Director, State Government Affairs & Public Policy

Director, State Government Affairs & Public Policy

Flex is a growth-stage, NYC headquartered FinTech company that is creating the best rent payment experience. It's hard to believe that it's 2025 and paying rent on time is expensive, inflexible, and difficult. We're here to change that! Flex enables our users to pay rent throughout the month on a schedule that better fits their finances and budget. Our mission is to empower as many renters as possible with flexibility over their most significant recurring expense. After deliberately keeping a stealth profile as we built up unprecedented investor support and an enthusiastic user base, we are looking for motivated individuals to help us keep our mission growing. Will you be a part of the team?

About the Role

Flex is seeking a senior, strategic, and entrepreneurial leader to oversee our state government affairs strategy nationwide. Based in New York City, San Francisco or Salt Lake City, and reporting to the Vice President of Public Affairs, this leader will represent Flex before state policymakers, regulators, and advocacy organizations, advancing policies that improve the financial stability of 44 million renters across the United States.

The Director of State Government Affairs will be responsible for shaping the state policy environment that enables Flex's growth, operational integrity, and social impact. This is a high-visibility enterprise role that requires strong political judgment, policy expertise, and the ability to operate at the intersection of innovation, regulation, and trust.

This leader will anticipate challenges and opportunities within complex state regulatory frameworks, support major strategic initiatives that depend on clear and credible engagement with regulators and policymakers, and ensure Flex maintains a position of transparency, responsibility, and credibility.

We are seeking someone who is decisive, proactive, and not afraid to pick up the phone. They will thrive in quick iteration cycles, communicate directly, and act with urgency. This person will think creatively about how Flex and Flex for Good can leverage their platforms for positive impact, while ensuring all engagement meets the highest standards of compliance and ethics.

Key Responsibilities

1. Strategic and Enterprise Leadership

• Design and lead Flex's state government affairs strategy, aligning policy engagement with business growth, risk mitigation, and social impact goals.
• Serve as a senior advisor to leadership on state policy and regulatory developments that influence company strategy and product innovation.
• Build trusted relationships with state regulators, legislators, and external experts to facilitate transparent dialogue and credibility for major strategic initiatives.
• Lead strategic policy planning in key states where regulatory alignment is central to Flex's long-term business model.
• Partner closely with Legal, Compliance, and Finance to ensure alignment between government affairs and regulatory readiness.

2. Advocacy and Representation

• Represent Flex with professionalism and authority before legislators, regulators, and advocacy organizations across the country.
• Lead multi-state legislative and regulatory campaigns that affect consumer financial services, fintech, and housing stability.
• Build coalitions and partnerships with trade associations, think tanks, and nonprofit organizations to advance policy solutions that reflect Flex's mission and values.
• Serve as a visible public presence for Flex, speaking at conferences, panels, and roundtables, and engaging in direct dialogue with policymakers.
• Manage relationships with external lobbyists, consultants, and political advisors to ensure coordinated, compliant, and measurable advocacy efforts.

3. Regulatory Engagement and Preparedness

• Support strategic regulatory initiatives that require coordinated state-level engagement and relationship-building.
• Provide expert insight into the evolving state regulatory landscape and advise on pathways that strengthen Flex's ability to operate within financial and housing markets.
• Anticipate emerging state regulatory challenges, develop mitigation strategies, and ensure all outreach is consistent with the company's ethical standards.
• Maintain readiness and alignment across internal and external stakeholders for complex state-level approval and compliance processes.

4. Performance, Accountability, and Culture

• Establish OKRs, KPIs, and reporting frameworks to measure the impact and efficiency of state engagement.
• Foster a culture of quick iteration, responsiveness, and clear communication.
• Proactively update leadership on progress and challenges rather than waiting for requests.
• Embody Flex's core attributes: Doer, Owner, Collaborative, Precise, Resilient, and Humble.
• Always do the right thing, work smart and hard, and maintain a commitment to improving the financial lives of renters.

Qualifications

• 12 or more years of experience in state government affairs, public policy, or political strategy within consumer financial services, fintech, or another highly regulated sector.
• Proven ability to manage complex state-level policy and regulatory initiatives that involve multiple stakeholders and jurisdictions.
• Deep understanding of financial services regulation, consumer protection policy, and state legislative processes.
• Track record of credibility and trust with regulators, policymakers, and industry leaders.
• Exceptional communication and public speaking skills, including comfort on stage, in hearings, and in private regulatory meetings.
• Experience leading teams, setting OKRs and KPIs, and managing performance across internal and external partners.
• Strong comfort with direct outreach and relationship-building; not afraid to pick up the phone to solve problems and accelerate progress.
• Entrepreneurial mindset with the ability to build systems and programs from the ground up.
• Experience working with or supporting nonprofit and social impact initiatives.
• Bachelor's degree required; advanced degree preferred.
• Willingness and ability to travel extensively (5070%) across the U.S.

The compensation range for this role will be commensurate with the candidate's experience and Flex's internal leveling guidelines and benchmarks. For working locations in NY/NJ/CA, the base salary pay range will be $270,000 - $297,000. For all other states, the base salary pay range will be $243,000 - $267,000.