External Affairs Manager

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

• 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.