Head of Public Affairs

Airalo; United States; Remote; USD 190,000 - 260,000; Full time

Job summary

Airalo, a fully remote, global tech company, seeks a Senior Head of Public Affairs to build Airalo's external relations with regulators, policymakers, and industry bodies.

You will advise senior leadership, shape policy across multiple jurisdictions, and ensure market-access risks are identified early while representing a credible global brand.

Qualifications

• 8+ years in public affairs, government relations, policy, or regulatory affairs.
• Experience in telecoms or digital economy policy is highly valued.
• Ability to operate autonomously as a first hire with little day-one structure.

Responsibilities

• Design and lead Airalo's global public affairs strategy aligned to growth goals.
• Lead external engagement with regulators, ministries, and industry bodies.
• Monitor policy developments across regions and shape Airalo's positions.
• Build relationships with industry associations and represent Airalo publicly.
• Collaborate with Legal, Compliance, Communications and Commercial teams.

Skills

Public affairs

Regulatory affairs

Policy analysis

Stakeholder engagement

Regulatory strategy

Government relations

Communication skills

Job description

Help Us Build The Future of Travel

At Airalo, we're making it easier for people to stay connected wherever they travel. As the world's first eSIM store, we help millions of travelers access affordable mobile data in 200+ countries and regions around the world.

Today, we're a team of 400+ people across 60+ countries, building a product used by travelers every day. We've grown quickly, but we've worked hard to keep what matters: trust, ownership, and the freedom for people to do great work without unnecessary layers or bureaucracy.

We're fully remote by design, genuinely global, and united by a shared mission to make travel simpler for everyone.

Your Next Destination

• Location: Remote, anywhere in Spain, the UK, or the UAE.
• Contract:
  • Spain: Full-time, permanent contrato indefinido via Deel (our employer of record in Spain)
  • UK: Full-time, permanent (local contract)
  • UAE: Full-time, permanent via Deel (our employer of record in the UAE)
• Benefits: Learn more about our benefits here in this link - https://airalo-public.notion.site/Benefits-25396a97ffca81fb9bc1f0be479f1be3?pvs=74
• Languages: English is our main working language day to day, so you'll need to be comfortable communicating in it both in meetings and async.

Curious what it's actually like to work at Airalo? We've put together a guide for each of the hubs we hire from most, covering our benefits, remote culture, employment setup, and what our team values most:

• Life at Airalo · España : https://airalo-public.notion.site/life-at-airalo-espana
• Life at Airalo · United Kingdom : https://airalo-public.notion.site/life-at-airalo-united-kingdom
• Life at Airalo · United Arab Emirates : https://airalo-public.notion.site/life-at-airalo-united-arab-emirates

You will build Airalo's public affairs function from scratch and oversee our external relationship with the world's regulators, policymakers, and industry bodies. This isn't a communications role with a government relations side — it's a substantive policy and advocacy role for someone who understands how to shape the environment a fast-growing tech company operates in.

You will advise senior leadership and represent Airalo in regulatory processes across multiple jurisdictions simultaneously, and ensure that market-access risks are identified early and addressed proactively. The role requires a sharp political instinct, genuine interest in the telecoms and digital economy regulatory space, and the credibility to represent a global brand.

What You'll Do:

Strategy & Leadership

• Design and lead Airalo's global public affairs strategy, aligned to business priorities and market-expansion plans.
• Build the public affairs function — establish processes, select external advisors and lobbying firms by market, and, in time, grow a team around you.
• Develop a forward-looking policy horizon scanner to anticipate regulatory change before it becomes a fire to fight.

Government Relations & Advocacy

• Lead direct engagement with government ministries, telecom regulators (TRAIs, Anatel, OFCOM equivalents, etc.), and consumer protection bodies across priority markets.
• Represent Airalo in regulatory consultations, public hearings, parliamentary or congressional inquiries, and trade body working groups.
• Build a trusted network of policymakers, civil servants, and industry peers who see Airalo as a credible and constructive actor in the sector.
• Contribute to to regulatory enforcement actions — working closely with Legal.

Policy & Regulatory Intelligence

• Monitor and analyse, policy and regulatory developments across APAC, EMEA, LATAM, and North America.
• Develop and maintain Airalo's policy positions on key issues: eSIM licensing, data privacy, consumer protection, digital markets regulation, and cross-border telecoms.

