Government Relations Manager

Government Relations Manager

Conservation Voters of South Carolina is the political voice of South Carolina's environmental community. CVSC is a bipartisan, non-profit organization that, along with its sister organization the CVSC PAC, passes laws that protect our environment, elects pro-conservation candidates, and holds elected officials accountable. A separate organization, the CVSC Education Fund, also works to educate and engage South Carolinians “to protect the South Carolina we love.” We effectively fight for our air, land, and water through bipartisan and pragmatic political action.

Scope of Position: CVSC seeks a driven and capable individual to join our Policy and Government Relations team as a Government Relations Manager to advance conservation policy at the local government level.

The Manager will oversee a wide range of policy and advocacy tasks, including tracking local conservation policy at city and county councils, building relationships with local elected officials, staff, partners, and stakeholders, identifying opportunities that align with CVSC’s statewide goals, and executing strategies to advance conservation policy at the local level. Working under the supervision of CVSC’s Government Relations Director and in collaboration with CVSC’s policy experts, partners, and stakeholders, the Government Relations Manager will implement strategies to accomplish shared conservation goals and priorities and promote alignment on local advocacy efforts.

The ideal candidate will understand South Carolina’s state and local government landscape, can identify how conservation policies impact statewide priorities, and has the ability to build relationships with a broad coalition of partners and elected officials to accomplish shared policy goals.

Location: The position must be based in South Carolina (non-negotiable), but may be performed remotely from within the state. This position will involve frequent day and occasional overnight travel. CVSC has a physical office in Columbia and co-work space in Charleston.

Specific Responsibilities:

• Build and maintain a diverse set of positive working relationships local elected officials and staff, conservation partners, community leaders, state agencies, and other stakeholders.


• Work with policy staff and partners to identify conservation and environmental policies that help to tackle systemic environmental, racial, and economic inequities.


• Collaborate with coalition partners to identify campaign needs and develop strategy.


• Track, monitor, and analyze local ordinances and policies, attend hearings, council meetings, and other public engagement events.


• Identify and leverage opportunities between local and state elected officials to advance conservation policy.


• Track and report on activities and metrics, capture success stories for grant reporting and funding proposals.


• Represent CVSC within state and local government and in public settings and model behavior and expectations that support a cohesive, inclusive, impactful team culture


• Performs other duties as needed in accordance with the successful operation of a non-profit organization.

Required Qualifications

• 2+ years professional experience with advocacy campaigns, including outreach, campaign planning, lobbying, and coalition-building.


• Experience with grassroots and grasstop advocacy and how these efforts can amplify and support local government engagement efforts. 


• Ability to professionally represent CVSC in written and oral communications.


• Strong problem-solving skills and ability to adjust strategies and workplans in real time. 


• Excellent written and verbal communication, facilitation, negotiating, and public speaking skills. An ability to communicate complex information in a clear and concise manner in person, over video conferencing, and over the telephone.


• Strong attention to detail, fast and willing learner, strong organizational skills and ability to follow up and meet deadlines. 


• Ability to work well within a team and with individuals, both internal and external, from diverse backgrounds.


• Demonstrated awareness of one’s own cultural identity, views about difference, and the ability to learn and build on varying cultural and community norms. Shares our commitment to increasing racial justice and equity in our movement and organization, integrating these principles into all of the work we do and ensuring an inclusive organizational culture. 


• A personal approach to diversity, equity, inclusion, and justice that values the individual and respects differences of race, ethnicity, age, gender, sexual orientation, gender identity, religion, ability and socio-economic circumstance.

Preferred skills and qualifications:

• Knowledge of local government operations, an understanding of the South Carolina political environment, and an understanding of key stakeholders in local policymaking.


• Experience working with local governments in South Carolina, and advancing effective policy.


• A passion for conservation and environmental efforts to protect our air, land, and water. 


• Knowledge and understanding of environmental issues and the types of policies used to advance environmental protection and climate action at the local and state levels.


• Proficiency and substantial experience with standard office productivity software and equipment; ability to read, process, and synthesize printed materials on paper or standard computer screen.

Work environment:  CVSC is a mission-driven organization whose staff are deeply passionate about advancing environmental policy in a just and equitable way. We are seeking another effective, productive, enjoyable and highly ethical member of the team who will take responsibility and leadership for implementing assigned tasks.

Terms of employment:  The position is full-time, contingent on continued funding (grants and individual donations). This includes a 40-hour workweek with the need for flexible scheduling, depending on the nature of an issue or timeframe. Occasional out of town travel will be required. CVSC is an Equal Opportunity Employer committed to a racially just, equitable and inclusive workplace.

Salary/Benefits: CVSC offers a competitive non-profit sector salary for this position in the $55,000-$65,000
range, depending on experience and qualifications.

We provide a high-quality health insurance plan paid at 100% for employees and 60% for families and dependents. CVSC also provides a Flex Spending Account as well as short-term disability, dental, and vision coverage at no cost to employees.

Our benefits package also includes a SIMPLE IRA retirement plan with a 3% match, a monthly cell phone stipend, a technology/office setup stipend for remote workers, and an annual professional development budget for each employee. Our benefits plan also includes 14 holidays, 17 days of PTO (increasing with tenure), 8 weeks of paid parental leave, and a sabbatical program.

Please note that as a 501(c)(4) nonprofit organization, CVSC employees are not eligible to participate in the Federal Public Service Loan Forgiveness Program.

Application Instructions:  Please submit your resume and a cover letter that addresses how your expertise matches the job description and why you want to work to protect the air, land, and water of South Carolina through CVSC’s hiring system at cvsc.org/careers. 

Please save your resume and cover letter as two separate .pdf files using the following file name format: “

• Cover Letter: _GRMCL_2026” (for example, “Helen Smith_GRM_2026”). 


• Resume: _GRMR_2026” (for example, “Helen Smith_GRM_2026”).
  

Applications must include both a cover letter and a resume. Applications missing either document will be considered incomplete and will not be reviewed.