What does a legislative director do?
Legislative director responsibilities
Here are examples of responsibilities from real legislative director resumes:
- Publish organizational blogposts and other editorial content and manage relations with coalition partners.
- Manage legislative portfolio of organizational policies relative to veterans benefits and military quality of life issues.
- Respond to public sector RFP's and submit foundation proposals.
- Coordinate preparation of RFP and consultant hiring process for department.
- Work closely with web designers to create a state-of-the-art tourism website.
- Collaborate with caucus leadership, lobbyists and advocates to advance a variety of bipartisan legislative objectives.
- Develop strategy and execute pre-market reimbursement activities including CMS and AMA CPT for new product introduction.
- Leverage quantitative and qualitative market research data to fine-tune labeling and POS designs that are well-received by a major national retailer.
- Focus in Medicare, Medicaid, pharmaceuticals, hospitals, patient safety and health information technology.
- Develop the member's communication strategy by writing his editorials, speeches and maintain his social media presence.
- Develop and implement USAID infrastructure sector policy for Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Uzbekistan and Turkmenistan.
Legislative director skills and personality traits
We calculated that 15% of Legislative Directors are proficient in Policy Issues, Legislative Process, and Press Releases. They’re also known for soft skills such as Leadership skills, Organizational skills, and Speaking skills.
We break down the percentage of Legislative Directors that have these skills listed on their resume here:
- Policy Issues, 15%
Identified constituent concerns, reviewed policy issues, prepared legislative drafts and tracked legislation, and communicated with various governmental agencies.
- Legislative Process, 12%
Developed in-depth knowledge of Texas legislative process through hands-on involvement, troubleshooting, and support during legislative sessions.
- Press Releases, 8%
Coordinated with Press Secretary and Communications Director on press releases and communication strategies.
- Public Policy, 7%
Directed legislative strategy and execution of key public initiatives to drive positive changes in public policy.
- Legislative Affairs, 6%
Manage legislative affairs; including working directly with legislators and external stakeholders on policy, legislation, and regulations.
- Legislative Issues, 4%
Assist constituents via written or verbal communication regarding legislative issues or problems with governmental agencies or programs.
"policy issues," "legislative process," and "press releases" are among the most common skills that legislative directors use at work. You can find even more legislative director responsibilities below, including:
Leadership skills. To carry out their duties, the most important skill for a legislative director to have is leadership skills. Their role and responsibilities require that "public relations and fundraising managers often lead large teams of specialists or fundraisers and must be able to guide their activities." Legislative directors often use leadership skills in their day-to-day job, as shown by this real resume: "traveled to state capitol several time per month to personally discuss higher education policies with members of party leadership. "
Organizational skills. Another essential skill to perform legislative director duties is organizational skills. Legislative directors responsibilities require that "public relations and fundraising managers are often in charge of running several events at the same time, requiring superior organizational skills." Legislative directors also use organizational skills in their role according to a real resume snippet: "managed legislative portfolio of organizational policies relative to veterans benefits and military quality of life issues. "
Speaking skills. legislative directors are also known for speaking skills, which are critical to their duties. You can see how this skill relates to legislative director responsibilities, because "public relations and fundraising managers regularly speak on behalf of their organization." A legislative director resume example shows how speaking skills is used in the workplace: "presented to corporate clients and trade associations. "
Writing skills. legislative director responsibilities often require "writing skills." The duties that rely on this skill are shown by the fact that "managers must be able to write well-organized and clear press releases and speeches." This resume example shows what legislative directors do with writing skills on a typical day: "developed the member's communication strategy by writing his editorials, speeches and maintained his social media presence. "
Communication skills. A commonly-found skill in legislative director job descriptions, "communication skills" is essential to what legislative directors do. Legislative director responsibilities rely on this skill because "managers deal with the public regularly; therefore, they must be friendly enough to build a rapport with, and receive cooperation from, their media contacts and donors." You can also see how legislative director duties rely on communication skills in this resume example: "improved communications with external stakeholders including legislators, advocates, providers, advisory groups, state agencies, and local governments. "
Problem-solving skills. While "problem-solving skills" is last on this skills list, don't underestimate its importance to legislative director responsibilities. Much of what a legislative director does relies on this skill, seeing as "managers sometimes must explain how the company or client is handling sensitive issues." Here is a resume example of how this skill is used in the everyday duties of legislative directors: "composed press releases, resolutions, ordinances, speeches as well as general correspondence. "
The three companies that hire the most legislative directors are:
- Indiana State Police1 legislative directors jobs
- New York State Restaurant Association1 legislative directors jobs
- Good Foods LLC
1 legislative directors jobs
Choose from 10+ customizable legislative director resume templates
Build a professional legislative director resume in minutes. Our AI resume writing assistant will guide you through every step of the process, and you can choose from 10+ resume templates to create your legislative director resume.
