Head Of Government Affairs
Join Cartwheel to help tackle the student mental health crisis! Cartwheel is an early-stage company building a new kind of mental health program for kids that puts schools at the center. We see our role as supporting school staff who see kids every single day. Instead of going around them, we collaborate with them. This means :
- Earlier intervention
- Higher student and family engagement in care
- Better coordination among the trusted adults in a student's life
Kids shouldn't just aspire to get out of bed and drag themselves to class. They should be able to experience joy. They deserve to envision and build a life they're excited to live. If you join Cartwheel, you'll help make this vision a reality for millions of students across the country. We're backed by top investors including A Street Ventures, Menlo Ventures, Reach Capital, General Catalyst, BoxGroup, and Able Partners, and we're looking for mission-driven teammates to join our team.
In three years, Cartwheel has grown to serve more than 325 school districts in 16 states, making us the nation's largest mental health provider that collaborates with K-12 schools. With billions of dollars in new state and federal investments in youth mental health coming in 2026, including through the Rural Health Transformation Program (RHTP), we are supplementing our district-level sales motion with statewide partnerships with Governor's offices, education departments, and health agencies.
As the leader of our Government Relations team, you'll build a scalable government business function across 20-30 states that enables Cartwheel to partner with thousands of school districts and serve millions of parents and students.
Location : Remote with ability to travel, particularly during peak seasons (e.g., legislative session and pre-session engagement).
Compensation :
Start Date : January 2026
What You'll Do :
Build and lead a high-performing Government Relations team
Establish and scale a Government Relations team of 2-3 territorial leads, fostering a culture of strategic thinking, rigorous execution, and collaborationDevelop playbooks and processes that enable the team to manage 10-20 active lobbying engagements while monitoring emerging opportunities across additional statesBuild a continuous training mechanism to ensure Leads are always refining their messaging, strategy, and ways of workingManage government relations budget, including lobbyist contracts and team expenses, with clear ROI trackingReport regularly to executive leadership on state pipeline, contract status, and forecasted revenueCollaborate with the marketing and sales teams to consistently communicate with identified government leadersDevelop our team's reputation as the most organized, thoughtful, and strategic partner our state contacts have ever worked withIdentify and secure state-level funding and contracts
Execute on two primary strategies : (1) Securing state funding that schools can use to procure Cartwheel, and (2) Securing direct statewide contracts that make Cartwheel the sole vendor available to districts at no costExample of #1 is Georgia HB68 school mental health grant funding that gives $20,000 to each middle and high school to contract for mental health servicesExample of #2 is our partnership in Arizona with the AZ Department of Education to serve all rural school districts and charter schoolsIdentify target states for prioritization and develop a winning strategy for every state, including annual goals, stakeholder maps, state-specific messaging, milestones, and critical pathBuild relationships with governors' offices, legislators, education and health agencies, and key statewide organizations (e.g., superintendents associations, state PTAs)Represent the company with key associations such as NGA, DGA, RGA, and other government-sector networksTailor messaging to each state's context and priorities, continuously refining based on feedback from the fieldManage external lobbyists, ensuring clear objectives, messaging, and accountabilityTrack funding and legislative opportunities, RFPs, and policy discussions to ensure Cartwheel is a step ahead of any important developmentsMaintain and expand existing state relationships
Partner with Sales and Marketing to ensure seamless handoff once state contracts or funding are secured. Note : this may include partnership across multiple company operating units to ensure consistent communication in defense of existing contractsSteward existing statewide partnerships and funding programs, ensuring compliance, strong relationships, and contract renewalsCollaborate with Product, Clinical, and Customer Success teams to ensure Cartwheel delivers the impact required to renew and expand contracts year-over-yearProactively communicate with state stakeholders to demonstrate impact and identify expansion opportunitiesManage budget, compliance obligations, lobbying registrations, and ethical standards across all jurisdictions.Who You Are :
10+ years building and scaling government relations functions in healthcare or education, with a track record securing state-level contracts worth $2M+ annuallyExceptional ability to cultivate trust-based relationships with diverse stakeholders including elected officials, agency administrators, and advocacy organizationsClear, concise written and verbal communicator with the ability to identify the necessary differences for government communicationsAbility to manage a complex, multi-state portfolio with long sales cycles (12-24+ months)Track record successfully operating in both Republican-led and Democrat-led states and across rural and urban geographiesTrack record building and coaching high-performing Government Relations teams and managing external lobbyists, including directing strategy, ensuring rigorous execution, and measuring performanceExperience working in CRM systems (e.g., Salesforce, Gong), project management tools, and Excel / PowerPointEnthusiasm for building a new function from the ground up in a startup environmentPassionate about our mission to support student mental healthWhy You'll Love Cartwheel :
Mission-oriented and inclusive colleagues who will go to bat for youCompetitive compensation and benefitsMeaningful equity ownership stake in CartwheelGenerous PPO medical, vision, and dental coverageUnlimited / flexible PTO plus federal holidaysPaid parental leave401K with employer matchCartwheel is proud to be an equal opportunity employer. We embrace diverse backgrounds and perspectives and an inclusive work environment. We're committed to equal employment opportunity regardless of race, color, religion, ancestry, national origin, gender, sexual orientation, disability status, or veteran status. We participate in E-Verify. Please be prepared to provide acceptable documentation to verify your identity and work authorization.