[Hiring] Vice President, Government and Public Affairs @Havenpark Communities

Role Description

The VP, Government and Public Affairs leads Havenpark's day-to-day government relations and public affairs function, with primary responsibility for protecting and advancing the firm's interests across state and local policy environments and supporting the CEO and executive team on politically and reputationally sensitive events.

This is a state-and-local centric role. The overwhelming majority of policy risk to MHC operators originates at the state, county, and municipal level — rent control and vacancy control, zoning and entitlement, fair return petitions, state regulator activity, and state Attorney General inquiries. The role is entrepreneurial: the manufactured housing industry lacks a functional national trade group, and state associations vary widely in capability. The VP must build infrastructure and lead initiatives without assuming institutional cover.

This is a high-growth seat for an ambitious mid-career professional. The VP will own the function, work directly with the CEO and executive team, and have a clear path to expanded scope and seniority as Havenpark's platform scales.

Core Responsibilities

• State and Local Policy
  • Maintain a tiered, real-time view of policy and political risk across all jurisdictions in the firm's footprint, and re-evaluate on a defined cadence.
  • Build and manage a network of state and local lobbyists and public affairs counsel; run a disciplined process for hiring, scoping, evaluating, and replacing outside counsel.
  • Identify rent control, vacancy control, zoning, entitlement, and licensing threats early and lead the firm's defensive response, including testimony, coalition formation, and regulatory comment.
  • Lead offensive state work where appropriate, including state preemption of harmful local ordinances and modernization of outdated MHC statutes.
  • Develop relationships with key state legislators, governors' offices, and state housing agency staff in priority jurisdictions.
• State Trade Association Engagement
  • Maintain active engagement with state and regional MHC trade associations in priority jurisdictions, with a clear-eyed view of where each adds value and where Havenpark must lead independently.
  • Serve on committees or boards where the firm's participation can shape industry strategy or improve association effectiveness.
  • Use state associations as intelligence sources while maintaining independent channels; identify gaps and fill them through ad-hoc operator coalitions or direct firm engagement.
• Industry Coalition Building
  • Develop strategic alliances with adjacent housing and real estate trade associations to lend institutional credibility and broader constituency reach on issues of shared interest.
  • Build and maintain working relationships with peer MHC operators who can be assembled into ad-hoc coalitions on specific issues.
  • Lead coalition formation, including aligning peer interests, joint funding of outside counsel, and coordinating direct advocacy with public-facing communications.
  • Build Havenpark's reputation as a serious, constructive coalition partner peers want to work with.
• Public Affairs and Crisis Communications
  • Serve as a senior firm representative on policy and reputational matters across state, local, and trade press, in coordination with the CEO and Invariant.
  • Serve as the operational liaison between Havenpark operations and Invariant, the firm's public affairs partner. Translate operational realities into communications strategy and coordinate proactive PR campaigns end-to-end.
  • In conjunction with Invariant, drive proactive narrative work — resident stories, community improvement case studies, economic contribution to host jurisdictions — to shape the political backdrop in advance of legislative or regulatory fights.
  • In conjunction with Invariant and the CEO, support the firm's response to hostile press, activist campaigns, and adverse social media events with a calm, factual, disciplined posture that does not escalate.
• Regulatory and Enforcement Inquiries
  • Coordinate Havenpark's response to State Attorney General inquiries, state regulator investigations, and politically motivated congressional letters, working closely with the CEO and In-house Counsel.
  • Partner with the In-house Counsel and outside counsel on legal response while managing the political, communications, and stakeholder dimensions of the matter.
  • Assess political context and motivation behind inquiries (constituent complaint, activist pressure, AG election positioning) and develop response recommendations that address both legal and political dimensions.
  • Manage proactive and reactive press strategy with Invariant; prepare materials and briefings for the CEO and senior leadership.
  • Build and maintain an inquiry response playbook the firm can execute quickly and consistently across jurisdictions.
• Federal Posture
  • Coordinate the firm's response to politically motivated federal inquiries and hostile Member or Committee letters, working closely with Havenpark's retained federal lobbyist.
  • Support the federal lobbyist on episodic federal matters; maintain working awareness sufficient to brief firm leadership without duplicating the lobbyist's role.
• Institutional Capital Support
  • Prepare materials and briefings on the regulatory and policy environment affecting the asset class for use in fundraising and ongoing LP communications.
  • Support the capital formation team and CEO in addressing policy and reputational risk in LP diligence conversations.
  • Coordinate with the capital formation team to ensure the regulatory narrative within the firm's underwriting story is accurate, current, and credible.
• Internal Advisory
  • Brief the CEO and executive leadership on legislative, regulatory, political, and reputational developments on a regular cadence.
  • Embed policy and political risk considerations into acquisition diligence, market entry decisions, and underwriting assumptions.

Qualifications

• 8-12 years of government affairs and/or public affairs experience, ideally including time at a regulated financial services, real estate, or housing-related firm, or at a public affairs firm serving such clients.
• Direct experience working on state and local policy matters across multiple jurisdictions, including hands-on work with outside lobbyists and public affairs counsel.
• Demonstrated ability to build coalitions and advance policy objectives, with or without trade association support.
• Experience supporting or leading communications responses to hostile press, activist campaigns, or politically charged regulatory matters.
• Working knowledge of the political and communications dimensions of regulatory inquiries (State AG, federal Member letters, state regulator investigations), and comfort coordinating with legal counsel on such matters.
• Strong written and verbal communication skills; ability to brief executives and produce institutional-quality work product.

Preferred Qualifications

• Background in housing, real estate, multifamily, or related asset classes.
• Existing relationships within state housing trade associations or among MHC peers.
• Experience inside a regulated financial services or insurance firm where institutional rigor, board reporting, and legal/compliance partnership were standard.
• Experience working with external public affairs firms as an embedded company-side counterpart.
• Advanced degree (MBA or JD).

Personal Attributes

• Builder, not maintainer. Comfortable operating without institutional scaffolding and excited to own a function.
• Hungry. Looking for a high-growth seat with real ownership, not a maintenance role.
• Calm under fire. Absorbs politically motivated attacks without taking the bait, escalating, or losing the long view.
• Respects confidentiality. Knows when to engage publicly, when to work quietly, and when to listen.
• Operationally curious. Willing to spend time at communities and inside the business to develop substantive grounding.
• Aligned with Havenpark's values and long-term, owner-operator orientation. Not a transactional hire.

Benefits

• Competitive salary
• Comprehensive health benefits
• Generous PTO
• Paid holidays
• 401(k) with a 6% company match
• Infinite opportunities to learn, develop, and sharpen skills