External Affairs Lead – New Jersey

Established offshore wind developer seeking an External Affairs Lead to join their growing team as they develop an offshore wind project in the Mid-Atlantic of the US. The External Affairs Lead will support the Government / Public Relations Manager and Development Team to drive the external affairs for the offshore wind project as well as the community and government outreach strategies. This role will include external facing tasks such as organizing and hosting events, developing and delivering project print and digital content that supports the developer's mission.

As a member of the development team, the External Affairs Lead will work with the executive staff as well as consultants as we collaborate or interface with various stakeholders across New Jersey and the New York metro area. The ideal candidate will be highly organized have deep experience managing situations with a diverse staff and with multiple stakeholders in an active and challenging environment.

Role:

• The External Affairs Lead will support the Public Relations/Government Relations Manager and the Development Team and serve as an external affairs liaison on behalf of the organization, requiring a thorough understanding of public and government relations campaigns, media and outreach strategies, and innovative approaches to reach and respond to key audiences/stakeholders, while maintaining a commitment to the organization's mission.
• Responsible for supporting the Public Relations / Government Relations Manager and external affairs initiatives, including the implementation of work plans, timelines, specific analyses to be completed, oversight of budgets and budget requests, and individual responsibilities.
• Tracking the impact of the initiatives and programs.
• Coordinate and track primary strategies of Public Affairs, Marketing, Government Affairs, and Stakeholder engagement.
• Serve as a relationship liaison with private sector partners, industry associations, and relevant academic and government stakeholders directly or supporting external facing team members for the offshore wind project.
• Manage sponsorship and conference opportunities and associated follow up items.
• Working collaboratively with offshore leadership and development teams.
• Provide support to Community Liaison consultants as they interact with shoreside communities and other stakeholders.
• Support internal team members on messaging and outreach.
• Track stakeholder engagement plans, communication plans, and community economic development initiatives and partnerships.
• Identify potential program and initiatives via conversations with industry stakeholders and monitors successful programs from other states and countries.
• Support other team members on outreach where needed.

Requirements:

• Experience working in New Jersey, specifically the coastal communities of Central and/or South New Jersey is required
• A bachelor's degree in the areas of communications, political science, environmental policy, or a comparable field. An advanced degree is a plus
• At least 2 years of experience in energy-related field or external affairs background
• Ability to quickly work into new tasks and accommodate with new circumstances in a dynamic environment
• Experience in strategic advocacy campaigns
• Exemplify flexibility, an ability to work independently, to be highly organized, and an attention to detail
• Strong oral and written communication skills
• Able to work within complex situations and challenging relationships with confidence, confidentiality, and tact
• Comfortable in supporting other team members in their external facing roles
• Operating style suited to working in a small team environment where teamwork, creativity and flexibility are valued
• Existing professional relationships with local utility representatives, logistics suppliers, offshore contractors, developers, government representatives and others are a plus
• Ability to travel every month to one of the developer's s for 3-5 days at a time. Travel to events will also be required on an as needed basis but may include up to 1 event per week at certain times of year.