Legislative Assistant

TITLE:

Legislative Assistant

REPORTING RELATIONSHIP:

Director, Federal Advocacy

BASIC FUNCTIONS:

Assist with and provide support for American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) advocacy efforts to Congress, regulatory, and judicial bodies and to other advocacy groups. Monitor and report on legislative and regulatory activities within the portfolio. Provide staff support to AAP chapters, committees, councils, and sections on advocacy issues, including attending committee and other AAP meetings as required. Represent the AAP at meetings with various interest groups, task forces, and child and health care coalitions.

DUTIES AND RESPONSIBILITIES:

1. Advance federal policy related to children's health insurance coverage and access to care, and to the financing, quality, and delivery of health care for children, including in Medicaid and CHIP.

2. Draft written materials to Congress, regulatory agencies, and AAP committees. Support AAP in the engagement of committees, chapters, and sections in legislative and regulatory activities within the issues portfolio.

3. Proactively monitor and provide information on legislative and regulatory proposals to the Director and other AAP staff, as appropriate. Compile background information on issues within issues portfolio, including summaries, side-by-side comparisons and analyses of different proposals, and any other appropriate information. Attend hearings and write reports. Conduct on-line research through congress.gov and regulatory websites. Read and report on activities in the Federal Register.

4. Assist with AAP advocacy efforts before Congress and regulatory agencies. Attend meetings with Congressional and agency staff on AAP issues as assigned. With Director, develop advocacy strategies on AAP legislative and regulatory priorities. Assist Director with implementation of policy strategy. Coordinate advocacy activities with communications team and headquarters staff as needed.

5. Represent the AAP at selected regulatory government advisory committee meetings and support pediatricians appointed to such committees, and report on advisory committee activities, reports and initiatives as appropriate.

6. Conduct outreach to partner organizations to coordinate coalition efforts on legislative and regulatory issues, including attending relevant coalition meetings as AAP representative and reporting on the details of coalition discussions and strategy. Assist Director with management of AAP-led coalitions, including organizing meetings and, coordinating multi-organization advocacy activities and documents.

7. Assist Director with drafting and editing testimony, correspondence, legislative amendments, floor statements, and responses to regulatory rule making, background papers, legislative reports, memoranda, and fact sheets.

8. Track and report on the team's progress across projects to ensure their timely completion.

9. Working with the Director, assist AAP membership with understanding legislative process and answering inquiries on AAP policy and child health issues.

10. Develop educational and background materials to support office and committee activities at various AAP meetings, including the National Conference & Exhibition, Committee on Federal Government Affairs (COFGA), and Leadership Conference.

11. Maintain relationships with Central Office staff; handle routine inquiries and assist with legislative and regulatory requests as assigned.

12. Gather specific information on issues as directed.

13. Perform all other duties as assigned.

EDUCATION:

Bachelor's degree in related field required, as well as substantive knowledge of federal legislative and regulatory processes.

EXPERIENCE:

At least two years' related experience in health or federal government arena required. Hill, federal agency, or association work desirable.

ESSENTIAL SKILLS:

Excellent organizational, interpersonal, critical thinking, negotiation, prioritization, and verbal/written communication skills essential. Must be a strategic thinker with superior writing skills and diligent attention-to-detail to coordinate a wide array of time-sensitive work, be able to manage multiple priorities simultaneously, work both independently and as part of a team, exercise good judgment, display initiative, collaborate effectively with various internal and external constituents, and promote and maintain a positive and cooperative team-oriented work environment with a commitment to equity, diversity, and inclusion. Absolute factual reporting is essential. Demonstrated expertise in related federal legislative and regulatory processes. Strong technical acumen essential with proficiency in MS Office and the ability to learn and apply new technologies; experience with virtual meeting platforms (eg, WebEx, Teams) preferred. Some travel and evening/weekend work is required.

Hybrid work environment of 40% of work time in the office per month.

To learn more about the organization, see a full job description, and/or apply for the position, please visit .

The AAP offers an excellent work environment, competitive salary, and a comprehensive benefits package. As a reaffirmation to our employee-focused culture, since 2005 the AAP has been named one of the 101 Best and Brightest Companies to Work for in the Chicagoland area. Additionally, we are an Equal Opportunity Employer of Minorities, Females, Individuals with Disabilities, and Veterans that values the strength diversity brings to our workplace.

Reasonable Accommodation: Individuals with a disability in need of a reasonable accommodation regarding the job application process may call 630-626-6297. Please note, only those inquiries concerning a request for reasonable accommodation will receive a response.