Director, Government Affairs

Rover.com; Seattle (WA); Hybrid; USD 158,513 - 210,822; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Competitive compensation

401k match

Flexible PTO

Bring your dog to work

Job summary

A leading pet services platform in Seattle is seeking a Director of Government Affairs to lead legislative advocacy efforts and develop relationships with policymakers. The candidate will oversee a team, analyze legislation, and execute strategies that positively impact the community of pets and pet lovers. An ideal applicant has a J.D. or similar degree, considerable government affairs experience, and strong interpersonal skills. This hybrid role requires presence in the Downtown Seattle office two days a week.

Qualifications

• Approximately 15 years of government affairs or relevant experience.
• At least 4 years of people management experience.
• Ability to analyze legislative language critically.

Responsibilities

• Monitor and analyze legislation affecting Rover and its community.
• Develop and maintain partnerships with government officials.
• Manage and mentor the Government Affairs team.

Skills

Legislative Advocacy

Strategic Communication

Relationship Building

Detail-Oriented

Education

J.D. or other legal degree

Tools

Legislative software

Job description

Who We Are

Want to make an impact? Join our pack and come work (and play!) with us. We believe everyone deserves the unconditional love of a pet—and at Rover, our mission is to make it easier to experience that love. Founded in 2011, the Rover app and website connect dog and cat parents with loving pet sitters and dog walkers in neighborhoods across the US, Canada, and Europe. We empower our community of trusted pet sitters and dog walkers to run their own pet care businesses on Rover with the tools and security of a global company to back them. Headquartered in Seattle, Washington, we work closely with our teams in Barcelona, San Antonio, Spokane, and remote locations. We’ve got a reputation for being a great place to work, having been named among the 100 Best Companies to Work For in Seattle Business Magazine and Washington’s Best Workplaces in the Puget Sound Business Journal. We're an agile, fast-growing company, and our leadership comes from some of the world's most respected tech companies. At Rover, our furry coworkers are just as important as our human ones—and we wouldn’t have it any other way. Along with making the joys of pet parenthood more accessible, we’re committed to fostering a diverse, inclusive, and welcoming community of pet people—and that starts with our employees.

Who We're Looking For

Rover is looking for a strategic, creative, and trusted Director, Government Affairs who is passionate about building relationships, engaging with policymakers, and advocating on behalf of Rover and our community of pets and pet lovers. This role will lead a small, but impactful Government Affairs team that helps inform legislation, regulations, and stakeholder relationships throughout the United States and internationally in Canada, Europe, and Australia. Our work improves the public affairs landscape for Rover and for pet lovers who use Rover’s online marketplace to offer or find neighborhood pet care. The Director of Government Affairs is responsible not only for developing a comprehensive public affairs vision and advocacy strategy, but also for rolling up their sleeves to operate tactically and execute big and small tasks alike, in collaboration with outside consultants. With an unwavering commitment to our community, you will share Rover’s story and help us put our best paw forward to drive positive public affairs impacts. This is not a traditional legal role, but you will be responsible for regularly analyzing complex legislative and regulatory language to understand its potential effects. A J.D. or other legal degree will help the right person to dig in on complex legal and regulatory issues involving online marketplaces, independent work, pet care, and more. This role will sit within Rover’s Legal & Government Affairs department and will partner closely with members of the Legal team.

Hybrid Position Notice This is a hybrid position that has the minimum expectation to work out of our Downtown Seattle Office two days per week on Mondays and Thursdays. For this reason, candidates must be based in the Greater Seattle Area or willing to relocate.

Your Responsibilities

• Legislative Advocacy: Monitor, analyze, and influence proposed legislation, regulations, or other policy affecting Rover and the community of pet lovers that use Rover’s online marketplace. Represent Rover in meetings with government officials, policymakers, staff, and other key stakeholders, and participate in public hearings or stakeholder groups.
• Legal & Policy Analysis: Use legislative software, reports from consultants, and other information sources to identify and track relevant proposed laws. Analyze proposed legislation and regulations, identify nuances that could affect Rover or the community of pet lovers. While collaborating with Legal to analyze key legal issues, review legislation, forecast potential impacts, and draft proposed amendments.
• Strategic Relationship Building: Develop and maintain partnerships with government officials, regulatory agencies, industry trade associations, and other stakeholders.
• Cross-Functional Partnership: Partner closely with Rover’s Legal and other internal teams to gather, synthesize, and communicate information to support sound decision making and ensure alignment between advocacy positions and operational obligations.
• Team Leadership: Manage and mentor an experienced Senior Manager, Government Affairs, as well as external consultants, to achieve business objectives, while creating space for growth, fun, and celebration.
• Budgeting & Reporting: Develop the team’s budget consistent with strategic priorities, negotiate contracts with outside consultants, and advise senior leadership on emerging policy topics and strategic recommendations.
• Corporate Social Responsibility: Oversee Rover’s corporate social responsibility program to address pet care needs in ways that reflect the shared interests of Rover and the community of pet lovers.

