The Community you will join:

Airbnb’s Public Policy campaign team exists to further the interests of our community of hosts and guests with politicians, regulators, opinion leaders and others who shape the political and regulatory context for our business, helping them to understand the significant social and economic contributions of our platform. Across the North America (“NAMER”) region, US and Canada specifically, we are engaged in hundreds of local conversations and negotiations with governments big and small.  We engage governments at local, state, provincial and national levels directly and also use innovative advocacy and partnership strategies that actively involve our community and stakeholders in making the case for fair, progressive home sharing rules.

The difference you will make:

The Policy Lead, Great Lakes & Smoky Mountains is responsible for developing and executing a fully integrated state and local government relations plan in his/her assigned jurisdictions, using all available strategies, informed by data and insights, and that aims to protect and further the legitimacy of Airbnb and our community. The role direct-reports to the North America Policy Director position and works closely and collegially with the other Regional Leads in the North America region. 

The Regional Lead is also responsible for working in partnership with the Global Sales and Operations (“GSO”) team and other relevant cross functional teams in identifying strategic business opportunities in their assigned region, ensuring that opportunities to implement GSO projects and initiatives in the region are flagged. 

A typical day:

Leadership and Empowerment: Your primary responsibility is team leadership – line managing an energetic, passionate and diverse group of public policy experts who deliver complementary strands of work to serve the overall strategy. You inspire others to get behind a common vision and you deploy first-rate organizational skills to ensure that your strategy is executed, targets are set, and projects are delivered, on time and on budget.

You manage consultants who provide on-the-ground support, ensuring that they are properly briefed and engaging energetically on behalf of Airbnb in line with the agreed strategy.

You create and maintain an inclusive culture and ways of working for your team, in line with Airbnb’s Core Values, and you are committed to embracing diversity and fostering belonging. You are accountable for performance management and feedback, and also recruitment and succession planning. You empower members of your team to work on local and regional projects that develop their professional, operational and strategic skills. 

Strategy Development: You determine an appropriate strategy for each priority or initiative in the jurisdiction and the states and localities within it, as determined through close collaboration with the Regional Director and business leader in the territory. You define the ultimate policy goals and priorities, and develop operational plans that deliver measurable progress towards those goals in partnership with your team. These plans and strategies are always founded on high-quality insights and data analysis, and are well aligned with Airbnb’s global approach. You also develop these strategies in close collaboration with colleagues on the wider NAMER team who have expertise in the core campaign functions, and have a regional perspective on best practices and learnings. You are responsible for strategizing and executing on an annual budget that includes consultant expenses, programs, and other priorities.

Communication and Accountability: You work with other functions to align your Policy plans with other critical business priorities and outcomes. You ensure that internal stakeholders understand the campaign strategy and plans, and that information is flowing smoothly to everyone with a “need to know.” You ensure that progress is being reported regularly, and that roadblocks and successes are being flagged appropriately. You are able to confidently communicate with senior leaders about your campaign’s priorities, to manage expectations where required and to coordinate with other teams to achieve greater goals.

External Advocacy: When appropriate, you represent Airbnb at the most senior political levels in your geography, and also as a media spokesperson in the region. You ensure that Airbnb builds and maintains relationships with the widest possible network of contacts in local, state, and regional legislative, executive and administrative offices, and also with coalitions who can advance Airbnb’s advocacy initiatives.

Your expertise:

• At least 12 - 15+ years experience working with complex political or regulatory issues in a relevant business or non-governmental organization, or in a political, governmental or regulatory context. Ideally, this experience has been built in travel, urbanism or technology;
• Senior leadership experience, with track record of supporting and developing diverse multidisciplinary teams;
• Experience developing campaigns including the use of paid and earned media and mobilization to influence policy outcomes;
• Experience in politics, government relations, campaigns or public policy in Tennessee, North Caroline, South Carolina or Michigan.
• Proven ability in core people management skills – effective delegation, performance management, coaching and talent development;
• Experience of managing complex projects with multiple stakeholders. Highly organized and able to stay on top of multiple projects simultaneously, while staying focused on overall strategic goals;
• Experience in direct government relations and public policy advocacy at the local and state levels of government.
• Ability to research, analyze, distill and synthesize ordinances and bills and effectively articulate Airbnb’s positions to policymakers at both the local and state levels of government.  Must also be able to effectively advocate and influence multiple external stakeholders.
• Ability to collaborate with internal cross-functional partners.  Must also be able to effectively advocate and influence multiple internal stakeholders.  
• Ability to quickly get up to speed on complex technical and regulatory issues, and understand how these can be managed using a broad range of campaigning strategies;
• Expert communicator with great interpersonal and presentation skills;
• Understanding of budget processes and ability to effectively manage and leverage limited resources.

Your Location:

Due to the nature of this position, the successful applicant will need to be based in Michigan, Illinois, Tennessee, North Carolina or South Carolina to be able to conduct their work. Currently, employees can not be located in: Alaska, Indiana, Nebraska, North Dakota, Ohio, South Dakota, Wisconsin, Alabama, Mississippi, Oklahoma, Delaware And Rhode Island. This list is continuously being updated, please check back with us if the state you live in is on the exclusion list.  If your position is employed by another Airbnb entity, your recruiter will inform you what states you are eligible to work from.

Our Commitment To Inclusion & Belonging:

Airbnb is committed to working with the broadest talent pool possible. We believe diverse ideas foster innovation and engagement, and allow us to attract creatively-led people, and to develop the best products, services and solutions. All qualified individuals are encouraged to apply.

We strive to also provide a disability inclusive application and interview process. If you are a candidate with a disability and require reasonable accommodation in order to submit an application, please contact us at: reasonableaccommodations@airbnb.com. Please include your full name, the role you’re applying for and the accommodation necessary to assist you with the recruiting process. 

We ask that you only reach out to us if you are a candidate whose disability prevents you from being able to complete our online application.