Director, Public Affairs & Tech Innovation

Hanson Search Ltd; Paris; Hybrid; EUR 110,000 - 170,000; Full time

Job summary

Hanson Search is seeking a Director of Public Affairs for its Paris office. This entrepreneurial, founding role will build the agency's public affairs offering from a blank page, leveraging Tech expertise and client portfolio to create a differentiated proposition.

Reporting to Executive Management, you will lead across teams in France and internationally. Your goal is to turn public affairs into a recognised service line for the agency.

Qualifications

• Proven experience in public affairs or institutional relations.
• Ability to build an offering and grow a portfolio.
• Strong network and advisory skills in a European context.

Responsibilities

• Defining the positioning and offering catalogue for a new Public Affairs practice.
• Build packaged offerings spanning regulatory monitoring and advocacy.
• Lead business development, tenders and bespoke proposals.
• Provide senior strategic counsel to client leadership on regulatory issues.
• Oversee delivery quality and stakeholder relationships across mandates.
• Grow the agency's profile through thought leadership, publications and events.

Skills

Public affairs leadership

French & English fluency

Entrepreneurial mindset

Strategic counsel

Job description

Director of Public Affairs, Tech & Innovation Opportunity

Our client is an international communications agency dedicated to technology and innovation. For twenty five years, they have built campaigns that drive growth, shape reputations and create momentum across every channel, from paid and earned to owned.

They do not just talk about AI, they build with it. Proprietary AI tools now sit at the heart of how the agency works, freeing teams from friction and delivering faster results suited to today’s challenges.

Their international network lets them take on ambitious, large scale mandates, while their locally sized offices let them move fast and stay entrepreneurial. They believe great agencies are built on great people: people with real expertise, a clear point of view and the ambition to grow. Their French office currently counts 22 people.

The Role: Director of Public Affairs

We are looking for a Director of Public Affairs. This is an entrepreneurial, founding role: you will build the agency’s public affairs offering from a blank page, drawing on its existing strengths (Tech expertise, client portfolio, PR and digital know-how) to create a genuinely differentiated proposition.

Reporting directly to the agency’s Executive Management, you will work across teams in France and internationally. Your goal is to turn public affairs into a new, recognised service line for the agency.

Key Responsibilities of the Director of Public Affairs

• Defining the positioning, value proposition and offer catalogue for a new Public Affairs practice, aligned with the agency’s Tech DNA
• Building packaged offerings spanning regulatory monitoring, institutional influence strategy, relations with French and European public authorities, advocacy and regulatory support on AI, data and digital platforms
• Mapping the agency’s existing client base and embedding public affairs into ongoing recommendations and contract renewals
• Leading prospecting and new business development for the practice, including tenders and bespoke commercial proposals
• Providing senior strategic counsel to client leadership on institutional and regulatory issues
• Overseeing delivery quality, stakeholder relationships and case management across public affairs mandates
• Building the agency’s profile in this space through thought leadership, publications and events, while maintaining a strong institutional network

What You’ll Bring as the Director of Public Affairs

• Proven experience in public affairs or institutional relations, gained in consultancy, agency, an institution, a company or a ministerial cabinet
• A strong grasp of French and European decision making processes
• Sensitivity to Tech regulatory issues across digital, data, AI and platforms
• A commercial and entrepreneurial mindset, with the ability to build an offering, sell it and grow a portfolio
• Excellent relationship building, advisory and representation skills, with an established institutional network a strong advantage
• Fluent French and English, with ease in a European environment considered a plus

Apply for this Director of Public Affairs Role

To find out more or apply, please get in touch with a copy of your CV below.

Hanson Search Groupis a global talent consultancy providingexecutive search,recruitmentandleadership advisory services. Built on more than twenty years of trusted relationships, we operate as a connected global platform of specialist practices with expert consultants embedded in key markets. Explore more about our public affairs practice here.

We are committed toequality ofopportunity for all. You can access our Diversity and Inclusion Policyhere.