Careers

To learn more about AIA, please visit: https://www.aia-aerospace.org/about-aia/

Position Summary:

The Vice President for National Security Policy (‘VP’) is responsible for developing AIA’s national security agenda, and for planning and executing advocacy efforts to support it.  The VP supervises the Senior Director for Acquisition Policy, Manager for Acquisition Policy, and Director, Defense Security and Policy Integration; and manages all aspects of the National Security Policy Division’s (‘NSP’) human and material resources.  The VP is frequently called upon to represent AIA’s CEO, and AIA broadly, in direct engagements with AIA member companies, senior government officials, Congressional offices, the media, and outside organizations.  The VP also represents AIA positions at conferences and seminars, and at major public policy events and venues.

The VP reports directly to AIA’s President and CEO, and manages a staff of three.

Key Responsibilities:  

This is a leadership position.  The VP is expected to demonstrate vision (anticipating challenges and identifying opportunities), creativity (considering various outcomes and alternative paths to them), and drive (managing time, people and other resources to accomplish the mission).

The VP engages with and seeks input from member companies primarily by coordinating and otherwise assisting NSP councils and committees, and is responsible for monitoring, analyzing, recommending, and advocating AIA positions concerning defense acquisition and procurement-related policies and legislation and their implementation, the aerospace and defense industry’s relationship to military strategy and requirements, and other related areas.  The VP must coordinate and collaborate with other policy divisions as needed and work closely with the Communications and Legislative Affairs Division to ensure successful industry advocacy and outreach.

The VP cultivates relationships with senior government officials and representatives in the Department of Defense (DOD), including the Office of the Secretary of Defense, the Services, the Joint Staff, the Unified Combatant Commands, and various DOD agencies; with other Executive Branch entities; with Congressional staff, in coordination with AIA Legislative Affairs; and with the media, in coordination with AIA Communications.

Additional related duties include:

• analyzing significant industry problems and synthesizing the concepts and ideas coming from both industry and government contacts and council, committee and working group activities into cohesive patterns and trends;
• providing insights into future defense developments to prompt deliberations and actions;
• building industry consensus among member companies on relevant issues, maintaining liaison with other internal and external groups dealing with related issues;
• overseeing arrangements for periodic council and committee meetings, including agenda development, arranging for speakers and other participants, assembling background information and materials, supervising and executing meeting administration and logistics, and preparation of meeting summaries;
• assisting with the planning and execution of major AIA events, including routine Executive Committee and Washington Representatives meetings, semi-annual Board of Governors meetings, and occasional CEO-level gatherings with senior officials; and
• other duties as assigned.

Qualifications and Experience:

• The Vice President for National Security Policy must be a known and respected practitioner in the defense acquisition community, with a deep understanding of U.S. national security policy, and relevant professional experience with organizations such as the Department of Defense, the defense industry, Congressional defense committees, major policy institutions, other trade associations, the media, or academia.
• Focused experience with DOD contracting organizations, policy and practices
• Familiarity with the U.S and international defense business environment
• S/he must have demonstrated excellent research, writing and speaking ability, and superior attention to detail.
• Ability to work within large and diverse groups to build consensus and unity
• While a Bachelor’s degree and Master of Arts degree with national security concentration are preferred, meaningful work experience is the most important qualification for this position.

The physical demands and work environment characteristics described are representative of those that must be met by an employee to successfully perform the essential functions of this job.  Reasonable accommodations may be made to enable individuals with disabilities to perform the essential functions.

Equal Opportunity Employer

AIA is proud to be an equal opportunity workplace, committed to diversity, equity, and inclusion regardless of race, color, ancestry, religion, sex, national origin, sexual orientation, age, citizenship, marital status, disability, gender identity/expression or veteran status.

To learn more about AIA, please visit: https://www.aia-aerospace.org/about-aia/

Position Summary:

The Vice President, Legislative Affairs will lead the development and implementation of AIA’s comprehensive legislative strategy to support the association’s policy, industry advocacy and membership goals. The incumbent will communicate the industry’s interests to members of Congress, White House and Administration officials, state and local leaders, and inform AIA members of key legislative policy developments and impacts.  The Vice President is responsible for defining, shaping, and tracking legislation of interest to the aerospace industry; communicating legislative developments to members; presenting industry views and positions to Members of Congress and their staff; developing an engagement plan for the President and CEO, and serving as the principal staff contact for other organizations with overlapping legislative objectives. In this role the Vice President will manage AIA’s development and execution of our industry positions, strategies, and programs on all matters related to building and supporting a dynamic future workforce for the aerospace and defense industry and our member companies. The ideal leader in this role will have the ability to focus and refine a legislative strategy while emphasizing the professional development of the staff.

