External Affairs Manager

Washington, D.C.
Penta Intelligence – Syndicated Research /
Full-time /
Hybrid
Penta is a global company providing data-driven solutions to help clients  achieve their objectives in an increasingly complex stakeholder environment. We provide cutting-edge intelligence products to help clients understand what their stakeholders think, see, and hear, and then leverage that intelligence to develop and execute effective, measurable strategies. 

Our global team brings decades of experience in business, government, communications, research, data science, and media. Our clients include companies across a variety of industries, including technology, financial services, energy, healthcare, and more. Penta has offices in New York, London, Washington, DC, San Francisco, Vail, Dublin, London, Brussels, Singapore, and Hong Kong.

Penta is looking for an outcome-driven, mid-level manager to join our External Affairs team and lead efforts to recruit research respondents and engage policymaker communities around the world. The EA Manager will support client projects through innovative outreach and personal engagement. This role is based in our Washington, DC office and requires a hybrid schedule in-office (M/W/Th in-office and 2 days optional remote). 

Responsibilities: 
This person will oversee the below areas through their individual contributions as well as managing multiple members of the team whose responsibilities are the same.

 Project Management and Policymaker Engagement (70%)
- Work with the External Affairs Director and team to develop and execute broad outreach strategies in support of Penta’s policymaker research projects.
- Build relationships with policymakers through direct, multi-channel engagement (i.e.: phone, in-person, email).
- Monitor ongoing research project progress; including response rates, outreach strategy deployment, and participating in quality control meetings to ensure data is collected efficiently, of the highest quality, and in line with client needs. 
- Additional weekly duties: leading respondent recruitment, managing relationships with external research recruiters, building contact lists, CRM maintenance, and working with the research and client service teams to build effective study sets on defined timelines.

 Outreach Tactics Innovation and Deployment (30%)
- Monitor – and troubleshoot – outreach platforms to ensure project success.
- Help de-risk projects and recruit diverse respondent pools through multi-channel outreach, constantly evaluating and including new technologies as warranted.

Qualifications:
- 5-7 years of overall professional experience, ideally with a minimum of 2 years of experience recruiting difficult-to-reach audiences for market research and minimum of 2 years experience managing people and directly supervising revenue-linked projects.
- Demonstrated proficiency in project planning, execution, and delivery.
- Demonstrated proficiency in developing and creating innovative solutions to address specific outreach challenges or optimize operational processes within the team. 
- Interest in working in a collaborative, fast-paced environment.
- Strong coordination skills across teams and stakeholder groups.
- Demonstrates exceptional analytical skills, capable of analyzing complex data sets in Excel or Google Sheets to derive actionable insights and inform decision-making processes.
- Exhibits strong written and verbal communication skills, adept at conveying information clearly and effectively to diverse stakeholders.
- Displays meticulous attention to detail, ensuring accuracy and precision in all tasks and deliverables.
- Experience engaging and conducting outreach with policymakers or legislative staff.
- Familiarity with policy and advocacy landscapes in DC, Europe, and state capitals.
- Inclination to develop new relations and assist with hosting professional events.

Benefits:
- Competitive salary and compensation structure
- Excellent health care benefits with 100% of individual employee premiums and 50% of dependent health care premiums covered
- Competitive retirement benefits with 401(k) matching
- Twelve weeks of paid parental leave
- Monthly stipend for cell phone
- Generous holiday schedule and flexible paid time off program
- Frequent firm-wide social events and activities
- Excellent environment for learning and growth
Penta Group, LLC values diversity and inclusion, is committed to equal employment opportunity, and to compliance with federal anti-discrimination laws. We also comply with District of Columbia law, which prohibits discrimination and harassment against employees, applicants for employment and interns based on race, color, religion, sex (including pregnancy, childbirth or related medical conditions, reproductive health decisions and breastfeeding), national origin, disability, age (18 and over), personal appearance, sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, marital status, family responsibilities, matriculation (e.g., being enrolled in a college or university or in a business, nursing, professional, secretarial, technical or vocational school), political affiliation, genetic information (including family medical history), lawful use of tobacco products, unemployment status and status as a victim or the family member of a victim of domestic violence, a sexual offense or stalking.