At DC Water, we provide more than 700,000 District of Columbia residents and 24.6 million annual visitors with essential water, wastewater, and stormwater services. DC Water also provides wholesale wastewater treatment services for 1.8 million people in Montgomery and Prince George's counties in Maryland, and Fairfax and Loudoun counties in Virginia. We aspire to be known for superior service, ingenuity, and stewardship to advance the health and well-being of our diverse workforce and communities. To achieve this vision, we commit to our shared mission every day—exceeding expectations by providing high quality water services in a safe, environmentally friendly, and efficient manner.
Role Description
The Vice-President, Stakeholder Engagement, is responsible for driving the strategy and programs to enhance relationships with various business, non-profit, and community organizations across the District of Columbia to elevate DC Water’s brand, partnerships, and impact in the community. The role will build and manage a foundation and fundraising focused on DC Water’s philanthropic and social objectives. The role oversees the strategy, design, and adoption of diversity, equity, and inclusion programs for DC Water. The role will represent DC Water in conferences, forums, and regulatory meetings to communicate the organization's commitment to sustainability and technological innovation.
Essential Duties & Responsibilities
Leads the development and execution of comprehensive stakeholder engagement strategies at DC Water, cultivating relationships with key stakeholders across businesses, non-profit organizations, environmental organizations, and industry associations to foster collaboration and advocacy for DC Water’s initiatives.
Develops and executes DC Water’s annual plan for stakeholder engagement, coordinating with DC Water’s leaders, Board of Directors, Office of Marketing and Communication (OMAC), Government Relations and other departments to foster external relationships and partnerships that will elevate DC Water’s influence, investments, and impact in the community and across the industry ecosystem.
Establishes, develops, and manages DC Water’s foundation focused on philanthropic, social, and community impact programs; this includes developing the foundation’s strategy, structure, and plan, facilitating leadership and Board reviews and approvals, designing, and delivering programs and events, cultivating relationships, partnerships, and partnerships in the community, and fund raising.
Builds formal partnerships with non-profits in the District of Columbia, to enhance DC Water’s contributions and impact in the community; this includes managing DC Water’s community service and volunteer programs, tracking and reporting on employees’ community service hours and contributions, and monitoring and communicating the associated Environment, Social, and Governance (ESG) impacts.
Oversees the strategy and execution of DC Water’s diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) programs to ensure DC Water continues to be an inclusive and representative Employer; this includes fostering adoption of related policies and processes across the Authority.
Represents DC Water at industry conferences, forums, and regulatory meetings to showcase DC Water’s mission, investments, and partnership opportunities to drive positive impacts across the industry and community.
Oversees DC Water’s strategy, execution, and participation in industry association conferences and events.
Supports stakeholder-related communications and public relations efforts, contributing to design, development, and distribution of impactful communication, content, and materials to enhance DC Water’s brand.
Oversees budgets for stakeholder engagement activities, ensuring cost-effectiveness and optimal resource allocation aligned with the organization's strategic priorities and annual plan.
Collaborates with other departments to transfer industry knowledge and incorporate best practices into DC Water’s programs.
Provides guidance and mentorship to managers and coordinators, fostering a culture of excellence, collaboration, and continuous improvement within the team.
Partners with organizational managers and representatives on the mobilization of respective teams to drive the right presence at industry events.
Leads in the collection, maintenance, and development of information and implementation required for an integrated strategic stakeholder engagement plan.
Leads, or participates in annual project work focused on enhancing stakeholder relations and programs as requested.
Performs other related duties and projects as assigned at the discretion of the Chief Communications & Stakeholders Engagement Officer and Executive Vice-President.
Supervisory Responsibilities: Directly oversees the team, including hiring, training, team management, development, and performance management.
Key Working Relationships: Interfaces with the CEO and Government Affairs. Establishes and maintains collaborative alliances with corporate and government officials to help achieve the Authority’s goals, and to foster and identify new client service offerings.
Skills & Qualifications
The qualifications listed below are representative of the knowledge, skill, and ability necessary for an individual to perform each essential responsibility satisfactorily. Reasonable amounts of training are provided.
Required Experience
Required Skills & Qualifications
10-15 years of progressive experience, including in senior management roles, in engaging and managing relationships with community organizations, non-profits, government agencies, etc.
Experience in starting up and managing a foundation and raising money for non-profit activities and community programs.
Minimum Education Requirements
Bachelor's degree in Business Management, Political Science, Public Administration, or related field from an accredited college or university.
Required Skills
Strategic Leadership
Industry Networking
Negotiation and Relationship Management
Stakeholder Engagement
Public Relations and Marketing
Project Management
Communication Excellence
Required Licenses & Certifications
None
Required Languages
English
Physical Requirements
General office conditions
The role requires frequent travel.
Preferred Experience
Preferred Skills & Qualifications
Established relationships and partnerships with various community, non-profit, etc. organizations across the District of Columbia.
Preferred Education Requirements
None
Preferred Skills
Relationship Building
Team Leadership & Collaboration
Preferred Licenses & Certifications
None
The work environment characteristics described in the physical requirements section of the required skills & qualifications table are representative of those an employee encounters while performing the essential functions of this job. Reasonable accommodations may be made to enable individuals with disabilities to perform the essential responsibilities.
Your Experience At DC Water
At DC Water, our people make us an industry leader. Join a group of thinkers, innovators, and problem solvers focused on protecting life’s most precious resource in the nation’s capital.
Take pride in your work. We provide an essential service and do work that matters. A career at DC Water is an exciting opportunity to help improve the environment and make a lasting difference for the community.
Connect to a strong culture. Everything we do is grounded in our shared values—accountability, trust, teamwork, customer focus, safety, and wellbeing.
Be your true self. We are an inclusive organization that embraces diversity, and we recognize and celebrate employees’ individuality and unique contributions.
Build your skills and career path. We are committed to developing a future-ready workforce by helping our employees develop skills for the jobs of tomorrow.
We are proud to be an EEO/AA employer M/F/D/V.
We maintain a drug-free workplace and perform pre-employment substance abuse testing.
The Americans with Disabilities Act prohibits discrimination against “qualified individuals with disabilities”.
If a reasonable accommodation is needed to participate in the job application or interview process, to perform essential job functions, and/or to receive other benefits and privileges of employment, please email complianceada@dcwater.com.
Seniority level
Executive
Employment type
Full-time
Job function
Project Management and Information Technology
Industries
Utilities
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