Regional Government & Community Affairs Lead

Castelion Corporation; Rio Rancho (NM); On-site; USD 90,000 - 130,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Equity

Paid time off

Holidays

Health coverage

Parental leave

Fitness stipend

EV charging

Catered meals

Job summary

Castelion's Project Ranger in Rio Rancho, New Mexico is seeking a Manager of Government and Community Affairs. You will lead local and regional engagement, build trusted relationships with officials, workforce partners, educational institutions, and civic groups, and represent Castelion publicly.

This role spans public affairs, government relations, economic development, and community engagement to support hiring, reputation, and long-term regional growth.

Qualifications

• 8+ years of experience in external affairs, public affairs, government relations, community relations, economic development, communications, or a related field.
• Strong understanding of New Mexico's political, civic, business, and community landscape, with familiarity with Rio Rancho, Sandoval County, Albuquerque, or state-level stakeholders.
• Proven ability to build trust with local officials, community leaders, business organizations, educational institutions, and other external stakeholders.
• Strong written and verbal communication skills, including the ability to explain complex technical, economic, and national security issues to non-technical audiences.
• Experience supporting or leading public-facing engagement for a major facility, infrastructure project, manufacturing site, economic development project, or high-growth company.
• Ability to work effectively across internal teams, including operations, communications, legal, facilities, finance, HR, recruiting, and senior leadership.
• High ownership and ability to manage multiple projects, events, and stakeholder relationships in parallel.
• Sound judgment, discretion, and ability to identify reputational or political risks before they become larger issues.
• Must be a U.S. Person due to potential access to U.S. export-controlled information or facilities.

Responsibilities

• Develop and execute a regional external affairs strategy for Project Ranger across Rio Rancho, Sandoval County, Albuquerque, and the broader New Mexico stakeholder community.
• Build and maintain relationships with local and state elected officials, county and municipal leaders, economic development organizations, chambers of commerce, business associations, civic organizations, and community groups.
• Serve as a local ambassador for Castelion and Project Ranger, helping explain the company's mission, the facility's economic impact, and its role in strengthening the U.S. defense industrial base.
• Identify and lead partnerships with workforce development organizations, technical schools, community colleges, universities, veteran transition programs, and training providers to support hiring and long-term workforce needs.
• Work closely with Castelion's Recruiting and Operations teams to support local recruiting, workforce pipeline development, employee onboarding, and community integration.
• Plan and execute site visits, briefings, community events, ribbon cuttings, facility tours, and stakeholder engagements related to Project Ranger.
• Support local and regional media engagement in coordination with Castelion's Communications team, including proactive storytelling around construction milestones, hiring, workforce development, and economic impact.
• Monitor local sentiment, media coverage, community concerns, and political developments that could affect Project Ranger's reputation, operations, or long-term growth.
• Help manage community investment, sponsorship, philanthropic, and civic partnership opportunities aligned with Castelion's business and community priorities.
• Coordinate with internal teams to ensure external messaging is accurate, consistent, and aligned with operational realities at the site.
• Prepare briefing materials, talking points, stakeholder maps, engagement plans, and readouts for senior leadership.
• Support engagement with local military, veteran, STEM, education, and manufacturing communities.
• Serve as an early-warning system for local issues that could create reputational, political, workforce, or operational challenges.

Skills

External affairs

Public affairs

Government relations

Community relations

Economic development

Communications

Stakeholder engagement

Leadership

Cross-functional collaboration

Job description

Castelion's Project Ranger in Rio Rancho, New Mexico is seeking a Manager of Government and Community Affairs. You will lead local and regional engagement, build trusted relationships with officials, workforce partners, educational institutions, and civic groups, and represent Castelion publicly.

This role spans public affairs, government relations, economic development, and community engagement to support hiring, reputation, and long-term regional growth.