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Government Relations Executive - South, Great Plains, Mountain West
Join Cartwheel to help tackle the student mental health crisis.
Kids spend most of their days in the classroom. And teachers and staff, who play a vital role in their development, are often the first to notice when something is off. But with 1 in 5 young people struggling with mental health, schools are getting crushed by a downward spiral in student crises and staff burnout.
With large increases in state and federal funding for healthcare innovation, schools are reimagining what mental health support can look like for their students, staff, and families.
Cartwheel is an early-stage startup building technology-enabled mental health services that put schools at the center. We see our role as supporting both families and the on-campus school staff who see kids every day. This means:
- Earlier intervention
- Higher student and family engagement in care
- Better coordination among the trusted adults in a student’s life
Kids shouldn't just aspire to get out of bed and drag themselves to class. They should be able to experience joy. They deserve to envision and build a life they’re excited to live. If you join Cartwheel, you’ll help make this vision a reality for millions of students across the country. We’re backed by top investors including Menlo Ventures, General Catalyst, Reach Capital, and A Street Ventures, and we're looking for mission-driven teammates to join our team.
LOCATION: Remote (US) with ability to travel 2x a month including weekly during peak seasons (e.g., legislative session).
TERRITORY: Preference for South, Great Plains, or Mountain West homebase.
COMPENSATION: $150,000–$185,000 base + variable compensation
START DATE: May 2026
ABOUT THE ROLE
In 3 years, Cartwheel has grown to serve more than 325 school systems in 16 states, making us the nation’s largest mental health provider that collaborates with schools. As state and federal leaders invest billions of dollars in youth mental health, we are supplementing our district-level sales motion with statewide partnerships with Governors’ offices, state legislators, education departments, and health agencies. As a Government Relations Executive, you’ll own a portfolio of 5-10 states and manage new sales, expansions, and renewals of government business in those states, helping Cartwheel serve hundreds of thousands more students and families.
WHAT YOU’LL DO
Own the strategy and execution for 5-10 states
- Develop and execute winning government affairs strategies for each state in your portfolio, including annual goals, stakeholder maps, state-specific messaging, milestones, and critical path
- Execute on two primary state-level strategies: (1) securing state funding and legislative appropriations that schools can use to procure Cartwheel, and (2) securing direct statewide contracts that make Cartwheel the mental health provider available to districts at no cost
- Example of #1 is Georgia HB68 school mental health grant funding that gives $20,000 to each middle and high school to contract for mental health services
- Example of #2 is our partnership in Arizona with the AZ Department of Education to serve all rural school districts and charter schools
- Track funding and legislative opportunities, RFPs, and policy discussions to ensure Cartwheel is a step ahead of important developments in your territory
Build and steward relationships with state leaders
- Cultivate trust-based relationships with governors' offices, state legislators, state education agencies (SEAs), state health agencies, and key statewide organizations such as superintendents associations
- Tailor messaging to each state's political context and priorities, continuously refining based on feedback from the field
- Manage external lobbyists in your states — setting clear objectives, messaging, action plans, and accountability measures
- Proactively share Cartwheel's outcomes data and learnings from peer states to advance stakeholders' top goals
Drive operational rigor and collaboration
- Maintain detailed pipeline tracking, stakeholder mapping, and opportunity management in Salesforce
- Report regularly to the Head of Government Affairs on state pipeline, contract status, and revenue forecast
- Collaborate with Sales, Marketing, Product, and Customer Success teams to ensure Cartwheel delivers the outcomes required to renew and expand statewide contracts year-over-year
- Share learnings with teammates to continuously sharpen our shared government affairs playbook
WHO YOU ARE
- 7+ years of experience in government affairs, government relations, state policy, or public affairs — with a demonstrated track record securing statewide contracts or legislative appropriations worth $1M–$3M+ annually
- Deep experience working with state education agencies (SEAs), state health agencies, or Medicaid programs
- Exceptional relationship-building skills with a range of government stakeholders — elected officials, agency administrators, legislative staff, and advocacy organizations
- Proven ability to manage a complex, multi-state portfolio with long sales cycles (12–24+ months)
- Track record directing external lobbyists, including strategy oversight, execution management, and performance accountability
- Clear, concise written and verbal communicator — able to distill complex policy and funding landscapes into compelling narratives for state leaders
- Proficiency with pipeline management tools (Salesforce) and Excel/PowerPoint
- Excited to build a government affairs function from the ground up in a high-growth startup environment
- Passionate about expanding access to school-based mental health services for students and families
- Preference for candidates with experience in one or more of the following states: AL, AR, AZ, GA, ID, KS, LA, MO, MS, MT, ND, NE, OK, SC, WV
WHY YOU’LL LOVE CARTWHEEL
Our hope is that Cartwheel will be your best career decision! In addition to tackling one of the biggest challenges of our time, at a company well-positioned to do so, you’ll have:
- Mission-oriented and inclusive colleagues who will go to bat for you
- Competitive compensation and benefits
- Meaningful equity ownership stake in Cartwheel
- Generous PPO medical, vision, and dental coverage
- Unlimited/flexible PTO plus federal holidays
- Paid parental leave
- 401K with employer match
Cartwheel is proud to be an equal opportunity employer. We embrace diverse backgrounds and perspectives and an inclusive work environment. We're committed to equal employment opportunity regardless of race, color, religion, ancestry, national origin, gender, sexual orientation, disability status, or veteran status.
We participate in E-Verify. Please be prepared to provide acceptable documentation to verify your identity and work authorization
Note: Please do not contact our Care, Provider, or Patient Services lines regarding job postings or application status. These teams support our patients and families and are not involved in the hiring process. For all recruitment-related questions, please email talent@cartwheelcare.org.
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