Senior Public Policy Associate

We are a hybrid, remote-office company dedicated to growing our talent anywhere!

We have onsite locations in: Sioux Falls, SD, Phoenix, AZ, Louisville, KY, Troy, MI, Franklin, TN, Easton, PA.

At Pathward, we take tremendous pride in our purpose to create financial inclusion for all™. We are a financial empowerment company that works with innovators to increase financial availability, choice, and opportunity for all. We strive to remove barriers that traditional institutions put in the way of financial access, and promote economic mobility by providing responsible, secure, high quality financial products.

We are a team of problem solvers and innovators who celebrate our differences and know that our unique perspectives make us stronger and well-positioned for success. We celebrate, and embrace, our team members through our *HUMBLE*HUNGRY*SMART approach, and we believe that we are strongest when we embrace the voices of our employees, customers, partners, and the communities we serve.

• Location: Remote or hybrid in the Washington, D.C. area
• Department: Corporate Communications
• Reports To: VP, Public Policy
• Employment Status: Full-time

About the Role:

The Senior Public Policy Associate will support Pathward’s Public Policy function on issues affecting the banking, payments, financial technology, small business lending, and rural development finance sectors.

Pathward operates at the intersection of banking, payments, and financial technology, and is also a leading U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) Rural Development lender and participant in Small Business Administration (SBA) programs supporting small business and rural financing. The Public Policy function engages on issues including financial services regulation, payments policy, bank-fintech partnerships, digital assets, small business finance, rural development, and related federal and state legislative and regulatory matters.

This role is designed for someone who is interested in advancing a career in financial services public policy and is willing to pair substantive policy work with the operational discipline required to support an effective advocacy function. The successful candidate will help monitor legislative and regulatory developments, prepare internal briefing materials, support stakeholder engagement, assist with PAC-related activities, maintain lobbying and policy tracking, coordinate with consultants, and help manage other recurring processes that allow the Public Policy function to operate effectively.

This is a remote position for candidates based in the Washington, DC area, as the role may include occasional in-person engagement, including congressional meetings, trade association meetings, fundraisers, industry events, briefings, and other stakeholder engagement, as well as periodic travel to support state-level policy and advocacy activities.

What You Will Do:

Monitor, analyze, and summarize federal and state legislative and regulatory activity relevant to Pathward, including banking, payments, fintech, digital assets, bank-fintech partnerships, small business finance, rural development finance, and other issues affecting Pathward’s businesses.

Help develop and support Pathward’s state public policy capabilities, including tracking priority state legislative and regulatory developments, identifying emerging risks and opportunities across key jurisdictions, coordinating with state trade associations and external consultants, and supporting state-level advocacy and engagement as appropriate.

Draft internal memoranda, issue summaries, briefing materials, talking points, leave-behinds, and other written materials that help inform Public Policy strategy, stakeholder engagement, and senior leadership decision-making.

Support and contribute to policy strategy discussions, including identifying risks, opportunities, stakeholder dynamics, advocacy options, and potential business implications for Pathward.

Support and participate, as appropriate, in federal and state government, regulatory, trade association, coalition, PAC, and industry engagement, including meeting preparation, background research, agendas, follow-up notes, and related tracking.

Help administer Pathward’s PAC, including tracking PAC activity and participation, preparing materials, supporting solicitations and events, maintaining records, coordinating with external vendors on filings and compliance-related processes, and supporting execution across Public Policy priorities.

Maintain systems and processes for tracking policy priorities, stakeholder engagement, lobbying activity, regulatory developments, consultant deliverables, invoices, expenses, reporting obligations, and follow-up items.

Coordinate with internal partners and external consultants to support issue advocacy, internal reporting, stakeholder engagement, and execution across Public Policy priorities.

What You Will Need:

Typically, 5+ years of relevant experience in public policy, government affairs, legislative affairs, financial services, trade association work, advocacy, consulting, campaigns, legal, regulatory, or a related field, with a bachelor's degree or equivalent education and experience.

Strong interest in federal and state financial services policy, including banking, payments, fintech, digital assets, bank-fintech partnerships, consumer finance, small business finance, rural development, or related issues.

Strong writing, research, analytical, and organizational skills, including the ability to explain complex policy issues clearly and manage tracking systems, deadlines, records, follow-up items, and recurring processes.

Professional maturity, discretion, and sound judgment when working on sensitive policy, political, PAC, lobbying, legal, compliance, or business matters.

Experience on Capitol Hill, with a federal or state regulator or government entity, at a trade association, in a government affairs or lobbying firm, in financial services, or in nonprofit advocacy preferred.

Washington, DC area presence required.

Compensation:

This is a full-time position. The expected salary range for this role is $90,000–$120,000, depending on experience and internal guidelines.

The responsibilities listed above are not all inclusive and may be changed at any time.

• The salary range reflects the minimum and maximum target for a new hire in this role. Individual pay within the range will be determined by multiple factors which can include but are not limited to a candidate’s experience, qualifications, skills, and location. Your recruiter can share more about the specific salary for your location during the hiring process. Ranges may be modified in the future.
• This role is also eligible for an annual performance-based incentive opportunity. Pathward offers a comprehensive benefits package for eligible employees, including health insurance, 401(k) retirement benefits, life insurance, disability benefits, paid time off, and more.

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Don’t have everything listed under qualifications? If you’re excited about this role but your experiences don’t match exactly to everything in the posting, we encourage you to apply anyway. You may be just the right candidate for this or other Pathward roles. Pathward is an equal employment opportunity employer and considers candidates for roles without regard to their race, sex, national origin, ethnicity, age, disability or any other category protected by law.

Who we are:

Our commitment to inclusion is woven into our DNA. We believe that we are strongest when we embrace the voices of our employees, customers, partners, and the communities we serve.

We provide equal employment opportunities (EEO) to all employees and applicants for employment without regard to race, color, ethnicity, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, transgender status, pregnancy, national origin, age (age 40 and over), disability, genetic information, marital status, hair textu