Job Description

Our corporate office in Portsmouth, NH is currently looking for a Public Affairs Specialist. The Public Affairs Specialist will support our public affairs and community engagement strategy as well as communications to external stakeholders through charitable donations, community engagement events and legislative policy support. This role requires a strong strategic external communications background, and an understanding of public affairs and corporate social responsibility strategy. This role provides an exciting opportunity to shape the conversation around WIN Waste Innovations’ role in sustainable waste management and requires someone who thrives in a fast-moving environment where priorities shift quickly in response to legislative calendars, media cycles, and community developments.

This is a high-visibility, externally facing role operating at the intersection of community relations, media, and government affairs. The pace of the work is driven by external forces — legislative sessions, community concerns, and news cycles — and the ideal candidate is energized by that dynamic.

The successful candidate will need to produce polished, professional materials in support of public affairs and community engagement work, including PowerPoint presentations, briefing documents, talking points, and event materials. This role requires direct, hands-on production of communications deliverables, not only relationship and strategy work.

• Oversee the execution of corporate social responsibility initiatives, including philanthropic activities, volunteer programs, and sustainability efforts.
• Develop relationships with key community and legislative leaders in targeted areas where we work.
• Create educational content and brand awareness communications, for direct and indirect distribution to customers and stakeholders.
• Keep a steady pulse on the "Voice of Community" and provide strategic oversight and direction in response to community and customer feedback.
• Identify opportunities for community engagement; support and manage logistics, budgets, spending, and on-site interaction with community groups, customers or legislative representatives.
• Work closely with cross-functional team to engage external stakeholders (i.e., lawmakers, advocacy allies, media, gov’t agencies) on priorities and issues – educating on our contributions and perspectives in support of the sustainable waste management solutions WIN Waste provides.
• Amplify and build credibility for our perspective by mobilizing stakeholders (i.e., trade associations, advocacy, third party alliances, nonprofits) who can demonstrate support and partnership for our essential services and the role we play in sustainability and our economic impact on communities.
• Lead strategic planning for external affairs activities, including proactive event development, stakeholder mapping, issue anticipation, and narrative development that positions WIN Waste as a trusted community partner and essential services provider.
• Conduct briefings with cross-functional teams to help shape proactive and reactive strategies and communications for the company.
• Develop and execute a plan to promote the brand’s sustainability initiatives, identifying opportunities to leverage positive developments to promote a positive brand image, including facility tours and supporting broader corporate requests.
• Build and maintain positive relationships with local communities, non-profit entities, and other stakeholders to promote the brand’s values and contributions to local economies.
• Build a network of internal volunteers and identify appropriate engagements to drive meaningful teammate opportunities to engage with the community.
• Develop a community engagement campaign calendar and comprehensive plan for reaching key audiences, including paid advertising, microsites, and earned media opportunities.
• Develop a working knowledge of waste-to-energy facility operations and environmental compliance in order to communicate accurately and credibly with regulators, legislators, media, and community stakeholders on technical subject matter.
• This role requires travel of 25–50% of the time, including occasional short-notice travel in response to legislative activity, community events, or media situations. Candidates must be comfortable with flexible scheduling and the ability to mobilize quickly when circumstances require it.

Qualifications:

• Required bachelor’s degree in journalism, English, Communications, Public Relations, Public Policy, or Business-related field.
• 7+ years of work experience
• Prior communications, public relations, public affairs, campaign, and/or agency experience required.
• Proficient in Microsoft Office including PPT and Excel. Preferred experience with CSR software.
• Demonstrated ability to manage multiple concurrent priorities in a deadline-driven environment with competing external demands.
• Must be comfortable operating with limited supervision and making sound communications judgments in real time.
• Familiarity with energy, environmental, infrastructure, or industrial sectors strongly preferred.
• Experience supporting or working alongside legislative affairs, regulatory affairs, or government relations functions, strongly preferred.
• Prior experience interpreting or communicating technical or regulatory subject matter to non-technical audiences, strongly preferred.

What You'll Enjoy:

• Industry leading benefits
• Multiple and flexible medical plans
• Outstanding PTO program
• Floating Holidays
• Strong 401k program and company match
• Tuition reimbursement plan
• College loan reimbursement
• College scholarship program for dependents
• Parental Leave Program
• Inclusive culture
• Employee engagement events
• Employee resource groups

WIN Waste Innovations is a waste management company committed to delivering essential waste management solutions to customers and communities supported by our team of 2,300 employees. We believe in preserving our environment for future generations while providing for today's needs. WIN Waste Innovations is a vertically integrated business with a platform of 50 strategically located collection, transfer, and disposal assets. These include waste-to-energy facilities, transfer stations, ash monofills, landfills, and fleets of rail cars and collection vehicles. We process more than 11 million tons of waste annually, converting 6.7 million tons of waste into clean, renewable energy that powers 340,000 homes. We recycle more than 234,000 tons of plastic, paper, and metals from the waste stream.

At WIN Waste Innovations, each eligible employee receives a competitive total compensation package including Medical, Dental, Vision, Life Insurance and Short-Term Disability. As well as Company match on 401K, and more! Our employees also receive Paid Vacation, Holidays, and Personal Days. Please note that benefits may vary by site. Equal Opportunity Employer Minorities/Women/Protected Veterans/Disabled.