Vice President, Government Affairs

Overview

We are Altice USA; a family of businesses that includes Optimum, Suddenlink, Optimum Mobile, Optimum Business, A4 advertising, Cheddar, and News12. Our common goal is connecting our customers to friends and family, shows they love, advertising that resonates and news that matters. We're building a workforce that thrives on collaboration, inclusion, and innovation. We hope connecting you to a potential role is just the beginning.

Responsibilities

The Vice President, State & Local Government Affairs is responsible for managing the state and local government, legislative, regulatory, and franchising affairs for Altice USA's video, broadband, voice, and wireless services in New York, New Jersey and Connecticut. This requires developing and executing complex and multi-dimensional strategies involving legislative, regulatory, and general governmental elements in support of business goals.

A key role in this portfolio is ensuring that relationships with local and state officials and staff are developed given the importance of these relationships to achieving the company's objectives.

This position reports to the Senior Vice President for Government Affairs, who oversees all federal, state, and local advocacy, and will work collaboratively with the SVP to develop and execute on strategic objectives for the company.

This position collaborates with the Community Affairs team to strategically use the community affairs programs to build governmental relationships that support and enhance the company's objectives.

This position also collaborates with the Policy team to analyze state and local legislation, regulations, and policy in order to develop advocacy strategies and materials.

To achieve these duties, this position manages a team and directs the work of various government and legal consultants. This position is responsible for assisting in the development and execution of the department budget across Altice USA's government affairs operating regions.

Government Affairs:

• Oversees the development and maintenance relationships with the Governor's offices, Attorneys General, the state regulatory agencies and other state and local agencies, members of the state legislatures (including leadership and key committee chairs) and legislative staff members, congressional delegations, all local governments, including the New York City Council, the New York City Mayor and other citywide elected officials, county executives and legislators, and their staff and municipal officials in its service area.  
• Manages all state and local legislative, regulatory, and compliance advocacy in the Tri-State region. This includes strategic planning and direct day-to-day engagement in all aspects of legislative and regulatory proceedings in support of video, broadband, voice, and wireless services. These efforts seek to achieve a better governmental environment for the company's products and services and protect the company's interest in New York, New Jersey, and Connecticut.
• Directing the advocacy efforts, including leveraging external political consultants, Altice USA's internal team, industry efforts, and third-party groups to advance the company's interests.  

Franchising & Local Issues:

This position is responsible for ensuring the renewal and maintenance of local, systemwide, and statewide franchises as well as the favorable resolution of audits and other compliance issues relating to franchising.  This role includes management of resulting audits from the local franchising work as well as securing approvals for Business Services to expand its businesses outside the Altice USA footprint.   The local portfolio also includes work to support business operational relationships with utilities, which is key for network investment and expansion.

Given the company's 

Support for Business Initiatives:

This position secures government support for business opportunities, such as FTTH network investment, timely opening of retail stores, acquisition and retention opportunities through public programs to support affordability.  This includes strategies to ensure that the state and local policies relating to broadband deployment and affordability programs as well as related funding programs.

Political Contributions:

This position is responsible for the development and execution of political contribution strategies to support relationship building with targeted federal, state and local officials.

Community Affairs:

Responsible for developing the strategic targets for execution of community affairs initiatives to advance the company's image and relationships with public officials at the state and local level.  This position also collaborates with News 12 to maximize public affairs opportunities for the company overall.

Qualifications

• Minimum of 12 years' experience as state or local government affairs executive in the media or technology industry or senior level position in state or local government department or agency. Deep functional experience in government and public affairs, with proven relationships and coalition building skills, is essential.
• Must be capable of understanding the substantive policy issues of the media and technology industry with which Altice USA is associated as well as the business issues affecting the enterprise. S/He must have an appreciation and sensitivity to working within the context of a multifaceted organization.
• An ability to a manage diverse team of direct reports, including providing clear direction on expectations and deliverables.
• An ability to anticipate emerging state government, public or community/social issues of importance to the cable/media industry and to position the company effectively to handle such issues in all aspects.
• Capable of creating and communicating a vision, both internally and externally, of the future of the company and its differentiation versus peers.
• Team building skills, including ability to work effectively with colleagues that are not direct reports.
• Leadership skills, including ability to advance company interests in venues that require consensus building.
• Flexibility and creativity in problem solving, particularly in negotiations with government officials and agencies.
• An ability to build and maintain relationships with state and local government officials.
• An ability to analyze and understand business impact of proposed legislation and regulations at state and local level.
• A strong working knowledge of state and local regulatory, legislative and franchising processes.
• An ability to plan and execute public affairs activities including events involving public officials.
• Experience developing and executing complex political strategies.
• An ability to develop budgets and oversee their execution.
• Excellent written and verbal communication and presentation skills.
• Education:
  • An undergraduate degree is required. A law degree or equivalent graduate level degree is strongly preferred.

Altice USA is an Equal Opportunity Employer committed to recruiting, hiring and promoting qualified people of all backgrounds regardless of gender, race, color, creed, national origin, religion, age, marital status, pregnancy, physical or mental disability, sexual orientation, gender identity, military or veteran status, or any other basis protected by federal, state, or local law.

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