Senior Manager, Public Affairs

Senior Manager, Public Affairs 

Location: Kansas City, Kansas

As Senior Manager, State and Local Public Affairs for Kansas, you will lead the execution of Digital Realty’s government and community relations strategy in the state. Working closely with external consultants and internal stakeholders, you will support efforts to advance critical development projects and strengthen Digital Realty’s position as a trusted community partner.

You will manage day-to-day engagement with local, county, and state officials, as well as community organizations, business groups, and regional partners. This role is critical to advancing the company’s public policy priorities, supporting successful project delivery, and maintaining strong community relationships.

This position combines hands-on government affairs execution with community engagement and reputation management. You will help implement advocacy strategies that support data center development and infrastructure investment while ensuring alignment with local priorities and stakeholder expectations.

Working closely with internal partners across development, sustainability, energy, operations, communications, and legal, you will help ensure policy, community, and business objectives are aligned across Kansas.

What you will do

• Implement Digital Realty’s public affairs and community relations strategy across Kansas.
• Build and maintain strong relationships with local, city, and state government officials, regulatory agencies, and community stakeholders.
• Develop and execute advocacy and engagement strategies that support business objectives and long-term growth.
• Serve as the company’s representative in community meetings, and with industry and business organizations.
• Collaborate on land use, zoning, permitting, and development efforts, engaging with government and community leaders to facilitate project success.
• Partner with the communications team to manage media relations and strengthen Digital Realty’s brand and reputation to support project delivery.
• Manage local sponsorships and community partnerships, ensuring alignment with company values and regional priorities.
• Provide strategic insights into political and regulatory landscape changes.
• Work with industry associations on policies related to energy, tax, infrastructure, and technology.

 

What you will need

• Bachelor’s degree or equivalent practical experience.
• 7+ years of experience working within government, corporate public affairs or public policy organizations.
• Experience with or within state and local governments, particularly involving real estate, tax, economic development, data centers, information technology, critical infrastructure or energy policy.
• Knowledge of land acquisition, zoning laws, permitting, energy, electricity, utility policy and real estate development are a strong plus.
• Experience in campaign strategy or political communications, including stakeholder engagement and grassroots organizing.
• Experience in media relations, including proactive communications and issue management.

• Experience managing local sponsorships and community partnerships to support corporate reputation and engagement.

   

 

To learn more about Digital Realty, please visit digitalrealty.com or follow us on LinkedIn and Twitter.

 

A bit about us

Digital Realty brings companies and data together by delivering the full spectrum of data center, colocation and interconnection solutions. PlatformDIGITAL®, the company’s global data center platform, provides customers with a secure data meeting place and a proven Pervasive Datacenter Architecture (PDx®) solution methodology for powering innovation and efficiently managing Data Gravity challenges. Digital Realty gives its customers access to the connected data communities that matter to them with a global data center footprint of 300+ facilities in 50+ metros across 25+ countries on six continents.

 

Legal

Our Legal team works in a highly complex global business sector with a diverse range of local, regional and international organizations. From ensuring compliance in different jurisdictions to supporting business teams with customer and supplier contracts, we’re involved in a variety of projects. Working in a dynamic commercial environment, we collaborate with colleagues across different departments and always have a new challenge waiting for us.

 

What we can offer you

Our rapidly evolving business sector offers the opportunity to be part of a courageous and passionate team who work together to understand and meet the changing needs of our global customers. 

 

Join us and you’ll be part of a supportive and inclusive environment where you can bring your whole self to work. As part of our team, you’ll get to work with people from different business areas, challenge the way we do things and put your ideas into action. We’ll also give you plenty of development opportunities so you can build a rewarding and successful career with us. 

 

Health and Safety

Safety isn't just a priority here at Digital; it's critical to everything we do. Safeguarding lives, protecting assets, and securing data aren't just ideals - they're essential pillars of our commitment to excellence for our people, our partners and our customers. We have a culture of care where every member of Team Digital embraces a relentless pursuit of working safely across Digital Realty. Together we are Safely Powering Progress.

 

Our published pay ranges reflect the minimum and maximum target for new hire pay for the full-time position determined by role, level, and geographical location. Individual pay is based on additional factors including but not limited to job-related skills, experience, and relevant education and/or training. Moreover, an employee’s total compensation package varies by role and may include salary, cash bonus or commissions, and equity awards not quantified below.

 

Benefits: For this role, Benefits include medical, dental, vision, life and AD&D insurance, 401k match, disability benefits, wellness and education benefits, employee stock purchase plan, paid time off, holidays, and more. 

 

Apply today, take charge of your career and grow your talents with us.

The legal counsel will provide expert guidance on a wide range of corporate legal matters, ensuring that the organization’s operations comply with applicable laws and regulations. They will proactively identify and mitigate legal risks, advise on contractual negotiations, and represent the company in interactions with external parties, including regulators and vendors. The role involves collaborating closely with cross-functional teams to address complex legal challenges and drive process improvements that align with industry best practices. Additionally, the counsel will contribute to the development of internal policies, provide input into budgeting and planning, and may oversee or mentor legal staff. Their work will have a broad impact across the organization, supporting Digital Realty’s core values of customer focus, teamwork, and results-driven performance. - Juris Doctor (JD) degree from an accredited law school - Licensed to practice law in relevant jurisdiction - 7-10 years of experience in corporate legal practice, preferably in a technology or data-driven environment - Demonstrated expertise in risk management and regulatory compliance - Strong business acumen and analytical skills - Proven ability to manage and develop staff, if applicable