Public Affairs Manager - Spain
Location
España | Spain
Job description
The Good Food Institute Europe (GFI Europe) is at the forefront of the movement to transform meat production in order to solve some of the world’s biggest problems, from climate change and global hunger, to antibiotic resistance and animal suffering.
We work with scientists, businesses and policymakers to make plant-based and cultivated meat (grown directly from cells) delicious, affordable and accessible. Please check out the rest of our website, our 2022 Year in Review and our 2023 Europe Highlights blog post to find out more about who we are and what we do.
We are at an exciting stage in our growth and are looking for a Public Affairs Manager in Spain to join our team. For more information about this role, please take a look at the job brochure.
How you will make a difference
Your role will have high responsibility and high impact. You will significantly influence how quickly Spain and Europe move to a more ethical and sustainable food system.
You will be responsible for driving policy impact in Spain, both at the national level and, where the opportunity arises, at the regional level. This will include, among other things, driving significantly more public investment into research and development for plant-based foods, cultivated meat and fermentation; working to deliver a fair, evidence-based regulatory path-to-market for alternative proteins; and ensuring that the labelling of alternative protein products is not unfairly restricted.
As our first policy team member based in Spain, you will be responsible for identifying priorities and opportunities to achieve maximum impact for alternative proteins, and for rallying like-minded organisations and individuals to amplify our impact. You will be in charge of delivering positive government policy change to support alternative proteins in Spain, both at the national, and, where opportunities arise, at the regional level (e.g. in Catalonia, the Basque Country, the Community of Madrid). You will be working closely with our Brussels-based colleagues to ensure that Spain plays a positive role for alternative proteins in the EU. You will also act as our primary spokesperson, collaborating with our pan-European communications team, for policy-related engagement with Spanish-language media.
To achieve this, you will:
- Set the overall direction of our policy work in Spain, including developing and executing lobbying strategies, based on thorough research and mapping of decision-makers.
- