Manager of Government Affairs and Public Affairs

TILLAMOOK COUNTY CREAMERY ASSOCIATION•Portland, OR

6d•Remote

About The Position

The Manager of Government Affairs leads Tillamook's government affairs function, setting strategy and directing the cooperative's response to legislative, regulatory, and political risk and opportunity affecting Tillamook's ability to operate. The position is accountable for enterprise-level policy issues impacting the cooperative's farmer-owners, manufacturing facilities, employees, and brand across the state, federal, and other jurisdictions in which Tillamook operates. The role establishes and manages Tillamook’s external policy presence through direct engagement with elected officials, regulators, contract lobby teams, trade associations, and coalitions. Internally, the role serves as the cooperative's primary subject matter expert on legislative and political matters— advising the CEO, executive leadership, and Board, and coordinating cross-functional policy engagement across Legal, Communications, Environment & Community Impact, Farm Services, Operations, R&D, Packaging, and other affected functions.

Requirements

Minimum of 7 years of progressively responsible experience in government affairs, public policy, legislative affairs, regulatory affairs, advocacy, public affairs, or related external affairs work required; corporate, trade association, agency, legislative staff, or lobbying experience strongly preferred.
Demonstrated experience developing and executing government affairs strategies, monitoring and analyzing legislative and regulatory activity, and translating complex policy issues into clear business implications, recommended positions, advocacy plans, and executive-ready communications.
Strong knowledge of Oregon legislative, regulatory, and political processes required, with working knowledge of federal, state, and local policy environments affecting food, agriculture, manufacturing, transportation, labor, environmental, packaging, sustainability, tax, or cooperative business issues preferred.
Proven ability to build credibility and influence with internal and external stakeholders, including elected officials, agency leaders, legislative staff, trade associations, coalition partners, contract lobbyists, executives, Board members, and farmer-owners.
Ability to travel regularly within Oregon and periodically to other jurisdictions, including for legislative sessions, regulatory meetings, industry forums, coalition activity, member-owner engagement, and site visits.
Proficiency with Microsoft Office applications required; experience with legislative tracking, policy monitoring, stakeholder management, or advocacy tools preferred.

Nice To Haves

Experience managing contract lobbyists, consultants, coalitions, association relationships, or other external partners preferred; strong judgment, discretion, ethics, communication skills, and political acumen required.
Familiarity with lobbying disclosure, political contribution, ethics, public records, and related compliance expectations preferred.

Responsibilities

Set the strategic direction and priorities for the government affairs function. Develop Tillamook's approach to government affairs priorities across enterprise risk, strategic positioning, and political capital. Translate enterprise goals into actionable government affairs strategy and allocate the function's capacity across direct engagement, contract lobby teams, trade associations, and other functions.
Lead Tillamook's response to enterprise-risk policy issues and multi-stakeholder situations. Direct political strategy, coalition coordination, and internal alignment on issues with material impact on the cooperative's ability to operate.
Manage Tillamook's contract lobby teams and the function's legislative monitoring. Set scope, cadence, and deliverables for Oregon, federal, and specialty lobbyists, and lead recurring strategy calls to align external work to Tillamook's priorities. Triage legislative activity and coordinate with relevant internal leaders.
Represent Tillamook externally and build the cooperative's policy relationships. Build and maintain direct relationships with elected officials, legislative staff, regulators, and agency leadership across Tillamook's operating geographies. Lead the cooperative's engagement across trade associations and coalitions.
Develop Tillamook's policy positions and lead executive, member, and Board engagement on policy. Author and approve Tillamook's testimony, public letters, coalition sign-ons, and internal policy memos. Brief and prepare the CEO, executive leadership, and Board to represent Tillamook in policy-facing settings, and staff the Board Legislative Working Group as the primary forum for member-owner engagement on policy issues.
Coordinate cross-functional policy work across the enterprise. Engage with relevant affected functions to align on policy positions and ensure issues are routed appropriately.
Steward Tillamook's political giving and consulting budgets. Direct political contribution strategy across candidate donations, caucus support, sponsorships, and trade association investments. Manage the function's operating budget, including state and federal consulting contracts and association memberships.