Duties/Areas of Focus

• Draft legislative language, attend hearings, draft hearing testimony, and develop policy positions.

• Assist with drafting one-pagers and proactive advocacy communications.
• Identify, monitor and analyze relevant policy trends, legislative proposals, and issues of importance to the AOBA membership.

• Maintain and build relationships with policymakers and political figures.
• Provide staff support to the Maryland Government Affairs Committee, including working with committee leadership to develop agendas, invite speakers and perform certain administrative functions.

• Monitor state and local government meeting calendars, agendas and Committee meetings/hearings for issues impacting AOBA membership.

• Attend meetings as assigned to represent the organization.
• Assist with member engagement efforts including preparing members to testify, drafting member surveys, analyzing member data and developing innovative strategies to engage members in advocacy efforts.

Research and Policy Development Duties

• Research issues and state/local policy approaches to contribute to the development of AOBA positions, white papers and issue-specific talking points.

• Perform impact analysis for pending legislative and regulatory proposals, working with member companies to determine cost and administrative impacts and to gauge member sentiment.

PAC and Committee Management Duties

• Maintain PAC budget and updated listing of contribution requests and opportunities for political engagement.

• Assist in the management of the Maryland Political Action Committee and Government Affairs Committee through scheduling of meetings, securing meeting space, agenda and material preparation, information distribution, scheduling of speakers/guests, and keeping of meeting notes.
• Assist in preparation of spreadsheet tracking legislator voting records on issues and legislation of importance to AOBA members.

Member Relations and Communications Duties

• Prepare reports/status updates during General Assembly session and coordinate/participate in web conferences with Maryland Multifamily Housing Association (MMHA), AOBA’s legislative partner in the State.
• Contribute to monthly At Issue newsletter by performing research and drafting articles for inclusion.
• Update and maintain Maryland’s advocacy website at http://www.aoba-metro.org.
• Draft and send member communications including calls to action, member alerts, meeting notices and other informational memos.

Qualifications, Skills and Abilities

• Bachelor’s Degree in political science or other related field preferred.
• Knowledge of Maryland State and Prince George’s County legislative processes preferred.
• Three to five years’ experience in legislative research and/or analysis, government affairs preferred.
• Strong organizational, written and oral communication and interpersonal skills.
• Ability to interact effectively with members, politicians and coworkers.
• Strong planning and organizational skills and an ability to handle multiple tasks.
• Strong research and analytical skills.
• Ability to work with and triage multiple projects, priorities and deadlines.
• Working fluency with Microsoft office software, including Microsoft Outlook, Word, Zoom and other virtual meeting platforms, Excel, and PowerPoint.