Senior Associate, Public Affairs

teneo; Sydney; On-site; AUD 120,000 - 160,000; Full time

Job summary

Teneo in Sydney seeks a Senior Associate with a strong background in corporate and public affairs to advise clients on policy, regulatory engagement and stakeholder strategy.

Based in Sydney, you will deliver high-quality work, anticipate client needs, mentor junior team members, and contribute to business development while collaborating across a high-performance team.

You will navigate Australia's political and regulatory environment with sound judgement and clear communication.

Qualifications

• 4–6 years of relevant public affairs or policy advisory experience.
• Strong understanding of Australia's policy, regulatory, and stakeholder landscape.
• Excellent English communication; strategic insight on implications and risks.
• Bachelor’s degree in a related field; postgraduate qualification is an advantage.

Responsibilities

• Public affairs and policy advisory: conduct research, prepare policy papers and POVs; respond to developments affecting clients.
• Stakeholder, issues strategy and execution: develop engagement strategies with government, regulators and industry bodies.
• Narrative: develop messaging, briefing materials and talking points; align with broader reputation work.
• Business development: identify new opportunities; contribute proposals and client meetings.
• Client and team leadership: mentor consultants and associates; ensure high-quality delivery.

Skills

Public affairs

Policy advisory

Stakeholder engagement

Client service

Education

Bachelor's degree in public policy

Bachelor's degree in political science

Related discipline postgraduate

Tools

Microsoft Office

PowerPoint

Excel

Job description

Senior Associate, Public Affairs - Sydney, Australia

The Opportunity

As Teneo continues to grow its presence in Australia, we are seeking a Senior Associate with a strong background in corporate and public affairs to join our Strategy and Communications team, based in Sydney.

This role focuses on advising clients on public affairs, policy, regulatory engagement, and stakeholder strategy, particularly where business objectives intersect with government policy, regulatory change, and broader geopolitical dynamics. Australia has a highly visible, fast‑moving environment, requiring strong judgement, political and regulatory literacy, and the ability to advise senior leaders through complex and sensitive situations.

A Senior Associate at Teneo is responsible for delivering consistently high‑quality client work and plays a pivotal role in managing day‑to‑day account activity. You will be expected to anticipate client needs, identify emerging risks and opportunities, and ensure that work is delivered to agreed standards and timelines. You will also contribute to the development of junior team members through on‑the‑job coaching and active participation in a collaborative, high‑performance team environment.

Responsibilities

Public affairs and policy advisory

• Conduct research and analysis to understand market, geopolitical and/ or business trends. Prepare policy papers, policy response statements, and points‑of‑view on the relevant policies.
• Support clients in anticipating and responding to political, regulatory, and stakeholder developments that may impact business operations or reputation.
• Contribute to stakeholder mapping, policy analysis, and engagement strategies aligned to client objectives.

Stakeholder, issues strategy and execution

• Support the development of integrated stakeholder engagement strategies across government, regulators, industry bodies, and other relevant audiences.
• Support the development of public affairs strategies, including research, policy analysis, and scenario planning.
• Develop a network of relevant external stakeholders across government, industry, media, and industry/trade associations. This includes supporting client leads on engagement with state and federal government, both at political and bureaucratic levels, to drive the growth of Teneo's government relations function in Australia.

Narrative

• Support development of narratives and messaging that support public affairs objectives, including briefing materials, position papers, executive talking points, and thought leadership.
• Work with communications specialists to ensure alignment between public affairs strategy and broader reputation management efforts.

Business development

• Support leadership in identifying and developing new public affairs opportunities.
• Contribute to proposals, pitch materials, and client meetings.

Client and team leadership

• Support workstreams and deliverables across public affairs‑led accounts, ensuring high‑quality execution and timely delivery.
• Mentor and support Consultants and Associates contributing to their development in public affairs advisory work.

In addition, you will be expected to:

• Work as a core member of integrated client teams, supporting public affairs and policy advisory engagements across Australia and the region.
• Help ensure consistently high standards of delivery by supporting project coordination, research, and quality assurance.
• Contribute ideas and analysis that inform client strategies, drawing on policy, regulatory, and stakeholder insights.
• Engage actively with the wider Teneo team to build skills, share knowledge, and support the firm's public affairs work across Asia Pacific.

Requirements

• 4 - 6 years of relevant experience in public affairs, policy advisory, corporate affairs, or related roles ideally within a consultancy or professional services environment.
• Strong understanding of Australia's political, regulatory, and stakeholder environment, with awareness of regional and global dynamics.
• Have a strong interest in business, public policy, geopolitics, macroeconomic/finance events and a desire to work across the breadth of Teneo's Strategy and Communications service offering.
• Strong ability to grasp clients' business objectives and provide strategic insight on the implications, risks and opportunities arising from key developments.
• Possessing excellent verbal and written skills in English.
• Advanced Microsoft Office skills, including proficiency in PowerPoint and Excel.
• Possessing a strategic and entrepreneurial spirit, can‑do attitude and being a team player is essential.
• Bachelor's degree in public policy, political science, international relations, law, economics, communications, or a related discipline; a postgraduate qualification is an advantage.

About Teneo

Teneo is the global CEO advisory firm. We partner with our clients globa