Government Affairs Manager, Americas (Washington D.C. Based)

About Team / Role

The Government Affairs Manager, Americas is a member of WEX's Legal organization reporting to the Senior Legal Director - Regulatory and Government Affairs Americas. The incumbent will play a pivotal role in advancing the company's public policy objectives, ensuring alignment between legislative and regulatory developments with business priorities. This role oversees and guides WEX's positions and practices on government-related matters, fostering positive relationships with government entities and legislative staffers to advance a public policy agenda that aligns with and supports WEX's strategic goals. Drawing on marketplace expertise and leveraging technology tools, this role supports the Senior Legal Director - Regulatory and Government Affairs Americas in driving key lobbying initiatives and managing strategic engagements with principal trade associations and consortiums that align with the long-term interests of the enterprise. With a focus on those areas and industries most directly relevant to WEX's core priorities, this position will ensure seamless cross-functional alignment among key stakeholders, including regulatory, legal, compliance, and WEX's various lines of business.

How you'll make an impact

Strategy:

• Be a strategic partner to, and member of, the Legal Regulatory and Government Affairs team.

• Develop and execute the company's government affairs strategy, in alignment with WEX's regulatory framework, to advance its objectives at the federal, state, and local levels.

• Prioritize, maintain, and monitor issues that are impactful to WEX, ensuring communications, relationship management, and policy initiatives with government staffers and bodies directly connect/contribute to overall WEX strategy.

• Identify legislative and regulatory trends affecting the fintech industry and proactively position the company as a thought leader.

Internal Collaboration & Business Focus:

• Build a framework, in close collaboration with the Legal Regulatory team members, that defines KPIs and ROIs to ensure Government Affairs accountability. This framework will establish a clear roadmap for positioning WEX as a trusted resource to government partners, fostering relationships and advancing policies that drive incremental revenue growth for WEX's business.

• Serve as the primary manager of tracking software, overseeing keyword monitoring, refining scope, and establishing a structured cadence for assessing policy developments. Lead the prioritization process to determine strategic focus areas and identify initiatives to pursue or deprioritize.

• Engage with internal and external partners to gather inputs on where gaps exist for potential growth opportunities related to public-private investment partnerships.

• Provide guidance to anticipate potential need for connections with partners (internal or external), employees, and events.

• Lead and ensure alignment for policy stances and engagement across WEX, working with maximum efficiency internally and with critical partners (Finance, Lines of Business Leaders, Human Resources, in-country managing directors, and external partners) through strong collaboration and execution skills.

• Oversee prioritization of projects, policy tracking and/or initiatives, particularly identifying key relationships that need to be developed with policymakers and third parties (trade groups, industry peers, think tanks, et al.) to enable advising executives on macroeconomic and potential emerging issues.

• Work closely with internal partners and stakeholders to help identify new markets and products for customer acquisition and potential business growth through opportunities related to public policy.

• Prepare for external engagements and provide comprehensive reports to the Regulatory and Government Affairs team, ensuring timely follow-through on all action items to drive strategic outcomes.

Relationships & Communication:

• Cultivate and maintain relationships with policymakers, legislators, staffers, regulators, trade associations, and advocacy groups.

• Represent the company at industry events, public hearings, and meetings to articulate the company's positions effectively.

• Develop agenda and materials to prepare WEX Executives and VP, Legal Regulatory & Government Affairs for upcoming discussions, decisions, etc.

• Create, maintain, and develop cross-departmental relationships to improve communication, influence outcomes, and foster long-term partnerships critical to organizational success.

Experience you'll bring

• Bachelor's degree required

• Minimum of 5 - 7 years experience in government or public affairs

• Service in either the legislative branch or executive branch of the federal government and/or experience with government relations management responsibilities for a financial services corporation

• Knowledge of the federal legislative and regulatory processes

• Strong ability to engage in: banking, financial services and products, and markets, particularly commercial card services, markets activities and credit card lending

• Demonstrated success in advocating for policy outcomes at federal, state, and local levels.

• Understanding of compliance laws and regulatory frameworks impacting licensed financial service entities

• Strong network of relationships within the regulatory and policymaking ecosystem

• Proven experience maintaining and evolving a productive company culture

• Strategic thinker with a collaborative mindset and strong project management skills

• Ability to travel (no more than 10-15%) and engage with high-level government officials and third party professionals

• Strong verbal and written communication skills, including the ability to represent WEXand WEX's interests to external relationships

• Reputation for, and absolute commitment to, integrity and professionalism

• Trusted advisor

• Strong organizational skills and attention to detail

• Ability to prioritize and work on multiple projects and tasks at the same time

• Adaptable and comfortable working collaboratively and independently

• Proficient in Microsoft Word, Excel, PowerPoint and G Suite