Vice President, Government Affairs

The New York Times; Washington; On-site; USD 280,000 - 320,000; Full time

Job summary

The New York Times is seeking an experienced leader to direct its government relations and public policy strategy. This role leads policy engagement with U.S. policymakers and regulators, and with international officials as needed, to shape and advance the company’s public policy agenda.

Based in our New York City headquarters or Washington, D.C. office, the position is hybrid with travel. You will manage external lobbying resources, coordinate with legal, communications, and business teams, and

Qualifications

• 15+ years of experience in government relations or legislative advocacy.
• Experience working with federal and state legislative and regulatory processes.
• Bachelor’s degree in Public Policy, Political Science, Communications, Economics, or a related field.
• Strong written and oral communication skills, including the ability to concisely summarize complex issues and policies to create effective advocacy points and strategies.

Responsibilities

• Shape and oversee the company’s government affairs and public policy strategy in coordination with leadership, legal, communications, and commercial teams to support long-term priorities.
• Represent the company on U.S. legislative, regulatory, and other policy matters and champion issues facing a global news organization.
• Track and analyze relevant legislative, policy, and regulatory developments, providing timely briefings and recommendations to leadership and internal stakeholders.
• Formulate clear policy positions and propose, draft, and advocate for legislation, regulatory guidance, and policy frameworks.
• Build and maintain relationships with lawmakers, congressional staff, federal, state, local, and international officials, interest groups, and other key contacts.
• Manage and direct the activities of external lobbying firms and public affairs consultants to maximize performance and accountability and achieve agreed-upon objectives.
• Lead the company’s participation in industry coalitions, trade associations, and external groups, including providing support to senior executives representing the company on those bodies, while driving coalition-building and stakeholder engagement to champion key issues.
• Partner with internal legal, communications, and commercial teams, securing alignment between policy responses and legal positions, communications strategies and commercial efforts; lead timely cross-functional responses to specific matters where necessary.
• Advise on international policy strategies to navigate evolving regulatory environments in non-U.S. markets.
• Oversee compliance with local, state, federal, and international lobbying disclosure rules, registrations, and reporting requirements.
• Demonstrate support for and understanding of our value of journalistic independence and a strong commitment to our mission to seek the truth and help people understand the world.

Skills

Policy leadership

Stakeholder engagement

Legislative processes

Strategic communication

Education

Bachelor’s degree in Public Policy, Political Science, Communications, Economics, or a related field

Job description

The mission of The New York Times is to seek the truth and help people understand the world. That means independent journalism is at the heart of all we do as a company. It’s why we have a world-renowned newsroom that sends journalists to report on the ground from nearly 160 countries. It’s why we focus deeply on how our readers will experience our journalism, from print to audio to a world-class digital and app destination. And it’s why our business strategy centers on making journalism so good that it’s worth paying for.

The New York Times is seeking an experienced leader to direct its government relations and public policy strategy. This role serves as the primary lead for policy and legislative matters, heading engagement with U.S. policymakers and regulators, as well as state and international officials as needed, on issues affecting the company. In this position, you will drive the design and execution of the public policy agenda, managing external resources to protect and advance the company’s interests. The position reports to the Chief Legal Officer and the Chief Communications and Brand Officer.

This is a hybrid role based in our New York City headquarters or Washington, D.C. office, with some travel required. You can typically expect to come into the office three days per week.

Responsibilities

• Shape and oversee the company’s government affairs and public policy strategy in coordination with leadership, legal, communications, and commercial teams to support long-term priorities.
• Represent the company on U.S. legislative, regulatory, and other policy matters and champion issues facing a global news organization.
• Track and analyze relevant legislative, policy, and regulatory developments, providing timely briefings and recommendations to leadership and internal stakeholders.
• Formulate clear policy positions and propose, draft, and advocate for legislation, regulatory guidance, and policy frameworks.
• Build and maintain relationships with lawmakers, congressional staff, federal, state, local, and international officials, interest groups, and other key contacts.
• Manage and direct the activities of external lobbying firms and public affairs consultants to maximize performance and accountability and achieve agreed-upon objectives.
• Lead the company’s participation in industry coalitions, trade associations, and external groups, including providing support to senior executives representing the company on those bodies, while driving coalition-building and stakeholder engagement to champion key issues.
• Partner with internal legal, communications, and commercial teams, securing alignment between policy responses and legal positions, communications strategies and commercial efforts; lead timely cross-functional responses to specific matters where necessary.
• Advise on international policy strategies to navigate evolving regulatory environments in non-U.S. markets.
• Oversee compliance with local, state, federal, and international lobbying disclosure rules, registrations, and reporting requirements.
• Demonstrate support for and understanding of our value of journalistic independence and a strong commitment to our mission to seek the truth and help people understand the world.

Basic Qualifications

• 15+ years of experience in government relations or legislative advocacy.
• Experience working with federal and state legislative and regulatory processes.
• Bachelor’s degree in Public Policy, Political Science, Communications, Economics, or a related field.
• Strong written and oral communication skills, including the ability to concisely summarize complex issues and policies to create effective advocacy points and strategies.

Preferred Qualifications

• Knowledge of policy issues relevant to a global news organization, including press freedom, intellectual property, data privacy laws, and market competition.
• Experience selecting and managing external lobbying firms, public affairs consultants, and outside counsel.
• A network of relationships with lawmakers, legislative staff, interest groups, and industry peers.

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The annual base pay range for this role is between:

$280,000—$320,000 USD

Candidate Use of GenAI Tools:

We’re excited to learn more about you and your experience. To keep our hiring process as fair and authentic as possible, we ask that you submit your own work and not use GenAI tools to generate substantive content during the application and interview process.

If you’re an Engineering candidate, we’ll let you know what specific GenAI tools you are permitted to use for your technical assessment.

The New York Times Company is committed to being the world’s best source of independent, reliable and quality journalism. To do so, we embrace a diverse workforce that has a broad range of backgrounds and experiences across our ranks, at all levels of the organization. We encourage people from all backgrounds to apply.

We are an Equal Opportunity Employer and do not discriminate on the basis of an individual’s sex, age, race, color, creed, national origin, alienage, religion, marital status, pregnancy, sexual orientation or affectional preference, gender identity and expression, disability, genetic trait or predisposition, carrier status, citizenship, veteran or military status and other personal characteristics protected by law. All applications will receive consideration for employment without regard to legally protected characteristics. The U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC)’s Know Your Rights Poster is available here.

The New York Times Company will provide reasonable accommodations as required by applicable federal, state, and/or local laws. Individuals seeking an accommodation for the application or interview process should email [e-mail]. Emails sent for unrelated issues, such as following up on an application, will not receive a response.

The Company encourages those with criminal histories to apply, and will consider their applications in a manner consistent with applicable “Fair Chance” laws, including but not limited to the NYC Fair Chance Act, the Los Angeles Fair Chance Initiative for Hiring Ordinance, the San Francisco Fair Chance Ordinance, the Los Angeles County Fair Chance Ordinance for Employers, and the California Fair Chance Act.

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