Industry & Stakeholder Engagement

• Build and manage Airalo's relationships with industry associations (GSMA, MVNO associations, digital economy coalitions) and shape our participation in their policy workstreams.
• Represent Airalo at industry events, conferences, and forums as a senior external voice.

Cross-functional Collaboration

• Partner with Legal, Compliance, Communications, and Commercial teams to ensure policy work is integrated into broader business decision-making.
• Working with legal, support market-entry workstreams by providing regulatory assessments for new geographies.
• Align external messaging with Internal Communications and PR to ensure consistent positioning.

What You'll Bring:

• 8+ years in public affairs, government relations, policy, or regulatory affairs — in-house at a tech or telecoms company, or in a public affairs consultancy serving this sector.
• Demonstrable track record of influencing regulatory outcomes and managing multi-jurisdictional government relations programmes.
• Deep understanding of the telecoms, digital economy, or platform regulation landscape .
• Ability to operate autonomously as a first hire, building structure and process without a team underneath you from day one.
• Outstanding written and verbal communication skills .
• High political intelligence: you know how to frame Airalo's interests in a way that resonates with government stakeholders, not just internal audiences.
• Comfortable operating remotely across time zones in a fast-moving, commercially driven environment.

Preferred

• Experience managing external affairs agencies and consultants across multiple geographies.
• Prior experience building a public affairs function from the ground up.

£98,000 - £133,000 a year

At Airalo, we believe in roaming-free recruitment. Just as we provide clear connectivity for travelers, we provide clear salary ranges for our candidates.

UK: £98,000 to £133,000

Spain: €80,500 - €109,000

UAE: 459,000 AED - 621,000 AED

Your Home Destination: Specific salary ranges used in offers are determined by where you reside. We're committed to discussing these ranges openly during your first call with our Talent to ensure we're aligned for takeoff.

Why People Join Us

Why people join us in Spain

We started Airalo to make staying connected effortless, wherever you are in the world. Today, millions of travelers rely on our eSIMs, and many of the people building the product were customers first.

Our team is united by a shared belief that great work happens when people are trusted to own what they do. As Airalo continues to grow, so do the opportunities to learn, take on new challenges, and make a real impact.

For many of our teammates in Spain, it's the combination of stability, flexibility, and genuine work-life balance that makes Airalo feel like home.

Why people join us in the UK

We started Airalo to make staying connected effortless, wherever you are in the world. Today, millions of travelers rely on our eSIMs, and many of the people building the product first discovered us as customers.

Our team spans 60+ countries, but what people often notice quickly is how work actually feels here. There's trust to own what you do, space to focus without constant layers of process, and a clear sense of what you're responsible for from day one.

As Airalo continues to grow, people tend to stay for a mix of things: the chance to work on a product used globally, the autonomy to shape how they work, and the opportunity to keep taking on new challenges without getting stuck in one lane.

Why people join us in the UAE

We're a fully remote team across 60+ countries, built on a simple idea: trust people to own their work and deliver without unnecessary layers or heavy process getting in the way.

Many people joining us from the UAE are looking for clarity in scope and real ownership in their role. They want to know what they're responsible for, how success is measured, and have direct access to the people making decisions.

What often stands out is the combination of a global, product-led company with a flexible remote setup. For many, it's the opportunity to work on a product used by millions of travelers worldwide, alongside a team that moves quickly and values clear ownership and accountability.

Before You Hit Apply

By applying, you acknowledge and agree that, in case of successful application, Airalo may request to run background checks as a condition for entering into an agreement with you. Rest assured that these checks will only occur upon your prior consent and at the end of the selection process, and will be strictly limited to what is allowed under the laws that are applicable to you. All data that you share or that we collect in connection with such checks will be processed in accordance with our Privacy Policy,available here: www.airalo.com/more-info/privacy-policy?srsltid=AfmBOooBT0rXAj1FaNelZ3VfN0wvhwzvAoxdtHnOKSVETpiSjiXVuycy

We sincerely thank all applicants in advance for submitting their interest in this opportunity. Airalo is an equal-opportunity employer and values diversity, equity & inclusion. We do not discriminate on the basis of race, religion, national origin, gender, sexual orientation, age, marital status, veteran status, or disability status. We are committed to providing reasonable accommodations upon request for individuals with disabilities throughout our job interview process.