Public Affairs Lead - Europe

MDPI AG; Manchester; On-site; GBP 60,000 - 80,000; Full time

Job summary

A leading publishing company based in Manchester is seeking a Public Affairs Lead Europe. This role involves managing public affairs activities, implementing strategies across Europe, and engaging stakeholders. The ideal candidate will hold a Bachelor's degree and have 2-5 years of relevant experience in public affairs or communications. You should be fluent in English and possess strong communication skills. This position requires full on-site work at the Manchester office.

Benefits

Flexible working times

Paid time off for special occasions

Friendly working environment

Bonus incentives for high performance

Access to benefit platform with discounts

Private health membership with Bupa

Located near public transport in city centre

Cyclescheme benefits for bike purchases

Techscheme for tech purchases

Qualifications

• 2-5 years of professional experience in strategic communications or public affairs.
• Experience working with public affairs or communications agencies.
• Experience in or knowledge of publishing or academic sector.

Responsibilities

• Support and implement public affairs strategy across Europe.
• Manage public affairs activities and act as key internal contact.
• Coordinate with public affairs and PR/PA agencies for clear messaging.

Skills

Fluent English (C1 required)

Proficiency in Microsoft Office 365

Strong communication skills

Problem-solving mindset

Proactive working style

Education

Bachelor’s degree in a related field

Job description

Overview

The Role: To strengthen the External Affairs team, we are seeking a Public Affairs Lead Europe to support and implement MDPI’s public affairs strategy across the region. Acting as a regional lead, you will manage public affairs activities across assigned European countries and serve as a key contact for policy, institutional, and governmental engagement.
This role requires working fully on-site. Our office is located in Manchester city centre.

Responsibilities

• Regional Public Affairs & Strategy
• Support and implement MDPI’s public affairs strategy across Europe in alignment with External Affairs objectives.
• Manage public affairs activities across assigned countries and act as a key internal contact for policy-related topics.
• Contribute insights to strengthen MDPI’s positioning at a regional and European level.

• Stakeholder Engagement & Advocacy
• Support engagement with academic, governmental, and policy stakeholders across Europe.
• Coordinate meetings, consultations, initiatives, and participation in relevant events.
• Maintain stakeholder records and support long-term relationship management.

• Coordination, Policy Monitoring & Reporting
• Coordinate with public affairs and PR/PA agencies to ensure consistent messaging and effective delivery.
• Support team workflows, guidelines, and process improvements.
• Monitor relevant policy and regulatory developments and prepare briefings, intelligence updates, and advocacy materials.

Requirements

Education & Experience

• Bachelor’s degree in a related field.
• 2-5 years of professional experience in strategic communications, public affairs, policy, or related roles.
• Experience working with public affairs or communications agencies.
• Experience in or knowledge of publishing, research, or the academic sector.
• Experience supporting small teams, mentoring and leading collaborative initiatives.

Hard Skills & Languages

• English - fluent (C1 required); additional European languages are an asset.
• Ability to prepare clear and concise policy briefings, reports, and stakeholder materials.
• Familiarity with European policy environments and institutional landscapes.
• Proficiency in Microsoft Office 365.

Soft Skills & Competencies

• Proactive, reliable, and detail-oriented working style.
• Confidence in meetings and stakeholder interactions, internal and external.
• Strong communication and coordination skills.
• Problem-solving mindset with the ability to adapt to changing priorities.
• Team-oriented, resilient, and motivated to contribute to long-term objectives.

About MDPI

A pioneer in scholarly, open access publishing, MDPI has supported academic communities since 1996. Headquartered in Basel, Switzerland, MDPI has the mission to foster open scientific exchange in all forms, across all disciplines. We operate over 400 diverse, peer-reviewed, open-access journals supported by over 66,000 academic editors. We serve scholars from around the world to ensure the latest research is openly and broadly available. Besides our main publishing business, we develop and maintain digital platforms and software ranging from scientific exchange platforms to article databases and search engines, all focused on empowering scholars and giving them the best possible product and service. As of the end of 2022, we count more than 6700 colleagues in 17 offices across 11 countries.

Benefits

• Flexible Working Times
  You are able to start work anytime between 7-9am, and finish between 3pm-6pm.
• Special Days Off
  Getting married or moving house? No need to use up your holidays; MDPI offer paid time off for such occasions.
• Our Culture
  A friendly working environment with monthly lunch parties, office snacks and seasonal events.
• Bonus Incentives
  Depending on your role, you may be eligible for one of our bonus schemes which rewards high-performing employees.
• Perkbox
  Access to our benefit platform with discounts and benefits across retailers, including savings on food, drinks, tech, travel, and more.
• Health Cash Plan
  After passing probation, employees are enrolled into our private health membership with Bupa. You can claim money back on dental, doctors, and prescriptions amongst many other health services.
• Modern City Centre Office
  Located next to Piccadilly Gardens; 10-minute walk from Manchester Piccadilly and Manchester Oxford Road stations. Tram stops outside the building.
• Cyclescheme
  Save between 25-39% on a bike and accessories.
• Techscheme
  Save up to 10% on tax when purchasing tech equipment from places such as Ikea and Currys.

Diversity, Equality, and Inclusion

At MDPI, we believe in fostering an inclusive work environment that respects and values individual differences and prioritises growth through continued learning, support, and feedback. We are always seeking new initiatives to advance diversity and inclusion across all our offices to create a more equal workforce.

Initiatives

MDPI develops and maintains various platforms to better serve the scientific community, which you can find below: MDPI homepage: MDPI homepage: https://www.mdpi.com/ Sciprofiles: https://sciprofiles.com/ Sciforum: https://sciforum.net/ Scilit: https://www.scilit.net/ Preprints: https://www.preprints.org/ Encyclopedia: https://encyclopedia.pub/

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