This position is also responsible for ensuring the association’s compliance with legal and regulatory requirements related to federal lobbying.  This includes, but is not limited to, a leadership role in staff training and education as well as review of the association’s quarterly reports under the Lobbying Disclosure Act.

In addition, the Vice President will develop the annual strategic objectives for legislative affairs, working closely with AIA senior leadership to ensure that strategy aligns with AIA’s mission, strategic plan, and specific objectives, in coordination with other departments.  We’re looking for someone to ensure that AIA takes proactive actions to stay ahead of critical regulatory and legislative issues affecting our industry. It is expected that this position will involve registration and reporting as a federal lobbyist, as required by law, but not registration as a lobbyist before any state.

This position reports directly to the President and CEO and will be a strategic partner alongside all other Vice Presidents to support our mission.  The incumbent currently manages a staff of one Senior Director, one Director, two Managers and one shared Coordinator with the Communications Division.

Key Responsibilities:

The Vice President of Legislative Affairs is responsible for developing and implementing AIA’s comprehensive legislative strategy to support the association’s policy, industry advocacy, and membership goals.

   Define, shape, and advocate for legislation of interest to the aerospace and defense industry (30%)

• Effectively communicate legislative developments to AIA members and present industry views and positions to Members of Congress and their staff.
• Develop and lead an engagement plan for the President and CEO, serving as the principal staff contact for other organizations with overlapping legislative objectives.
• Focus and refine a legislative strategy while emphasizing the professional development of the staff.

   Lead the development of the annual strategic objectives for legislative affairs (35%)

• Work closely with AIA senior leadership to ensure that strategy aligns with AIA’s mission, strategic plan, and specific objectives, in coordination with entire organization.
• Take proactive actions collaborate across AIA policy divisions to stay ahead of critical regulatory and legislative issues affecting the aerospace and defense industry.
• Direct the monitoring and shaping of Federal legislation of interest to AIA and its members.
• Advise the President and CEO, member company Chief Executive Officers, and Washington Representatives on legislative matters and coordinates presentations to Congress advocating the AIA position and industry’s viewpoint.
• Seek active participation of industry executives and their government relations staff to formulate positions, prepare hearing testimony, and brief witnesses.

   Build and maintain key relationships across Capitol Hill and Washington, DC (15%)

• Maintain and grow a network of contacts among Members of Congress and staff.
• Represent AIA on continuing and ad hoc coalitions of organizations and groups that collaborate to present a unified position to Congress on issues of mutual interest.
• Inform AIA members of developments of broad industry appeal through company government relations staff, periodic reports to the Board and its Executive Committee, presentations before the various division councils and committees, and through periodic gatherings of member company executives, Washington government relations staff, members of Congress and the Executive Branch personnel to discuss matters of mutual interest.

   Grow AIA value proposition to members and prospective members (10%)

• Lead the planning and execution of CODEL events associated with the international air shows. Ensures that all necessary briefing, background material, and Ethics Committee paperwork is prepared to support the CODEL.
• Drive excellence in AIA events by obtaining key Congressional participation in AIA strategic calendar events, including international air shows, AIA Board of Governors meetings, and Congressional informational briefings or receptions both in D.C. and nationwide.
• Manage site visits to highlight efforts of our Member companies and to gain broader industry insights in support of our advocacy role.

   Manage and oversee AIA’s entire legislative portfolio and team (10%)

• Manage the workload and delegation of legislative issues including national security policy, civil aviation, space, and workforce to ensure appropriate coverage.
• Develop and manage the Legislative Affairs annual operating budget.
• Working with the VP-Finance and other AIA staff, help ensure the association’s ongoing compliance with legal and regulatory requirements related to federal lobbying, including review and approval of the association’s quarterly lobbying reports to Congress.
• Staff of 5: Senior Director of Legislative Affairs, Director of Legislative Affairs, (2) Managers of Legislative Affairs, and the shared support of a Coordinator. 

