Government Relations Manager

Job Title:  Government Relations Manager

City Year unites young people of all backgrounds for a year of full-time service, giving them the skills and opportunities to change the world. As tutors, mentors, and role models, these idealistic leaders make a difference in the lives of children, and transform schools and neighborhoods in 17 U.S. locations and Johannesburg, South Africa. Just as important, during their year of service corps members develop civic leadership skills they can use throughout a lifetime of community service. City Year Los Angeles (CYLA) was founded in 2007 with an inaugural corps of 75 corps and is on a path to grow the program significantly over the next several years.

As City Year Los Angeles plans to grow our program over the next several years, creating and implementing a robust government engagement strategy will be crucial to the success of the organization, and in particular securing significant funding from local and state government sources. The Government Relations Manager will work closely with the Development Director to develop and implement a local government engagement and funding strategy. Part of a growing team, the Government Relations Manager will focus on unlocking new sources of funding for City Year Los Angeles from both the Los Angeles Unified School District (LAUSD), the City of Los Angeles, and state agencies.

With supervision and guidance from the Development Director, the primary duties of the Government Relations Manager include: Develop Public Funding Strategy: Create funding strategy including identifying and tracking potential grants; seeking and developing relationships with key City and District stakeholders; and determining optimal positioning to leverage public funding.Identify New Sources of Public Funding: Identify new potential sources of public funding. Write Governmental Grants: Following governmental standards, write successful grant proposals for programs.Manage Public Funding: Assist Program and Service Department with existing government funding (AmeriCorps and LAUSD partner schools), by following up with contracts/procurement, in addition to reporting, renewing proposals and scheduling site visits, as needed.Secure Meetings: Leverage current and new relationships to secure meetings with key government stakeholders.Develop and Maintain Relationships: Nurture relationships with current and prospective government champions through recognition programs (where applicable), stewardship, including written correspondence, telephone communication and face-to-face cultivation. Secure strong, long-term relationships to ensure continued funding and funder involvement.Support Development Department: Flexibly work alongside the City Year Los Angeles development department to reinforce the program that trains and enables corps members to interact with and inspire donors.Community Representation: Represent City Year at government functions, to establish and deepen stakeholder relationships. Become an expert on key political and government issues at the school, city, and state level.  

- 2-3 years work experience in nonprofit, legislative, public affairs or school district environment- Strong working knowledge of City of Los Angeles and Los Angeles Unified School District, preferably some existing relationships within those organizations- Strong interpersonal, analytical and problem solving skills; capacity to strategically imagine, plan and implement new ideas and leads- Excellent written and oral communications skills- Ability to work under pressure, multi-task, and respond to short notice deadlines- Proven track record in building long term relationships with internal and external clients- Strong attention to detail and proven organizational and project management skills- High degree of initiative; high energy, entrepreneurial spirit- Commitment to community service, national service and the development of young people as leaders- Strong passion for City Year’s mission of delivering high impact service to children and institutions in Los Angeles communities; developing young people in the corps as powerful civic leaders, and promoting the concept of national service.- Must be proficient in the Microsoft Office Suite and willing to learn Raiser’s Edge.- Excellent attention to details and ability to effectively organize people and information. - BA/BS required. - Personal enthusiasm, optimism, and sense of humor, and comfort with creative processes.