Government Relations Director

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 seasoned government relations professional with extensive experience in legislative and lobbying strategies to lead the organization’s comprehensive government relations efforts. The position will design and implement legislative state and local campaigns to protect South Carolina’s air, land, and water in a just and equitable manner.

The position will supervise a team of staff and contract lobbyists to advance legislation in the South Carolina General Assembly and at the local level. The right candidate will be a self-starter with excellent written and oral communications skills, robust lobbying and government relations experience, demonstrated experience initiating projects and advancing them successfully, and have a strong belief in and passion for the mission of CVSC. The position reports to the Senior Vice President of Policy and Government Relations, working closely with the President, policy team, communications team, and partnership staff to develop and pass policies that protect the environment and quality of life for communities throughout South Carolina.

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. 

Location: The position must be based in South Carolina (non-negotiable), but may be performed remotely from within the state. During legislative session (January-June) a consistent physical presence will be necessary in Columbia. CVSC has a physical office in Columbia and co-work space in Charleston. Occasional day and overnight travel will be required.

Specific Responsibilities: 

• Work with CVSC team to craft and implement ambitious multi-year vision and strategy for advancing CVSC’s policy priorities at the state and local level.

• Leads the organization’s Government Relations team as registered lobbyist for the organization, supervising contract and staff lobbyists and coordinating with issue-specific policy staff to advance a broad set of land protection, clean air, clean water, clean energy, climate resilience, and other environmental policy goals that help to tackle systemic environmental, racial, and economic inequities. 
• Track, monitor, and analyze policy, attend hearings, workgroups, and other meetings. 
• Build and maintain a diverse set of positive working relationships with state and local elected officials and staff, conservation partners, community leaders, state agencies, and other stakeholders.
• Oversees the creation of the biennial Conservation Scorecard and any legislation-specific accountability efforts to educate citizens on the voting records of lawmakers.  
• Communicates legislative strategy and action opportunities to CVSC staff, external supporters, and partners.  
• Performs other duties as needed in accordance with the successful operation of a non-profit organization.
  
  

Required Qualifications 

• 3+ years of experience working to advance public policy at a statewide level, with at least 2 years as a registered lobbyist.
• 2+ years of experience in supervising full-time staff and/or contractors, with a demonstrated ability to inspire action, lead by example, and instill purpose into daily operations of the organization.  
• A strategic approach to project management that can identify long-term opportunities and create strategies that thoughtfully help a committed team achieve incremental milestones that build towards these goals.  
• Ability to professionally represent CVSC in written and oral communications; 
• Demonstrated ability to develop collaborative, productive, respectful relationships with leaders and organizations representing a variety of interests and perspectives.  
• Experience with grassroots and grasstop advocacy and how these efforts can amplify and support direct lobbying efforts.  
• Strong problem-solving skills and ability to adjust strategies and work plans 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: 

• A knowledge of the South Carolina political environment, particularly within the South Carolina General Assembly.  
• Experience working with local governments in South Carolina and advancing local 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 $105,000-$115,000
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, Fridays off in the summer months, 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: _GRDCL_2026” (for example, “Helen Smith_GRDCL_2026”). 
• Resume: _GRDRL_2026” (for example, “Helen Smith_GRDR_2026”).
  
  

The position will remain open until filled.