Qualifications and Experience:

• Executive in a company or association, with specific expertise in federal legislative advocacy or relations;
• 15+ years’ supervisory experience in government, an association, or aerospace-defense related corporation with responsibility over multidisciplinary functions;
• Experience in developing and managing departmental budgets;
• Superb interpersonal skills and demonstrated ability to work collegially with others and with the highest standards of integrity;
• First-rate personal, political, analytical and organizational skills;
• Creativity and ability to quickly get up to speed on complex technical and regulatory issues;
• Excellent communicator with great interpersonal and presentation skills, both for policy experts and the layperson;
• Ability to work independently as well as a team player in a multi-task work environment while producing the highest caliber work product in a timely manner;
• Self-starter with a sense of humor and the ability to thrive in a fast moving and high pressure environment.

The physical demands and work environment characteristics described are representative of those that must be met by an employee to successfully perform the essential functions of this job.  Reasonable accommodations may be made to enable individuals with disabilities to perform the essential functions.

Equal Opportunity Employer

AIA is proud to be an equal opportunity workplace, committed to diversity, equity, and inclusion regardless of race, color, ancestry, religion, sex, national origin, sexual orientation, age, citizenship, marital status, disability, gender identity/expression or veteran status.

To learn more about AIA, please visit: https://www.aia-aerospace.org/about-aia/

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Position Summary:

The Manager, Export Control Policy is an essential stakeholder-facing policy and advocacy position focused on commercial and defense-related U.S. export controls, multilateral export control regimes, technology security and transfer, sanctions, and other policy aspects impacting the export and compliance requirements of the U.S. aerospace and defense industry. Reporting to the Vice President, International Affairs, this position is responsible for providing analysis and coordination, as well as policy, communications, and legislative affairs recommendations on U.S. and international export control-related matters. This is an opportunity to join a highly skilled International Affairs team whose industry is deeply impacted by export controls.

The ideal person for this position is an exceptionally organized, thoughtful, diligent, detail-oriented, transparent individual with a customer service driven perspective.  The demands of this position require a critical thinker with policy analysis skills who can quickly assess information, analyze broad impacts on industry, consult with AIA and member companies on appropriate actions, lead AIA committees focused on export controls, and propose innovative courses of action leading to an improved regulatory and policy environment. 

Key Responsibilities:

In conjunction with the Vice President, International Affairs, this position will be responsible for AIA’s export control agenda by developing policy recommendations, advocacy strategies, and communications and legislation recommendations on export controls, sanctions, and technology security and transfer issues impacting the aerospace and defense industry. The incumbent will be responsible for leading AIA committees and working groups focused on export control-related matters, interacting with AIA leadership, members, and outside industry and government stakeholders, and other key personnel to advance the Association’s export control program. As the staff lead for AIA’s export control policy agenda, encompassing the defense, commercial and space sectors, this position is a critical element of the division’s overall international affairs policy and advocacy program.

Direct Policy and Advocacy Development in Export Controls and Related Issues (40%)

• Serve as the primary staff liaison to, and independently manage, AIA’s Export Control Committee and any associated working groups for policy development, outside stakeholder convening, and advocacy strategy development
• Draft, edit, and develop export control-related materials for AIA leadership, members, and outside stakeholders, including policy memos, meeting minutes, remarks and talking points, meeting agendas, letters, background materials, and white papers
• Interface, build, and maintain relationships with U.S. and foreign government export control agencies, particularly the State Department’s Directorate of Defense Trade Controls (DDTC), the Commerce Department’s Bureau of Industry and Security (BIS), and the Defense Department’s Defense Technology Security Administration (DTSA)
• Monitor government Federal Register Notices (FRNs), Congressional hearings and proceedings, and press reports to identify emerging issues or trends related to U.S. export control or multilateral export control issues impacting the aerospace/defense industry
• Maintain AIA International Affairs export control-related committee and working group materials and ensure timely distribution of meeting notices to members and invited guests 

Conduct Policy Analysis and Provide Action Recommendations (30%)

• Research, monitor, maintain, and provide updates on changes in export control-related policy regulations and legislation, sanctions, and multilateral export control regimes
• Monitor changes to major export control regulations, including the International Traffic and Arms Regulations (ITAR) and Export Administration Regulations (EAR), report those changes to AIA leadership and members, and recommend appropriate action

