Tribal Engagement Lead

Role

The Tribal Engagement Lead will support the company's growing Tribal engagement efforts in New York, New Jersey, as well as in North Caroline and possibly other U.S. regions for offshore wind development; as well as the surrounding region that includes stakeholder management, community outreach, and team coordination. The Tribal Engagement Lead will be a key member of the External Affairs and Permitting teams as we establish the Company's market profile and build a local coalition among a diverse set of audiences and public entities relevant to establishing successful offshore wind projects across the Bight and along the East Coast. The Tribal Engagement Lead will:

• Lead the ongoing refinement and implementation of offshore wind projects' Native American Tribes Communications Plan and the regional Joint Native American Tribes Communications Plans, which define strategies and best practices for engaging Tribes and incorporating feedback from Tribes on the Projects.
• Build and maintain relationships with Tribal Communities with current and historic homelands in the New York and New Jersey onshore and offshore areas, as well as in North Carolina and other offshore wind regions
• Develop and sustain relationships with community-based organizations, small businesses, and other stakeholders to ensure that Tribal Communities can benefit from the Company's offshore wind projects' community benefits
• Coordinate across the team to improve internal capacity, information sharing, and project activities related to Tribal Communities
• Build upon the existing stakeholder, political, and community database to track engagement with Tribal Communities with an interest in New York and New Jersey, as well as in North Carolina and other offshore wind regions
• Travel on ad hoc basis, typically around New York and New Jersey and on occasion to other states (e.g., Oklahoma) to meet with Tribes that have historically been located in the region of offshore wind project sites but have since been relocated, to meet with stakeholders and attend/participate in workshops and conferences to represent the Company.

Requirements

• Ensures Tribal Communities are connected to the project and communicates the mission and values of the project
• Ensures the project is collaboratively explained, designed and executed so that Tribal Communities are informed, consent, and ultimately support the project
• Coordinates with internal teams to improve the team's understanding of Tribal related matters
• Does so while optimizing project value to stakeholders and Tribal Communities
• Does so while developing and maintaining a great reputation for the company with all counterparts, based on reliability, punctuality, clarity of thoughts and dependability
• Undergraduate or graduate degree in Native American Studies, Anthropology, Political Science, Public Policy, Public Affairs, Communications, and a related field, or 3+ years of experience in Tribal related topics, government relations, clean energy development/advocacy; community organizing or relevant state/federal public entities
• Knowledge of the unique legal and political Government-to-Government relationship between the federal and state governments and Tribal Communities
• Ability to develop and maintain positive relationships with a range of interested external parties
• Ability to develop rapport with Tribal leaders that is respectful and grounded in an openness to listen and to learn
• Experience developing or executing outreach strategies for stakeholder organizations or advocacy campaigns and ability to think of creative approaches to engagement
• Ability to analyze local issues and develop relevant briefings and outreach materials
• Excellent writing and presentation skills
• Demonstrated ability to work independently and establish clear and measurable objectives while prioritizing and organizing a varied workload
• Experience of working collaboratively within large, interdisciplinary teams