Managing Director Public Affairs Council

Brussels, Belgium

The Organization

The Public Affairs Council is the worldwide association for public affairs professionals. Its mission is to advance the field of public affairs and to provide members with the training and information they need to achieve success while maintaining the highest ethical standards.

Formed in 1954 as a forum to connect business and government, the association has since become a global, full-service professional society. We provide the public affairs community with unique information, training, thought leadership and other resources to support effective participation in government, community and public relations activities at all levels.

Through the Council, more than 600 member companies and associations – translating to around 7,500 individuals - across the globe work together to enhance the value and professionalism of the public affairs practice, and to provide thoughtful leadership as corporate citizens.

We view the field of public affairs globally, but understand that application must account for local culture, government, history and community. We also view the profession broadly and define public affairs to include government relations, corporate social responsibility, issues management, public policy, grassroots advocacy, communications, public relations and stakeholder engagement. The Public Affairs Council does not lobby and does not take a stance on policy issues. Instead, we focus on providing counsel and best practices to the community in order to raise the profile and professionalism of the function.

The Public Affairs Council is seeking a head of office for its new Brussels-based location who will be responsible for building the office and managing its day-to-day activities and operations. This position is a senior-level, forward-facing role that involves decision making across all aspects of the organization's management.

Ideal candidates will have:

• A minimum of 15 years of experience in European public affairs, government relations and other stakeholder engagement roles;
• A strong understanding of the Brussels-based institutions, and work in other European markets;
• A reputation for success in their field and a strong work ethic;
• Natural community builder and collaborator;
• Exemplary communication skills including writing, public speaking and facilitation;
• Ability to work effectively and build relationships with senior-level professionals including C-suite executives, government officials, diplomats and other thought leaders;
• This position will find the most success if the candidate has an entrepreneurial spirit and enjoys building programs, services and resources from the ground up;
• A strategic view of the organization and profession, while also being extremely organized and able to handle details and manage multiple projects with competing deadlines;
• Fluency in English and basic proficiency in French are required; knowledge of another European language a plus;
• Experience in training or teaching a plus.

This position is supported by administrative and marketing personnel both on the ground in Brussels as well as at the headquarters location. Additional support is available for meeting planning, member recruitment and other communications activities.

Responsibilities

Community Building

• Meet with, engage and conduct a listening tour of European public affairs executives from MNCs and major business associations;
• Build events, idea-sharing forums, networking opportunities and other activities to engage public affairs professionals in dialogue;
• Grow our current database of European public affairs professionals;
• Grow the Brussels advisory committee.

Expertise/Outreach

• Serve as Council's expert in European public affairs to professionals worldwide;
• Serve as counsel to members on best practices in the field;
• As the European face of the Council, deliver speeches and write articles, tips sheets and white papers on best practices and trends for the community;
• Deliver input to team members on ideas for research projects, benchmarking studies and other products to serve our constituency;
• This position will be cross-trained as needed in all aspects of public affairs and what works in markets outside of Europe.

Strategy

• Work in conjunction with senior management team and advisory committee to share insights and collaborate on the direction of the Brussels office;
• Engage in strategic planning sessions for entire organization;
• Work with team to build and manage the office's 5-year plan;
• While the office head works collaboratively with others, this person is given autonomy to build programs and resources that suite the needs of the office's constituency.

Training

• Build training programs and forums to meet the needs of the community, which will include dialogue around best practices and trends in public affairs;
• Create training programs including agenda and program content, speaker recruitment, marketing plan and serve as expert and facilitator for events;
• Build and run customized training programs for member organizations as needed.

Membership

• Grow and engage membership base in Europe;
• Serve as conduit for European organizations interested in learning how public affairs works in non-European markets;
• Conduct member prospect visits with support of headquarters team and advisory committee.

This position involves no more than 20% travel, including twice-yearly visits to the headquarters office.

Please send your CV + cover letter to Melissa Miot on Melissa.Miot@interel.eu by the deadline of September 14, 2012. Only short-listed candidates will be contacted.