Member Management and Stakeholder Engagement (20%)

• Work closely and directly with the export control and compliance teams in AIA member companies to develop export control-related, sanctions, and multilateral advocacy and engagement strategies
• Represent AIA on a continuous basis and interface with outside export control-focused stakeholders, including the U.S. government, other trade association partners, foreign governments, etc.
• Contribute written and oral division-wide updates through articles, webinars, weekly newsletters, and other communications products

Enterprise-wide Collaboration (10%)

• Provide support to AIA-wide flagship events, including bi-yearly meetings, quarterly executive meetings, monthly industry-wide interactions, and international air and trade shows
• Collaborate with other divisions on organization-wide requirements, to include export control-related requirements for the Civil and Space divisions
• Serve as division/company representative in internal collaboration meetings as directed by the Vice President, International Affairs
• Participate in special projects, focus groups, and other assignments as needed

Minimum Requirements:

• Bachelor’s degree in a relevant field (e.g., international affairs, political science, public affairs/public policy/public administration, business/economics, etc.) is required. Master’s degree is preferred. Juris Doctor is encouraged.
• Minimum five years work experience with a knowledge of international trade and regulatory issues, particularly as they relate to U.S. industry and/or export controls.
• Ability to quickly analyze legal and technical material and synthesize the information for senior AIA leadership and members.
• Proficient in Microsoft Office environment (Outlook, Word, Excel, PowerPoint, Project, SharePoint) is required.
• Strong oral and written communication skills (concise, timely, positive nature).
• Prepares documentation that is self-reviewed and well thought out.
• Ability to work under time pressure to meet deadlines and capability to quickly flex to changes in priorities. In addition, be flexible where extra hours are needed without always being asked.
• Strong people skills with an ability to interface at all levels of the organization, with all levels of leadership, and work within a diverse organization.
• Organized, attentive to details, ability to independently prioritize, timely, and ability to multi-task duties. In addition, possesses well-developed interpersonal and time management skills.
• Analytical, flexible thinker with the ability to prioritize, multitask, and collaborate across AIA.
• Natural desire to take ownership to contribute to the broader team.
• Motivated, “can-do” attitude that contributes to the mission of the organization and the industry.
• Ability to handle confidential and/or proprietary information with professionalism, maturity, discretion, and trust.

Desired Skills/Experience:

• Existing familiarity with U.S. export control regulations and legislative requirements is highly desirable but not required.
• Past experience in running long-term projects or advocacy campaigns is desired.
• Writing skills orientated towards senior leaders, including the ability to develop background and talking points quickly and in a concise manner is sought after.

The physical demands and work environment characteristics described are representative of those that must be met by an employee to successfully perform the essential functions of this job.  Reasonable accommodations may be made to enable individuals with disabilities to perform the essential functions.

Equal Opportunity Employer

AIA is proud to be an equal opportunity workplace, committed to diversity, equity, and inclusion regardless of race, color, ancestry, religion, sex, national origin, sexual orientation, age, citizenship, marital status, disability, gender identity/expression or veteran status.

To learn more about AIA, please visit: https://www.aia-aerospace.org/about-aia/

Position Summary:

The Senior Coordinator, International Affairs and National Security Policy serves as the essential operational backbone of two critical divisions of AIA. Reporting to the Vice Presidents of International Affairs and National Security Policy, the Senior Coordinator supports two divisions that are playing a leading role in shaping global trade, defense, and national security policy.This position routinely engages at the highest levels of industry, the U.S. government, foreign governments, and outside stakeholders. This is an opportunity to join two dynamic, high-functioning teams at the confluence of national security, international trade, global affairs, and economic growth.

The ideal person for this position is an exceptionally organized, discreet, collegial, customer service-oriented problem solving professional with excellent communication skills and attention to detail. The position requires a strong record of reliability, excellent operations skills, and outstanding oral and written communication ability. They must be able to quickly switch between near- and long-term tasks, and balance that against supporting strategic planning and execution demands for each division. Managing complex schedules, streamlining day-to-day operations, maintaining excellent records, and meeting constantly changing deadlines and requirements is essential to the position.

Key Responsibilities:

This position will have primary responsibility for operational support of both the International Affairs and National Security Policy division Vice Presidents and their respective division operations, including schedule and calendar maintenance, travel arrangements and expense filing, coordinating team meetings, engagement with internal/external stakeholders on behalf of each leader, division-wide near- and long-term planning activities, and other responsibilities as directed by the Vice Presidents.

