The Role 

LeafLink’s Public Policy team works with stakeholders to cultivate the healthiest possible cannabis market. Our vision of a healthy cannabis market is one that is transparent, efficient, contains choice and is equitable.

LeafLink is looking for a Manager of Public Policy (East Coast) to join our growing team, reporting into the company’s Director of Public Policy. The role will either be based out of the company’s HQ in New York or remote from the East Coast region. This individual will support LeafLink’s Public Policy efforts on the East Coast as the company scales through its next round of hyper growth. This individual will own internal, external, local, and state efforts that support the cannabis industry, LeafLink’s clients, and the company’s long-term commercial success on the East Coast. 

We are looking for an entrepreneurial-minded individual with proven success furthering a technology company’s interests in front of state and local governments through deep bipartisan partnerships. This person will thrive in defining a brand new industry and the foundational regulations and guidelines behind it, utilizing LeafLink’s data and platform to guide cannabis to a tech-first, efficient and equitable future. This individual must be action-oriented, a quick-learner, comfortable with ambiguity, and have a direct but adept communication style. We expect everyone at LeafLink to be humble and get their hands dirty in day-to-day tasks while servicing the company and our clients above all else. 

Responsibilities 

• Build, grow, and maintain key strategic relationships with government officials at all levels on the East Coast.
• Develop a deep understanding of state and local regulations affecting LeafLink and the larger cannabis industry on the East Coast.
• Work strategically with their internal colleagues to ensure alignment between core business priorities and public policy goals.
• Provide strategic advice on policy issues that may affect the company and its products.
• Think critically, process data from multiple sources, forecast potential scenarios, prioritize based on probability and desired outcome, and recommend a best course of action. 
• Anticipate policy issues and developments that could impact LeafLink while crafting strategies to advocate on the company’s behalf. 
• Become a respected and proactive voice that guides new regulation creation and rulemaking cycles. 
• Create and guide the company’s strategic policy agenda by identifying and driving policy initiatives that will advance business goals and mitigate risk.
• Own and manage advocacy work and representation with external consultants, lobbying groups and trade associations. 
• Establish and track metrics/projects from the discovery of an opportunity through success points that further the goals of the company. 
• Monitor, analyze and make recommendations relating to ongoing legislation. 

Requirements 

• Bachelor's degree; an advanced degree in public policy a plus 
• At least 5+ years of public policy experience, including with state policymaking and legislative and regulatory policy processes, ties to New York a plus.  
• Must have extensive working knowledge and experience working with state governments in the region. Existing local and state regulator connections will be necessary to build and maintain, if they don’t ideally already exist. 
• Proven legislative advocacy skills, including advanced verbal and written communication skills. 
• Deep experience researching, analyzing, and evaluating local and state issues, rules, regulations, and legislation. 
• Understanding of highly fragmented, regulated markets and the interplay between local, state, and federal policies guiding them. 
• Understanding of marketplace dynamics. 
• High-level and effective interpersonal skills, including ability to establish and maintain effective bipartisan working relationships with a proven ability to work independently and collaboratively on internal and external teams. 
• Comfort with and experience working in a frenetic and rapidly progressing legislative and political environment. Ability to lead and report on multiple complex projects simultaneously under aggressive timeframes in multiple jurisdictions.
• Business-minded individual who is able to quickly learn and speak about all facets of LeafLink’s business. 
• Strong skills in advocacy and using spoken and written rhetoric to persuade and inform. 
• Ability to effectively communicate complex information to a wide variety of audiences. 
• Ability to influence, negotiate with, and persuade others. Be flexible and demonstrate strong judgment, decision-making skills, and political acumen. Ability to intelligently build a course of action, analyze trade-offs, and make recommendations even in ambiguous situations.

Benefits

• Flexible PTO to give our employees a little extra R&R when they need it  
• Competitive compensation and 401k 
• Comprehensive health coverage (medical, dental, vision) 
• Commuter Benefits through a Flexible Spending Account
• A robust stock option plan to give our employees a direct stake in LeafLink’s success

LeafLink’s employee-centric culture has earned us a coveted spot on BuiltInNYC’s Best Places to Work for in 2021 list. Learn more about LeafLink’s history and the path to our First Billion in Wholesale Cannabis Orders here.