Public Policy Director, USA & Canada

Washington, DC, USA
Posted on  

Job Description

Public Policy Director, US & Canada


Company Overview:

 Founded in 2008, Airbnb exists to create a world where anyone can belong anywhere, providing healthy travel that is local, authentic, diverse, inclusive and sustainable. Airbnb uniquely leverages technology to economically empower millions of people around the world to unlock and monetize their spaces, passions and talents to become hospitality entrepreneurs. Airbnb’s accommodation marketplace provides access to 6+ million unique places to stay in 100,000+ cities and 191 countries and regions. With Experiences, Airbnb offers unprecedented access to local communities and interests through 40,000+ unique, handcrafted activities run by hosts across 1,000+ markets around the world. Airbnb’s people-to-people platform benefits all its stakeholders, including hosts, guests, employees and the communities in which it operates.

No global movement springs from individuals. It takes an entire team united behind something big. Together, we work hard, we laugh a lot, we brainstorm nonstop, and we give the best high-fives in town.

Airbnb’s Public Policy team develops campaigns to advance our public policy positions. Our community is growing rapidly, so it's important that we work closely with politicians, regulators, and legislators to help them understand the issues that affect our community, as well as educating different decision-making bodies about the amazing positive impact we can have on tourism. To do this role effectively you must be able to lead a team to build trust and engage with a variety of governments, from municipal to national, to help them understand our business and the contributions of our community. We engage with media and governments, and win hearts and minds in order to support Airbnb’s growth and the sharing economy as a whole.

The ideal candidate will be passionate about Airbnb and the sharing economy, and have experience with or in government, politics, campaigns or advocacy groups. Our ideal candidate is also a creative and effective strategist; has broad business and people interests and knowledge; can create and execute ideas. S/he should be inclined to boldly take on issues and challenges; to comfortably confront and work through conflict; to communicate messages without hesitation. S/he should be self-aware; responsive to feedback; flexible and thrives in a dynamic environment with the ability to work on various projects simultaneously, requiring strong organizational and time management skills.

S/he should also have demonstrated experience in building trust and credibility with both internal and external stakeholders; a solid understanding of business strategies and priorities with an ability to connect business strategies into relevant policy campaigns. S/he should be a passionate, thoughtful and clear communicator, and be able to articulate policy strategies to the team and internal departmental stakeholders. It is a bonus to have worked in a startup, ecommerce, or other high growth, fast paced company. This position will be based in the US, with a strong preference for one of our regional offices: San Francisco, Los Angeles, New York or Washington DC and will report to our Global Campaign Director.

Responsibilities

Work closely with global leadership to develop and implement Airbnb’s regulatory, legislative and public policy strategies; including contextualizing global priorities, positions, and strategies

Support the execution of corporate and international business initiatives in specific jurisdictions throughout the US & Canada

Lead and manage a team of seasoned public policy professionals in jurisdictions throughout the region, to facilitate the continued growth of our community.

Strong people leader who invests in the professional growth of team members.

Work closely with relevant stakeholders to engage with regulatory agencies on Airbnb’s priority issues, including crafting and negotiating language for legislation, drafting comments on administrative regulations, and managing the publication of substantive issue briefs and position papers

Represent Airbnb in coalitions and collaborations to advance Airbnb’s advocacy initiatives

Direct research, writing and other activities to provide analysis and critical thinking on developments affecting Airbnb’s priorities

Monitor legislation and regulatory matters in assigned region and advise company with respect to policy challenges

Ensure that executives and corporate leaders are well informed of regional and jurisdiction specific development that will impact business operations and brand perception

Represent Airbnb in meetings with government and elected officials, community leaders and other stakeholders

Build coalitions with other organizations to advance policy goals of Airbnb

Advise Airbnb’s teams on public policy matters to guide development of products, services and policies

Requirements

Degree or advanced degree level in related field

Broad policy experience and preferably direct knowledge in one or more of the following fields: Internet, privacy, content regulation, online safety, housing or landlord/tenant law

At least 15 years experience working in politics, government, regulator, or relevant business or non-governmental organization (a mix of public and private sector experience is an advantage)

First-rate personal, political, analytical and organizational skills

Excellent leadership and management abilities.

An empathetic leader who cares about people, provides opportunities for people from all backgrounds to succeed and inspires and motivates others.

Ability to create an environment that fosters and promotes diversity and inclusion within the immediate team.

Guided by a personal integrity that reflects Airbnb’s core values and commitment to our stakeholders

Record of maintaining the highest personal levels of ethical conduct, confidentiality, and integrity

Direct experience working within local, state, regional or national politics, government, think tanks, public interest groups or the field of corporate public policy

Makes decisions for the good of the whole organization and fosters a culture of mobility and individual growth.

Experience managing a large and diverse team across multiple countries

Ability to quickly get up to speed on complex technical and regulatory issues

Excellent communicator, written and verbal, with great interpersonal and presentation skills, both for subject matter experts and the layperson.

Ability to work independently as well as a team player in a multi-task work environment while producing the highest caliber work product in a timely manner

Ability to support in-market advocacy campaigns, using tactics like community organizing and paid media

Self starter with a sense of humor and the ability to thrive in a fast moving and sometimes stressful environment

Airbnb is committed to working with the best and brightest people from the broadest talent pool possible. We believe a diversity of ideas fosters innovation and engagement, and allows us to attract the best people, and to develop the best products, services and solutions. Qualified individuals from all walks of life are encouraged to apply.