Manager, State and Local Governments

The Aspen Institute•Washington, DC

4d•Onsite

About The Position

The Aspen Institute Financial Security Program’s Benefits Transformation Initiative (BTI) works to reimagine America’s benefits systems so people can navigate everyday life with financial dignity and security. The Manager, State and Local Governments supports BTI’s relationships and engagements with state and local government leaders, agency staff, and public benefits administrators through relationship management, project coordination, and communications. The role helps ensure government-facing engagements are coordinated, well-prepared, consistent, and aligned with BTI’s strategy and values. The Manager oversees state-facing communications and materials, coordinates the Safety Net Response Network, and helps align and execute BTI’s state-facing projects. The role includes maintaining relationship-management systems, coordinating external partners and government engagements, supporting convenings and peer-learning activities, and synthesizing lessons from agency engagements. The position reports to the Senior Manager, Benefits Transformation Initiative. This is a full-time, two-year term-limited position based at the Aspen Institute’s Washington, D.C. headquarters. The role has an in-office expectation of at least two days per week and requires the ability to travel domestically up to 20%. The salary range is $90,000–$105,000.

Requirements

At least 5 years of progressively responsible professional experience in a relevant field such as government, public administration, program management, management consulting, or communications.
Bachelor’s degree or equivalent professional experience.
Deep commitment to the Aspen Institute Financial Security Program’s mission of financial security for all and a passion for modernizing public benefits systems.
Experience working with government leadership and staff, as a government employee or external partner, particularly those responsible for administering public benefits such as SNAP, TANF, or Medicaid.
Proven project management experience driving and tracking progress across initiatives involving multiple stakeholders.
Strong relationship-management skills and ability to quickly build trust and credibility with senior government leaders.
Entrepreneurial mindset and a track record of taking initiative in dynamic, results-oriented environments.
Ability to travel domestically up to 20% for presentations, conferences, state convenings, and other relevant events.

Nice To Haves

Graduate degree in Public Policy, Public Administration, Business Administration, or a related field.

Responsibilities

Draft, edit, and coordinate communications for state and local government audiences, including newsletters, memos, case studies, implementation resources, and follow-up materials.
Work with BTI colleagues to ensure communications are clear, consistent, timely, and aligned with the realities of state and local benefits administration.
Support systems for managing state relationships, communications calendars, and deliverables, including owning the team’s CRM for state contacts.
Partner with Aspen FSP’s Marketing and Communications team to align with communications policies, procedures, and strategy.
Lead coordination of the Safety Net Response Network, a group of nonprofits providing technical assistance to states in response to OBBBA programmatic and administrative changes, particularly in SNAP and Medicaid.
Monitor state needs following OBBBA and coordinate network activities, including publication of resources and the creation or continuation of workgroups with state staff.
Coordinate with nonprofits, technical assistance providers, advocates, researchers, vendors, and philanthropic partners to ensure government-facing work is complementary and not duplicative.
Maintain shared context across BTI projects regarding state priorities, agency needs, relationship history, and opportunities for deeper engagement.
Coordinate logistics for engagements with state and local benefits leaders, including scheduling, follow-up, partner coordination, and timely responses to government needs.
Support virtual and in-person convenings for the Aspen Institute State Benefits Leadership Cohort.
Support planning and implementation of convenings, peer-learning sessions, working groups, leadership forums, webinars, and other engagements involving government partners.
Synthesize lessons from government agency engagements into actionable insights for the team, partners, funders, and the benefits delivery field.
Represent BTI and Aspen FSP at relevant conferences, panel discussions, and other public events, sharing insights and meeting potential partners.