The incumbent will also support overall division tasks, including assisting with council, committees and working group actions, preparing and disseminating initial drafts of documents for member company distribution and/or AIA leadership, preparing policy summaries for AIA leadership and members, and collaborating on Association-wide flagship events.

Operational Management for Division Leadership (60%)

• Interact daily with each Vice President and internal/external stakeholders on division tasks with a customer service-oriented, responsiveness, project management, and attention-to-detail approach
• Prepare expense reports and travel arrangements for each Vice President on a regular basis
• Manage near- and long-term schedules for each Vice President and division, including scheduling meetings, deconflicting competing scheduling demands, and anticipating deadlines and milestones
• Serve as the key point of contact for communication for each division with internal/external stakeholders, including coordinating team engagements, tracking internal/external deadlines, and anticipating internal/external requirements
• Maintain, update, and provide management of division-wide electronic filing systems using the Microsoft suite of programs (e.g., SharePoint, Project, Outlook, Excel, PowerPoint, etc.)
• Track division processes/projects and lead on process improvement opportunities leading towards improving divisional efficiency and effectiveness
• Assist with preparing and maintaining division budgets, as well as monitoring/tracking division expenditures against approved allocations during the year.
• Ensure timely and accurate receipt, processing and verification of division invoices utilizing organizational financial systems.
• Organize team and division engagement events, including division off-site planning meetings

Support to Policy and Advocacy Activities (25%)

• Prepare and disseminate highly-accurate, large scale correspondence to division councils, committees and working groups to update members on division activities and outside policy developments using bulk correspondence/Outlook notification programs on a weekly basis
• Support division colleagues on tracking and recording relationships and member engagement for all councils, committees, and working groups in the Association’s database (Membercast)
• Prepare initial drafts of policy and advocacy documents for member company and/or AIA leadership
• Prepare summaries of AIA council, committee, and working group meetings
• Monitor and prepare summaries of outside policy events (e.g., Congressional hearings, think tank discussions, etc.) for AIA leadership and members

Enterprise-wide Collaboration (15%)

• Provide support to AIA-wide flagship events, including bi-yearly meetings, quarterly executive meetings, monthly industry-wide interactions, and international air and trade shows
• Collaborate with other division Coordinators/Senior Coordinators on organization-wide needs on an as needed basis, to include planning/execution of meetings or events led by other parts AIA
• Participate in special projects, focus groups, and other assignments as needed

Qualifications and Experience:

Minimum Requirements

• Bachelor’s degree in a relevant field (e.g, international affairs, political science, public affairs/public policy/public administration, business/economics, journalism, history, etc.) is required
• Native understanding and extensive work within the Microsoft Office environment (Outlook, Word, Excel, PowerPoint, Project, Sharepoint) is required
• Strong oral and written communication skills (concise, timely, positive nature)
• Prepares documentation that is self-reviewed and well thought out
• Ability to work under time pressure to meet deadlines and capability to quickly flex to changes in priorities. In addition, be flexible where extra hours are needed without always being asked
• Strong people skills with an ability to interface at all levels of the organization, with all levels of leadership, and work within a diverse organization
• Organized, attentive to details, ability to independently prioritize, timely, and ability to multi-task duties. In addition, possesses well-developed interpersonal and time management skills
• Analytical, flexible thinker with the ability to prioritize, multitask, and collaborate across AIA
• Natural desire to take ownership to contribute to the broader team.
• Motivated, “can-do” attitude contributes to the mission of the organization and the industry
• Ability to handle confidential information with professionalism, maturity, and trust

Desired Skills/Experience

• 1-2 years of relevant operations experience and project management is highly desired
• Writing skills orientated towards senior leaders, including the ability to develop background and talking points quickly and in a concise manner is sought after

The physical demands and work environment characteristics described are representative of those that must be met by an employee to successfully perform the essential functions of this job.  Reasonable accommodations may be made to enable individuals with disabilities to perform the essential functions.

Equal Opportunity Employer

AIA is proud to be an equal opportunity workplace, committed to diversity, equity, and inclusion regardless of race, color, ancestry, religion, sex, national origin, sexual orientation, age, citizenship, marital status, disability, gender identity/expression or veteran status.