Overview
Vice President, Government Relations Jobs in Tallahassee, FL at Florida Hospital Association
Title: Vice President, Government Relations
Company: Florida Hospital Association
Location: Tallahassee, FL
Company Description
The Florida Hospital Association (FHA), founded in 1927, is the leading voice for health care in the State of Florida. FHA represents and advocates for more than 200 hospitals and health care systems, supporting their mission to deliver high-quality care to patients across the state. Through advocacy, education, and informational services, FHA works to advance policies that strengthen Florida’s health care delivery system. Additional information about FHA and its initiatives is available at www.fha.org.
POSITION SUMMARY
The Vice President of Government Relations is the senior executive responsible for leading the Florida Hospital Association’s state and federal advocacy strategy, public policy agenda, member engagement on governmental affairs, and political engagement. The position develops and executes policy and advocacy priorities on behalf of Florida hospitals and health systems; provides strategic counsel and support to the President/CEO, Board of Trustees, hospital chief executives, and hospital government relations leaders; leads and manages the Government Relations team and external contract lobbyists; oversees timely and effective member communications on advocacy developments; helps shape media and public messaging on priority issues; and is responsible for the operation and strategic effectiveness of the Association’s political committee.
This role requires exceptional political judgment, deep understanding of healthcare policy and financing, disciplined execution, strong writing and presentation skills, and the ability to build trust with members, policymakers, staff, consultants, and external partners.
ESSENTIAL DUTIES AND RESPONSIBILITIES
• Strategic Policy Agenda – Leads the development, prioritization, and execution of FHA’s state and federal policy agenda in alignment with the Board of Trustees, President/CEO, and member priorities.
• Policy and Fiscal Analysis – Reviews proposed and enacted legislation, appropriations bills, administrative rules, rate calculations, payment formulas, and regulatory actions to assess implications for hospitals, health systems, and the healthcare delivery system.
• Research and Advocacy Collateral – Develops policy briefs, talking points, position papers, fiscal analyses, testimony, slide decks, legislative summaries, and other advocacy materials needed for effective engagement with policymakers and members.
• Lobbying and Policymaker Outreach – Builds and sustains productive relationships with legislators, executive branch officials, legislative and agency staff, congressional offices, and other key stakeholders.
• Legislative Strategy and Presentations – Prepares and delivers testimony, briefings, presentations, and issue updates for legislative committees, regulatory agencies, member meetings, Board meetings, and other policy forums.
• Hospital Executive Engagement – Engages hospital CEOs, system leaders, and hospital government relations executives to identify emerging issues, align advocacy priorities, and maintain strong member confidence in FHA’s government relations work.
• Member Communications – Oversees clear, timely, and accurate communications to members regarding legislative, regulatory, political, and policy developments, including calls to action and post-session analyses.
• Government Relations Team Leadership – Provides executive management, direction, coaching, accountability, and support for the Government Relations team, with clear priorities, timelines, and performance expectations.
• Management of Contract Lobbyists and Consultants – Manages external contract lobbyists, consultants, and vendors to ensure alignment with FHA priorities, coordinated messaging, disciplined execution, and measurable results.
• FHA Political Committee – Oversees operation, strategy, compliance, fundraising support, and stakeholder engagement for FHA’s political committee in coordination with the President/CEO.
• Support for the President/CEO and Board – Provides strategic counsel, briefing materials, political intelligence, issue analysis, and recommended actions to support the President/CEO, Executive Committee, Board of Trustees, and member leaders.
• Internal Collaboration – Works closely with policy, communications, data, legal, member services, and administrative staff to ensure advocacy strategy is informed, coordinated, and effectively communicated.
• Media and Public Messaging – Partners with the President/CEO and communications staff to shape public messaging, media responses, op-eds, talking points, and external communications related to advocacy priorities.
• Education and Information Sharing – Communicates research, policy analysis, fiscal analysis, legislative activity, and regulatory developments to the Board, membership, staff, policymakers, and interested parties.
• Advisory Groups and External Representation – Represents FHA on healthcare advisory groups, coalitions, task forces, workgroups, and stakeholder meetings when appointed or as necessary.
• Ethics, Compliance, and Professional Standards – Ensures advocacy activities comply with applicable lobbying, campaign finance, ethics, reporting, and organizational requirements.
• Other Duties – Performs other job-related duties as assigned by the President/CEO.
MINIMUM QUALIFICATIONS AND SKILLS
• Bachelor’s degree required; advanced degree such as JD, MPA, MPH, MHA, MBA, or related graduate degree preferred.
• 8 to 10 years of progressively responsible experience in government relations, public policy, healthcare advocacy, legislative affairs, association management, or a related public affairs role.
• Strong knowledge of healthcare policy, hospital operations, healthcare financing, Medicaid, Medicare, appropriations, regulatory policy, and legislative procedure.
• Proven ability to develop advocacy strategy, manage complex policy issues, and translate technical healthcare topics into clear, persuasive messages.
• Experience managing teams, consultants, timelines, deliverables, and coordinated advocacy outcomes.
• Exceptional written and verbal communication skills, including briefing documents, testimony, presentations, policy summaries, and executive communications.
• Strong political judgment, discretion, relationship-building skills, and ability to work effectively with hospital executives, policymakers, agency leaders, consultants, and staff.
• Ability to travel as needed for meetings, legislative activity, member engagement, and Association events.
