Director, U.S. Government Affairs

Guardant Health is a leading precision oncology company focused on helping conquer cancer globally through use of its proprietary tests, vast data sets and advanced analytics.

The Guardant Health oncology platform leverages capabilities to drive commercial adoption, improve patient clinical outcomes and lower healthcare costs across all stages of the cancer care continuum. Guardant Health has commercially launched Guardant360®, Guardant360 CDx, Guardant360 TissueNext™, Guardant360 Response™, and GuardantOMNI® tests for advanced stage cancer patients, and Guardant Reveal™ for early-stage cancer patients. These tests fuel development of its screening program, which aims to address the needs of asymptomatic individuals eligible for cancer screening.

About the Role:

**Position Location: Washington, DC

The Director of Government Affairs will serve as a member of the company’s Public Affairs team, reporting to the Vice President, Public Affairs.  Working closely with key internal partners, this position will help develop, implement, and drive federal and state advocacy strategies to assist GH in achieving its core policy objectives to increase patient access to liquid biopsy.  The Director will lead our engagement with public policy officials at the Federal and State level, support ongoing regulatory policy issues, and develop proactive strategies to advocate for and achieve results. The position will play an integral role in helping GH build a best-in-class public affairs organization.

Job Responsibilities

• Lead U.S. Government Affairs internal and external engagement in relevant policy areas
• Drive development and execution of state and federal government affairs strategies designed to support Guardant Health’s core business strategies for current and future divisions
• Monitor and anticipate state and federal legislative developments affecting Guardant Health and help strategically position the company to effectively engage
• Build and maintain effective relationships with key state, Congressional and federal Executive Branch government officials
• Identify and implement appropriate strategies with third-parties and coalitions to advocate for Guardant Health’s legislative positions
• Represent Guardant Health with key trade associations
• Manage Guardant Health external consultants in Washington D.C. and key states
• Build and maintain relationships with internal partners including Commercial, Medical Affairs, Market Access, Corporate Communications, and Patient Advocacy to execute our public policy strategies and achieve business goals
• Increase management and business unit understanding of and participation in the federal policymaking process. Collaborate with business units on critical issues, utilizing executives and internal experts to advance Guardant Health positions.
• Engages in political activity representing Guardant Health, as approved by the VP of Public Affairs

Requirements

• Minimum of 10 years’ experience in public policy and/or government, either federal legislative or executive branches.
• Substantive experience with the federal legislative process for healthcare policy and interplay with executive branch policymaking; strong understanding of the political context in which the diagnostics industry operates
• Strong network of relationships in Congress, and with key industry trade associations that shape the federal political and policy environment
• Exceptional government affairs skills with a proven record of advancing complex advocacy strategies
• Excellent written and verbal communication skills; must be able to convey complex information clearly and succinctly
• Candidate must be a creative, flexible, and entrepreneurial thinker capable of leveraging relationships and facilitating partnerships with industry peers, government officials, and other external stakeholders to reach public policy goals
• Demonstrated ability to work independently and successfully prioritize competing tasks in a fast-paced environment
• Demonstrated experience working directly with senior executives
• Experience working with a political action committee and grassroots advocacy program
• This person will be expected to travel periodically

Education

Bachelor’s degree in related field such as health care administration, political science, public administration, or policy required. Advanced degree preferred.

Covid Vaccination Policy:  Starting January 7, 2022, Guardant Health will require all employees to be fully vaccinated to either (a) establish that they have been fully vaccinated against COVID-19; or (b) request and obtain an approved exemption from Guardant’s COVID-19 U.S. Vaccination Policy as a reasonable accommodation, as consistent with applicable laws.  An employee is considered fully vaccinated against COVID-19 two weeks after receiving the second dose of a two-dose vaccine or one dose of a single-dose vaccination. Acceptable vaccines are approved or under emergency use authorization by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and/or the World Health Organization (WHO). In addition, fully-vaccinated employees will be required to maintain their fully-vaccinated status under this policy by obtaining, if applicable, any FDA-approved boosters.

Employee may be required to lift routine office supplies and use office equipment. Majority of the work is performed in a desk/office environment; however, there may be exposure to high noise levels, fumes, and biohazard material in the laboratory environment. Ability to sit for extended periods of time.

Guardant Health is an Equal Opportunity Employer. All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, national origin, or protected veteran status and will not be discriminated against on the basis of disability.

All your information will be kept confidential according to EEO guidelines.

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Please visit our career page at: http://www.guardanthealth.com/jobs/