Head of External Affairs

Vaulted Deep

Location: San Francisco, CA, Houston, TX, or remote

Salary range: $180k-$220k/year

About Vaulted

Vaulted Deep is a technology company that injects waste deep underground to remove carbon from the atmosphere while providing waste management solutions to support clean land, air and water. Vaulted is based in Houston, San Francisco, and Kansas.

With a growing team of 50 people across the country, Vaulted signed a $58.3 million offtake agreement with Frontier, and completed a $32 million Series A round in 2024. Vaulted's proprietary technology builds on decades of expertise to deliver safe, durable carbon and waste management solutions, now, at scale.

About the Role

As Head of External Affairs, this role serves as Vaulted’s chief architect of external engagement—integrating government affairs, policy, community engagement, and strategic communications to drive a cohesive and influential public presence to further Vaulted’s mission. By aligning regulatory advocacy and government affairs with compelling communications, this position not only protects our ability to operate but also shapes emerging sustainability policies and cements Vaulted as the premier partner for waste suppliers, corporations, and regulators seeking scalable carbon removal and waste management solutions. Responsibilities include (but are not limited to):

• Government Affairs: lead, manage, and execute Vaulted’s policy and government relations work. Manage external lobbying firms, regularly interfacing and building relationships with policymakers across federal, state, and county levels to manage critical projects, initiatives, and policy communications.
• Community Engagement: partner closely with our Community Engagement Lead to ensure that (current and future) site projects, developments, and stakeholder relations align with Vaulted’s government affairs, communications and marketing strategy. Support the high-level strategic development of Vaulted’s community engagement function.
• External Communications: help to build and align Vaulted’s external strategic communications function with its government affairs and community engagement strategy. Partner closely with our communications team and PR firm to position Vaulted as a critical partner in the waste management and CDR space.
• Cross Functional Partnership: Work closely across every department of the organization to understand the company’s growth and impact strategy, using these insights to guide internal communications, government relations, and regulatory initiatives.
• Team Leadership: Lead a team comprised of expertise across communications, community engagement, and government affairs. Anticipate and plan for future team growth and the development of new capabilities.

What You Will Bring

To succeed in this role, and to help Vaulted to succeed in our mission, the Head of External Affairs must possess strong internal and external communication skills, government affairs knowledge, and experience collaborating across multiple stakeholders to strengthen Vaulted’s presence in the durable carbon and waste management industries. They must also thrive in a fast-paced startup environment with a growing team of ever-changing needs. In addition, we seek a candidate with:

• >10+ years of government relations and/or public policy experience. Extensive experience working with policymakers and/or lobbying firms.
• Experience working with complex media narratives and communications strategies, as well as familiarity working directly with media and PR agencies.
• Experience building and expanding community engagement within an organization and partnering directly with community stakeholders.
• Background in environmental, climate, clean energy, science, or clean tech from the policy, communications, and/or community engagement perspective.
• Building and maintaining a broad network of government officials across industries, including carbon removal and waste management, plus local, state, and federal governments.
• Strong writing / storytelling abilities to craft messaging that reaches core audiences. Experience articulating complex information concisely for general audiences while owning audience-specific strategic messaging.
• Experience building, managing, and leading a team.
• A thirst for information, especially in sustainability, CDR, waste management, pollution, and other Vaulted-associated news.
• Strong internal collaboration, communication and analytical skills, with the ability to effectively influence and communicate cross-functionally. This role requires regular (and frequent) collaboration across the leadership team and company.
• High level of adaptability, accountability and comfort rolling up sleeves to lead, build key infrastructure, and complete fast-paced projects.
• Passion for and commitment to sustainability and the work of climate change mitigation.

Vaulted offers a hybrid workplace. This role is targeting work at our office in San Francisco, CA or Houston, TX. Open to remote candidates. We aim to be in the office 2-3 days per week.