Senior Flood Planning Associate

The American Flood Coalition is a nonpartisan group of more than 325 elected officials, local leaders, military groups, and businesses that have come together to advocate for national solutions to sea level rise and flooding. The Coalition advances resilient and equitable solutions that support adaptation and recovery in flood-affected communities and protect our nation’s residents, economy, and military installations. With its singular focus on flooding and sea level rise, creative approach to finding solutions, and appreciation for deep community partnerships that leverage existing efforts, the Coalition seeks to significantly improve how communities around the country adapt to flooding and sea level rise.

Position Summary

We are seeking an intellectually curious problem-solver to analyze policy, lead special research projects, and provide strategic recommendations to a wide range of internal stakeholders. The Senior Flood Planning Associate will join our Outreach team, which is responsible for engaging and supporting our Coalition members in advancing solutions to flooding at the local, state, and regional levels. This individual will provide subject matter knowledge in resilience planning and will also enhance the team’s capacity to prioritize impact. By asking the right questions, customizing methodologies, and advising the team on policy and strategy, this individual will be a key player across multiple work streams. The ideal candidate will be a self-starter who is passionate about designing frameworks for tackling complex problems, can juggle long- and short-term projects, and has a knack for synthesizing complicated information into clear and compelling narratives. With experience in strategic analysis, report generation, and writing for diverse audiences, the ideal candidate also exhibits strong communication skills. If you want to work alongside immensely passionate and talented people who are intent on helping flood-affected communities adapt and thrive, we want to talk to you. This is a full-time position reporting to our Flood Planning Director, and will be located in our headquarters in Washington, DC.

Responsibilities

Strategic State Policy Research

• Conduct thorough analyses to inform AFC’s state policy initiatives including, but not limited to: analysis of precedent state legislation and state agency proposals, cross-state comparisons of legislation, research on technical flood topics, etc.
• Research and analyze state laws, regulations, policies, and initiatives related to flooding and sea level rise, including their interaction(s) with local and federal laws and policy.
• Prepare summaries and presentations explaining policies and proposals in easily understood
• Provide policy recommendations, in collaboration with the Flood Planning Director, State Programs Director, and other team members including our state-based directors in Florida, Texas, and the Carolinas.
• Synthesize insights, develop narrative stories, and create presentations informed by policy

Collaboration and Strategic Reporting

• Build and maintain internal relationships to grow the impact of the Outreach Team’s state and local
• Create analytical one-pagers and recommendations on prospective partners or members, regional contexts, and local initiatives, to keep the Outreach team informed and prepared.
• Develop strategy recommendations to advance flood resilience in key geographies, in alignment with AFC’s priorities, and proactively advise senior staff on key insights based on analysis and research.

Utilize a variety of communication styles and media to convey information, drive knowledge transfer, and spark dialogue for a wide diversity of internal and external audiences and partners.

Benefits

• Highly competitive compensation
• Generous and flexible PTO
• Health, dental, vision insurance, and 401(k) plan
• Company-paid short- and long-term disability and basic life insurance and other voluntary benefits
• Relocation assistance (for candidates currently living outside of the C. metropolitan area)
• Hybrid office schedule (2–3 days working remotely per week; candidates must be based in C. and able to be in-office for 2–3 collaboration days per week)

Qualifications

• 5+ years experience in research, strategy, program delivery, and/or policy
• Applied flood resilience knowledge in areas such as planning, funding and finance, hazard mitigation, or emergency management.
• Familiarity with local or state-level planning standards and
• Aptitude in all areas of strategy development, including project management, problem-solving, communication, and consensus-building.
• Exceptional skill communicating about complex issues in a clear, credible, and compelling manner, with a tailored approach to an audience.
• Ability to design quantitative and qualitative research methods, analyze results, and report on
• Comfort defining initiatives and projects amidst ambiguity, designing initiatives from start to
• Demonstrated experience managing multiple projects and stakeholders
• Ability to build collaborative cross-functional relationships and effectively engage senior stakeholders across in-person and remote settings.
• Strong writing and editing skills with a keen eye for storytelling and attention to