Senior Advisor, Legislative & Regulatory Affairs

Job Summary

Under the supervision of the Director of Legislative & Regulatory Affairs, the Senior Advisor supports all aspects of the duties of the Legislative & Regulatory Affairs Department, including but not limited to drafting and tracking legislation that directly and indirectly impacts NJEDA and corresponding rules and regulations as well as memorandums of understanding with government partners, supporting legislative and regulatory implementation and program/product development, working closely with the internal stakeholders, the Attorney General’s Office, the Governor’s Rules Office, the Office of Administrative Law, and other government agency partners.

$99,120 - $123,900

Note: The NJEDA currently offers a hybrid work schedule for up to 2 days of telecommute work from home. To participate, you will be required to have high speed home internet access and a manager's approval. This program does not supersede the "New Jersey First Act", which requires newly hired NJEDA employees to establish and then maintain, principal residence in the State of New Jersey.

Essential Duties and Responsibilities

• Drafts, tracks, and reviews legislation of importance to NJEDA, provides summaries of key bills to the Executive Team as needed, and drafts comments on and amendments to legislation that directly or indirectly impacts NJEDA and economic development in New Jersey.
• Assists with policy and program/product development as needed to implement enacted legislation.
• Handles the rulemaking process, working with the Executive Team and other internal stakeholders to draft rules for new programs, amend and/or readopt rules as and when necessary, and monitor expiration of rules to ensure none expire before readoption.  
• In connection with rulemaking efforts, receives and incorporates input from applicable program staff, Assistant/Deputy Attorneys General, Governor’s Rules Office, other external stakeholders such as sister agencies, and the public.  

• Ensures compliance with Administrative Procedures Act and Executive Order 63 (Murphy 2019) by, among other things, providing opportunities for both formal and informal public comment on proposed rules, overseeing the public engagement and stakeholder outreach process, and maintaining the rulemaking record.
• Prepares filings for transmittal to the Governor’s Rules Office and the Office of Administrative Law, including biannually NOFA notices, for publication in the New Jersey Register.
• Reviews memorandums of understanding for compliance with relevant statutes and regulations.
• Partners with product development to provide application design support for programs based upon regulations.
• Partners with Product Leads to review Board memoranda for programs based upon regulations.

• Promotes teamwork and communication to encourage an interactive, cooperative, collaborative and customer focused work environment among division, EDA staff and external customers.
• Must complete annual and semiannual self-assessment as required.
• Performs other duties or special projects, as assigned.

Skills and Abilities

• Knowledge of or ability to read, understand and communicate in layperson’s terms about complex legislation, regulation, memorandums of understanding, and other documents
• Must possess advanced research ability and information technology skills
• Ability to prioritize workload; must be highly organized, detail-oriented, handle various tasks simultaneously, and work independently within limited time constraints with little or no supervision
• Experience in legislative/regulatory/government affairs
• Must possess knowledge of government, business, and industry
• Ability to communicate effectively both verbally and in writing; proficient in grammar, spelling and editing; and foster communications with business professionals, public officials, legislators, general public, trade organizations, and NJEDA staff
• Ability to obtain a thorough knowledge and understanding of all aspects of the Authority
• Must be able to maintain confidentiality and deal effectively and diplomatically with business professionals and NJEDA staff
• Demonstrates respectful behavior and promotes teamwork and communication to encourage an interactive, cooperative, collaborative and customer focused work environment among division, NJEDA staff, and external customers
• NJEDA utilizes Microsoft as the core application platform and proficiency in the Microsoft Office Suite is preferred

Preferred Qualifications

Education and Experience Requirements

• Bachelor’s degree; Juris doctor degree from an accredited law school required
• Admission to the New Jersey Bar required
• 7-10 years’ experience in a legal capacity
• Experience reviewing legal documents and use of third-party legal software (e.g. Lexis-Nexis)
• Prior experience as a law clerk desired
• Experience with Govnet helpful

Advanced degree or industry specific certification may be substituted for 1 year of experience

Physical Demands

• Minimal
• Ability to work outside of normal business hours, as needed

Travel

• As necessary to events, meetings, businesses, etc.

Certificates and Licenses Required

• License: Staff are required to possess a driver's license valid in New Jersey only if the operation of a vehicle, rather than employee mobility, is necessary to perform the essentials duties of the position.

Note

The examples of work for this title are for illustrative purposes only. A particular position using this title may not perform all duties listed in this job description. Conversely, all duties performed on the job may not be listed. This job description is intended to convey information essential to understanding the scope, general nature and level of work performed by job holders within this job.  This job description is not intended to be an exhaustive list of qualifications, skills, efforts, duties, responsibilities or working conditions associated with the position.

Your employment at NJEDA is voluntary and subject to termination by you or NJEDA at will, with or without cause, or with or without notice, at any time.  Nothing in this job description shall be interpreted to conflict, eliminate or modify the employment-at-will status of NJEDA employees. 

This position is considered exempt and is excluded from minimum wage, overtime regulations, and other rights and protections afforded nonexempt workers under the FLSA.

NJEDA reserves the right to amend/revise this job description as necessary to meet current and changing business needs.

NJ SAME Program

 In accordance with P.L. 2021, c. 465 and P.L. 2021, 466, the SAME program was established to enable New Jersey State agencies to hire, promote, retain, and advance qualified individuals whose physical or mental impairments impact their abilities to participate in the hiring and promotion process for non-competitive and unclassified titles within the State workforce.

The SAME program allows candidates, who identify as having a significant disability, to apply for non-competitive and unclassified positions through a fast track hiring process. This program uses a fast-track process that permits people who are eligible for the program to request that the State appointing authority schedule with them a good faith interview. For more information about the SAME program and the Fast Track Hiring program, please Click Here. If you have any questions, please email, or call the contact as indicated on the job vacancy announcement.

This posting open to eligible applicants regardless of SAME eligibility.

Authorization to Work: Selected candidates must be authorized to work in the United States per the Department of Homeland Security, United States Citizenship and Immigration Services regulations. Note: The State of New Jersey does not provide sponsorship for citizenship to the United States.

Equal Opportunity Employer

Position Requirements

• Foreign degrees/transcripts must be evaluated by a reputable evaluation service at your own expense and must be submitted prior to a start date. If this cannot be provided within 21 days of an offer the offer will be rescinded.
• Must comply with the “New Jersey First Act” which requires employees hired after September 1, 2011, to reside in New Jersey. Non-New Jersey resident employees must relocate to New Jersey within one year of their date of hire and provide proof of residency to Human Resources.
• Must complete an Outside Activity Questionnaire (disclosure of outside office or employment) on an annual basis.
• Must review the required NJ State Ethics Guidelines found on the state website.

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