nice To Haves

Juris Doctor or other advanced relevant degree preferred

Responsibilities

Lead the state government affairs function, including regional officers, external lobbying and trade association resources, and the team budget — setting clear goals, deploying resources effectively, and maintaining accountability for outcomes.
Coach and develop a geographically dispersed team of experienced professionals: set direction, delegate effectively, give direct feedback, create stretch opportunities, and build bench strength in an inclusive environment.
Partner with the Chief Government Affairs Officer, Government Affairs colleagues, senior leaders, and business stakeholders to identify priority state issues and develop enterprise-aligned strategies, operating plans, resource priorities, and measurable objectives.
Direct state legislative and administrative advocacy — coordinating internal and external resources, establishing priorities and milestones, sequencing work against legislative sessions and regulatory timelines, managing interdependencies across regions and functions, monitoring progress, addressing barriers, and adjusting strategies and tactics as circumstances change.
Assess the policy, political, legal, and business implications of high-risk or high-value matters and — in partnership with the Head of Regulatory Policy as appropriate — shape policy positions and recommend resource allocation, escalation, stakeholder engagement, and next steps.
Monitor and synthesize state legislative, regulatory, and political developments and advise the Chief Government Affairs Officer, senior leaders, and business partners on priorities, business implications, risks, opportunities, progress, and recommended decisions or actions.
Oversee high-quality advocacy and executive materials, including policy analyses, regulatory comments, testimony, briefings, presentations, legislative updates, and responses to government inquiries.
Build trusted relationships with key legislators, legislative staff, executive-branch officials, regulators, trade associations, coalitions, and other partners to advance priority issues and enterprise policy objectives.
Contribute to political affairs and related compliance activities in coordination with Legal and Government Affairs partners.
Lead change management for the function — reassessing workflows, resourcing models, and ways of working to increase speed, reach, and analytical depth, and bringing the team along through the transition.
Scale and integrate AI into core processes as standard practice, with a particular focus on legislative and regulatory tracking — using AI to scan and monitor notable bill activity, regulatory changes, and political developments across jurisdictions, flagging what matters earlier, more comprehensively and with trend/analysis insight than manual review allows.
Extend AI-enabled support to related work including policy analysis, drafting, and reporting.
Build team capability and confidence in new tools and methods, setting clear expectations for adoption while maintaining rigorous standards for accuracy, judgment, and compliance — AI augments the team's expertise, it does not substitute for it.