Your Qualifications

• Approximately 15 years of government affairs or other relevant experience, with a demonstrated track record of success in legislative advocacy and navigating complex, multi‑jurisdictional policy environments at the local, state, federal, and/or international levels.
• At least 4 years of people management experience.
• A J.D. or other legal degree or training, although you do not need to be an actively practicing or licensed attorney. Ability to critically analyze legislative language, assess its potential impact to Rover, and draft possible amendments to legislative text, with a high degree of independence is essential.
• Excellent strategic communication skills. Distill complex issues into persuasive narratives for all types of audiences, both verbally and in writing, including Board and C‑Suite level presentations. Top‑notch writer, able to draft persuasive policy memos, talking points, testimony, and other advocacy materials.
• Excellent interpersonal and relationship‑building skills. Personable, highly collaborative, and excel at forging positive working relationships with lawmakers, regulators, consultants, and other key stakeholders, even when addressing topics involving significant disagreement or sensitivity.
• Strategic vision, with the ability to position Rover for the future, spot trends, and understand the impact of public affairs decisions on all aspects of the business and community. Demonstrated business acumen.
• Strong work ethic and creative problem solving, with a “failure is not an option” mentality. As the leader of a small team, operate tactically and be willing to dig in on all aspects of engagements and related work.
• Extremely organized and detail‑oriented, with the ability to prioritize and thrive in fast‑paced environments.
• Experience monitoring and analyzing federal, state, or local legislative and regulatory developments.
• Exceptional personal and professional integrity.
• Ability to travel within the US and internationally, if needed. (Travel is not currently a significant component of this role.)

Nice To Have

• Experience with PolicyNote, Curate, or similar legislative‑monitoring software.
• Experience working for or advocating on behalf of online marketplaces, technology companies, or highly regulated industries, including familiarity with legal issues affecting e‑commerce businesses, independent work, and pet care.

Benefits Of Working At Rover.com

• Competitive compensation
• 401k match
• Long‑term incentive plan with a company performance‑based cash payout
• Flexible PTO
• Competitive benefits package, including medical, dental, and vision insurance
• Commuter benefits
• Bring your dog to work (and unlimited puppy time)
• Pet benefits, including $1000 toward adopting your first dog or cat
• Stocked fridges, coffee, soda, and lots of treats (for humans and dogs) and free catered lunches monthly
• Regular team activities performed in person and virtually

Compensation

• In the Greater Seattle Area the first‑year base salary range is $158,513‑210,822 with a 15% bonus. Additionally, Rover offers a long‑term incentive plan with a company performance‑based cash payout and benefits to full‑time employees.
• The cash compensation offered for this role will be dependent on the candidate's experience, qualifications, skills, and abilities as demonstrated in the interview and hiring process.

At Rover, we’re driven by seeing our people succeed and grow, while doing our jobs better than ever before. We believe the best business outcomes come from a diverse set of perspectives and we’re committed to promoting an inclusive, inventive, and fun environment with amazing employees. We welcome and encourage applicants from all backgrounds to apply.

Rover is an equal opportunity employer. We consider all qualified applicants without regard to age, race, color, ancestry, national origin, religion, disability, military or veteran status, sex, pregnancy, gender identity or expression, sexual orientation, marital or partnership status, genetic predisposition, or any other protected status in accordance with applicable federal, state and local laws.

We are committed to work with you to look for reasonable accommodation to participate in the job application or interview process, to perform essential job functions, and to receive other benefits and privileges of employment. Please contact us to request accommodation.

We may use artificial intelligence (AI) tools to support parts of the hiring process, such as reviewing applications, analyzing resumes, or assessing responses. These tools assist our recruitment team but do not replace human judgment. Final hiring decisions are ultimately made by humans. If you would like more information about how your data is processed, please contact us.