Director, State & Local Government Affairs

Zillow, Inc.

$201K — $321K *
US-AnywhereRemote in United States
Education, Government & Non-Profit
11 - 15 years of experience
Job Overview by Ladders

Qualifications

  • 12+ years in government relations, public policy, or legislative affairs
  • Strong advisory experience for senior leaders on complex regulatory matters
  • Proven success in developing and executing integrated government relations strategies
  • Established relationships with legislators and regulatory bodies in complex environments
  • Experience leading cross-functional policy efforts
  • Required travel up to 25%

Responsibilities

  • Develop and lead state and local government affairs strategies
  • Drive legislative and regulatory campaigns from strategy through execution
  • Guide regional leaders through political changes
  • Lead and develop regional government affairs teams
  • Establish effective governance and planning processes
  • Manage external lobbying and consultant relationships
  • Translate legislative intelligence into actionable business insights

Benefits

  • Remote work flexibility across the U.S.
  • Collaborative, high-accountability culture
  • Opportunities for talent development and succession planning
  • Participation in equity award programs
  • Continued support for professional growth and development opportunities
Full Job Description
Lead Zillow's State Government Affairs Strategy
  • Develop and lead Zillow's state and local government affairs strategy across multiple regions and legislative environments.
  • Translate enterprise business priorities into coordinated state advocacy strategies that advance Zillow's long-term objectives.
  • Prioritize campaigns, allocate resources, and ensure consistent execution across regional portfolios.


Drive Multi-State Legislative Campaigns
  • Lead complex legislative and regulatory campaigns from strategy through execution, including sponsorship strategy, coalition management, negotiation, amendment strategy, and legislative engagement.
  • Help determine where Zillow should proactively lead, partner, or monitor across priority issues.
  • Guide regional leaders through rapidly changing political environments while maintaining alignment to enterprise priorities.


Build and Lead a High-Performing Team
  • Lead, coach, and develop experienced regional government affairs leaders across multiple geographies.
  • Foster a collaborative, high-accountability culture while empowering regional expertise and decision-making.
  • Build long-term organizational capability through talent development, succession planning, and scalable operating practices.


Strengthen Zillow's Government Affairs Operating Model
  • Establish and continuously improve the operating rhythms, governance, planning processes, and reporting mechanisms that enable effective execution across the state affairs organization.
  • Improve coordination between Government Affairs, Public Policy, Legal, Communications, Product, Economics, and executive leadership.
  • Create greater visibility into legislative priorities, campaign progress, emerging risks, and strategic opportunities.


Manage External Government Affairs Partners
  • Oversee Zillow's network of outside lobbyists, consultants, and strategic advisors across multiple jurisdictions.
  • Establish clear performance expectations, deployment strategies, accountability measures, and budget priorities.
  • Ensure external partners operate as integrated extensions of Zillow's Government Affairs team.


Translate Legislative Intelligence into Business Action
  • Monitor legislative, regulatory, and political developments across priority markets.
  • Identify emerging risks and opportunities that may influence product strategy, market expansion, consumer trust, or business operations.
  • Provide timely recommendations and executive briefings that enable informed business decisions.


Partner Across the Enterprise
  • Work closely with Public Policy to translate policy priorities into executable field strategies.
  • Partner with Legal to navigate regulatory developments and legislative risk.
  • Collaborate with Product and business leaders to ensure advocacy strategies support evolving business priorities.
  • Coordinate with Communications and Public Affairs on stakeholder engagement and external messaging.
  • Align closely with Federal Government Affairs on issues that require coordinated state and federal engagement.


What This Role Owns
  • State and local government affairs strategy across Zillow's priority markets
  • Leadership and development of the regional government affairs organization
  • Multi-state legislative and regulatory campaign execution
  • External lobbying firms and consultant management
  • Legislative intelligence and business insight from state markets
  • Operating rhythms, planning processes, and execution across the state affairs function
  • Cross-functional coordination between Government Affairs, Policy, Legal, Product, and Communications


This role has been categorized as a Remote position. "Remote" employees do not have a permanent corporate office workplace and, instead, work from a physical location of their choice, which must be identified to the Company. U.S. employees may live in any of the 50 United States, with limited exceptions.

In California, Connecticut, Maryland, Massachusetts, New Jersey, New York, Washington state, and Washington DC the standard base pay range for this role is $201,000.00 - $321,000.00 annually. This base pay range is specific to these locations and may not be applicable to other locations.In Colorado, Hawaii, Illinois, Maine, Minnesota, Nevada, Ohio, Rhode Island, Vermont, and Virginia the standard base pay range for this role is $191,000.00 - $305,000.00 annually. The base pay range is specific to these locations and may not be applicable to other locations.

In addition to a competitive base salary this position is also eligible for equity awards based on factors such as experience, performance and location. Actual amounts will vary depending on experience, performance and location. Employees in this role will not be paid below the salary threshold for exempt employees in the state where they reside.

Who you are

  • 12+ years of experience in government relations, public policy, legislative affairs, or a closely related field, including significant experience advising senior leaders on complex policy and regulatory matters.
  • Demonstrated experience developing and executing integrated government relations or public affairs strategies that support business or organizational objectives.
  • Proven success building and maintaining influential relationships with legislators, regulators, associations, and advocacy partners in highly regulated or politically complex environments.
  • Experience leading cross-functional efforts on policy or regulatory issues in a corporate, industry association, or government setting, with accountability for outcomes and executive-level communication.
  • Or an equivalent combination of education and experience.
  • Required travel up to 25%.


Preferred Qualifications
  • Experience within a technology, marketplace, housing, fintech, mortgage, real estate, or highly regulated consumer platform company.
  • Experience leading regional government affairs functions within a Fortune 500 company, trade association, or comparable organization.
  • Familiarity with housing policy, listings, rentals, consumer finance, AI policy, competition policy, or digital marketplace regulation.
  • Experience building or scaling government affairs organizations during periods of company growth.


Leadership Competencies:
  • Enterprise thinking and business acumen
  • Exceptional political judgment
  • Strategic prioritization and resource allocation
  • Organizational leadership and team development
  • Executive influence without formal authority
  • Cross-functional collaboration
  • Operational excellence and disciplined execution
  • Adaptability in complex, fast-changing environments


Transferable Skills

Here at Zillow - we value the experience and perspective of candidates with non-traditional backgrounds. We encourage you to apply if you have transferable skills or related experiences.

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