Senior Policy Specialist (50564)

NATIONAL CONFERENCE OF STATE LEGISLATURES•Denver, CO

3d•Hybrid

About The Position

The National Conference of State Legislatures (NCSL) is seeking an experienced state tax policy analyst for its Fiscal Affairs team. This role involves tracking legislation and state tax policy trends to create informational resources for NCSL members, including legislators, legislative staff, and private sector partners. The position staffs NCSL’s standing committee on budgets and revenue and a special task force on state tax policy. Responsibilities include making presentations, writing reports, planning and conducting meetings, facilitating discussions, testifying before legislatures, and interacting with the media. The role requires independent work as part of the fiscal team, with the goal of meeting the information needs of state legislators and legislative staff nationwide. This position will report to the director of the fiscal program and may oversee task-related work of more junior staff.

Requirements

Bachelor's degree plus five years of work experience in fiscal policy with state legislatures, government, public policy, or a relevant field.
State tax policy expertise and substantial knowledge of state finances.
Strong writing, editing, and presentation skills with the ability to communicate clearly and credibly to various audiences.
Aptitude for working both collaboratively and independently.
Proven ability to independently build and maintain relationships with legislators, legislative staff, national experts, and others.
Will work directly with NCSL Foundation sponsors.
Ability to work in a politically neutral manner and maintain confidentiality.
Strong research and analysis skills, including accessing and assessing resources, synthesizing data and legislation, and analyzing policy options.
Strong organizational skills, including the ability to plan meetings and manage multiple tasks and deadlines.
Ability to work independently under deadline pressure and adapt to changes in workload.
Strong knowledge of state legislative and political processes and the separation of powers.
Ability to travel by air up to 8 times per year, with most trips being 1-3 nights.
Ability to work extended hours, possibly evenings and weekends, usually associated with events/travel.

Nice To Haves

This position has no direct supervisory responsibilities but may serve as a coach and mentor for other positions in the department.

Responsibilities

Maintain subject matter expertise in state tax policy and trends to assist legislators and legislative staff with their research and information needs.
Anticipate emerging tax issues and tax trends of importance to state legislatures and respond with research, analysis, and training.
Assist with the development of a plan to disseminate work, including technical assistance, webinars, meetings, web pages, reports, and blogs.
Conduct complex legislative research projects with an understanding of their political context and provide substantive analysis and policy interpretations.
Research federal, state, and local actions impacting legislatures, such as executive, administrative, and intergovernmental actions.
Independently plan, organize, and conduct nonpartisan technical assistance programs, plan stand-alone invitational meetings, and educational sessions.
Create substantive, engaging, and interactive presentations or trainings on state tax issues.
Coordinate, manage, and facilitate the work of NCSL’s Budgets and Revenue Standing Committee and the Executive Committee Task Force on State and Local Taxes with a DC counterpart.
Work with NCSL members, the NCSL Foundation, and private sector partners.
Assist the director of the program with fundraising and development of new projects, such as grant reporting and writing concept papers, grant applications, and proposals.
Assist with funder relations and complete assigned project deliverables under the direction of a supervisor.
Write skillfully for a full range of publications and participate in peer review editing of colleagues’ work.
Travel domestically for meetings, technical assistance, and other project activities.
Perform other responsibilities as needed.