Compare different legislative directors
Legislative director vs. Campaign manager
Campaign managers are responsible for developing, executing, and managing marketing campaigns for events, products, and services targeting consumers or organizations. These professionals typically collaborate with external agencies in the preparation and execution of campaigns. They perform other duties that may include managing the measurement and tracking of marketing campaigns, writing, proofreading, and editing copy for promotional materials, and maintaining regular measurement of the campaigns' ROI. Campaign managers are also expected to evaluate existing marketing campaigns and be up-to-date on the latest marketing trends.
There are some key differences in the responsibilities of each position. For example, legislative director responsibilities require skills like "policy issues," "legislative process," "public policy," and "legislative affairs." Meanwhile a typical campaign manager has skills in areas such as "digital marketing," "email marketing," "email campaigns," and "event planning." This difference in skills reveals the differences in what each career does.
Campaign managers really shine in the technology industry with an average salary of $86,390. Comparatively, legislative directors tend to make the most money in the non profits industry with an average salary of $74,141.The education levels that campaign managers earn slightly differ from legislative directors. In particular, campaign managers are 4.6% less likely to graduate with a Master's Degree than a legislative director. Additionally, they're 9.0% less likely to earn a Doctoral Degree.Legislative director vs. Vice president of communication
A vice president of communication is in charge of overseeing and implementing internal and external communication programs. Their responsibilities revolve around setting goals and objectives, allocating budgets, delegating tasks, liaising with key clients, and managing the workforce to ensure an efficient workflow. They may also produce progress reports for the president and other executives, prepare presentations, develop business plans, and devise strategies to optimize services and operations. Furthermore, as vice president, it is essential to implement the company's policies and regulations, creating new ones as needed.
Each career also uses different skills, according to real legislative director resumes. While legislative director responsibilities can utilize skills like "policy issues," "legislative process," "public policy," and "legislative affairs," vice president of communications use skills like "strategic communications," "external communications," "oversight," and "project management."
Vice president of communications may earn a higher salary than legislative directors, but vice president of communications earn the most pay in the media industry with an average salary of $152,749. On the other hand, legislative directors receive higher pay in the non profits industry, where they earn an average salary of $74,141.vice president of communications earn similar levels of education than legislative directors in general. They're 1.9% less likely to graduate with a Master's Degree and 9.0% less likely to earn a Doctoral Degree.Legislative director vs. Director of marketing and public relations
A director of marketing and public relations leads and oversees the development and implementation of marketing projects to gain public interest and raise brand awareness. They take the lead in developing marketing and public relations plans, managing publicists and marketing teams, researching opportunities, and conducting regular reviews and assessments to ensure the quality and consistency of materials. They also set goals and guidelines, establish strategies for the daily operations, and coordinate with external parties, releasing press statements as necessary. Moreover, they empower the workforce to reach goals while implementing company standards and regulations.
The required skills of the two careers differ considerably. For example, legislative directors are more likely to have skills like "policy issues," "legislative process," "public policy," and "legislative affairs." But a director of marketing and public relations is more likely to have skills like "digital marketing," "marketing campaigns," "marketing mix," and "web content."
Directors of marketing and public relations earn the highest salary when working in the health care industry, where they receive an average salary of $89,987. Comparatively, legislative directors have the highest earning potential in the non profits industry, with an average salary of $74,141.Most directors of marketing and public relations achieve a similar degree level compared to legislative directors. For example, they're 1.6% less likely to graduate with a Master's Degree, and 10.4% less likely to earn a Doctoral Degree.Legislative director vs. Vice president of public relations
A vice president of public relations oversees the public relations efforts of a company, aiming for brand awareness and public interest. It is their duty to establish timelines and guidelines, develop projects and programs, monitor budgets, liaise and build positive relationships with media partners, and coordinate with public relations experts. There are also instances when they must represent the company at public gatherings or when facilitating press conferences. Moreover, as a vice president, it is essential to enforce the company's policies and regulations, implementing new ones as needed.
Types of legislative director
Updated January 8, 2025
