Director of Government Affairs, SLED

About this role

Company Overview

ID.me is the next-generation digital identity wallet that simplifies how individuals securely prove their identity online. Consumers can verify their identity with ID.me once and seamlessly login across websites without having to create a new login and verify their identity again. Over 152 million users experience streamlined login and identity verification with ID.me at 20 federal agencies, 45 state government agencies, and 70+ healthcare organizations. More than 600+ consumer brands use ID.me to verify communities and user segments to honor service and build more authentic relationships. ID.me’s technology meets the federal standards for consumer authentication set by the Commerce Department and is approved as a NIST 800-63-3 IAL2 / AAL2 credential service provider by the Kantara Initiative. ID.me is committed to “No Identity Left Behind” to enable all people to have a secure digital identity. To learn more, visit https://network.id.me/.

ID.me is a full-time, in-office culture. Unless a specific job description explicitly states otherwise, all roles are on-site five days per week at one of our offices in McLean, VA; Mountain View, CA; New York City, NY; or Tampa, FL. Certain roles — such as field-based sales or other remote-by-design positions — may have different work arrangements as noted in their individual postings.

At ID.me, we embrace the thoughtful use of AI tools in our daily work and there are even occasions where we leverage AI in our hiring process. However, during the interview process, we want to understand your individual skills and experiences. Therefore, we have guidelines on how AI can be appropriately used during your application and interviews which can be found here.

Role Overview

The Director of Government Affairs, SLED, reporting to VP, Head of Government Affairs, is responsible for developing and executing ID.me’s public policy and advocacy strategy with a focus on the State, Local, and Education (SLED) market that is central to ID.me’s revenue function. This role leads engagement with governors’ offices, state legislatures, regulatory agencies, and state-based stakeholders to advance the company’s legislative and regulatory objectives around digital identity, fraud prevention, and frictionless access to government benefits and services.

The ideal candidate brings deep knowledge of state policy processes, strong political instincts, and the ability to operate independently in a dynamic policy environment.

Key Responsibilities

• Develop and implement comprehensive state government affairs strategies to support ID.me’s revenue objectives in key states and across the aisle.

• Represent ID.me before state legislative bodies, executive branch agencies, and regulatory authorities through direct lobbying and relationship management.

• Establish operational plans for the state government affairs function, aligning with the broader Government Affairs strategy and go-to-market goals for the public sector business.

• Manage external State lobbying consultants, ensuring their activities align with company policy priorities, revenue goals and compliance standards.

• Monitor, analyze, and report on state-level legislation, regulations, and political trends that could impact ID.me’s operations and growth, including issues related to digital identity, data privacy, and fraud prevention.

• Translate complex policy developments into actionable business intelligence and strategic recommendations for senior leadership, product and SLED sales teams.

• Develop position papers, legislative testimony, and other written materials to clearly articulate the company’s stance on key policy issues.

• Build and maintain a strong network of relationships with state government officials, trade associations (such as NASCIO, NCSL, NGA, etc.), industry coalitions, and other key influencers.

• Work with the broader Government Affairs and SLED sales team to manage coalitions with industry partners and stakeholders to amplify advocacy efforts on shared priorities.

• Manage ID.me’s participation in state-level trade associations and oversee political engagement activities.

• Ensure compliance with all state lobbying, ethics, and disclosure requirements.

Qualifications

• Bachelor’s degree required.

• 5–7 years of experience in state government affairs, public policy, legislative service, or a related field.

• Demonstrated expertise in state legislative and regulatory processes.

• Proven success advancing policy priorities at the state level.

• Strong written and verbal communication skills, with experience briefing senior leadership.

• Excellent relationship-building and coalition-management skills across political lines.

• Ability to manage multiple states, priorities, and deadlines simultaneously.

• Experience in digital government, identity, cybersecurity, or public-sector technology policy is a plus.

About the Team

Our Public Sector team is essential to ID.me’s mission of enabling “No Identity Left Behind.” This team partners with federal, state, local, and education agencies to modernize how ID.me users securely access government services and benefits, and works closely with Sales, Legal, and Communications functions to ensure ID.me’s policy positions and government relationships support long-term, responsible growth across the public sector.

Compensation & Benefits

The annual base salary for this role will be determined based on experience, skills, education, relevant training, geographic location, and role, and does not include company bonus, equity, or benefits. ID.me offers comprehensive medical, dental, vision, health savings account, flexible spending accounts (medical, limited purpose, dependent care, commuter benefit accounts), basic and voluntary life and AD&D insurance, 401(k) with company match, parental leave, unlimited paid time off subject to the terms of the PTO policy (including 8 company-wide holidays), short- and long-term…