External Affairs Manager

VMA Group; Greater London; Hybrid; GBP 70,000 - 90,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Hybrid working

Job summary

VMA Group is seeking an experienced External Affairs Manager in London to drive stakeholder engagement and government relations amid a culture shift and hybrid working model. You’ll support strategic engagement with industry, government and partners, build strong relationships, and lead a team of External Affairs Advisors.

You will also prepare senior leaders with briefing materials and briefs for meetings, events and speaking engagements, while monitoring trends and risks to inform advocacy

Qualifications

• Experience in external affairs, stakeholder engagement, public affairs or government relations.
• Proven ability to develop and deliver stakeholder engagement strategies and plans.
• Experience influencing senior stakeholders.
• Experience leading teams or projects.
• Strong networking and relationship-building skills.
• Excellent written and verbal communication abilities.
• Ability to advise, influence and challenge senior leaders when needed.
• Strong organisational skills with the ability to manage competing priorities.

Responsibilities

• Support the External Affairs Lead in delivering stakeholder engagement and relationship management strategies.
• Build and maintain relationships with stakeholders across industry, government and external partners at regional and national levels.
• Lead implementation, review and improvement of stakeholder engagement plans.
• Line manage External Affairs Advisors and guide on complex issues.
• Act as escalation point for stakeholder and government affairs matters.
• Deputise for the External Affairs Lead when required.
• Produce briefing papers, presentations, reports and correspondence for senior leaders.
• Prepare executives for meetings, events and speaking engagements.
• Monitor stakeholder activity and identify risks, opportunities and trends.
• Develop advocacy and collaborative partnerships aligned to organisational objectives.
• Participate in a 24/7 on-call rota for incidents and sensitive enquiries outside normal hours.

Skills

Stakeholder engagement

Public affairs

Government relations

Leadership

Relationship-building

Communication

Job description

A public facing organisation is looking for an experienced external affairs and stakeholder engagement professional to join their team during a period of change for the organisation and a need to engage around its culture shift and more modern approach.

Hybrid Working is 1-2 days a week on site in central London with occasional travel to other offices.

As External Affairs Manager, you will:

• Support the External Affairs Lead in delivering effective stakeholder engagement and relationship management strategies.
• Build and maintain strong relationships with key stakeholders across industry, government and external partner organisations - on a regional and national level
• Lead the implementation, review and continuous improvement of stakeholder engagement plans.
• Line manage External Affairs Advisors and provide guidance on complex stakeholder issues.
• Act as an escalation point for stakeholder and government affairs matters.
• Deputise for the External Affairs Lead when required.
• Produce high-quality briefing papers, presentations, reports and correspondence for senior leaders.
• Prepare executives for meetings, events and speaking engagements.
• Monitor stakeholder activity and identify emerging risks, opportunities and trends.
• Support the development of advocacy and collaborative partnerships that contribute to organisational objectives.
• Participate in a 24/7 on-call rota, providing advice and support during incidents and managing sensitive enquiries outside normal working hours.

About You

To be successful in this role, you will demonstrate:

• Experience in external affairs, stakeholder engagement, public affairs, government relations or a related discipline.
• A proven track record of developing and delivering stakeholder engagement strategies and plans.
• Experience working with and influencing senior stakeholders.
• Experience managing, mentoring or leading colleagues and projects.
• Strong relationship-building and networking skills.
• Excellent written and verbal communication abilities.
• The confidence to advise, influence and appropriately challenge senior leaders.
• Strong organisational skills and the ability to manage competing priorities and deadlines.
• Sound judgement and the ability to make decisions independently, particularly during time-critical situations.
• A collaborative approach and the ability to thrive in a fast-moving environment.

Experience within transport, infrastructure, the public sector, regulatory environments or political affairs would be advantageous but is not essential.

This is a public facing organisation and candidates need to complete a vetting process which includes being a UK citizen and having lived in UK for over five years without significant gaps.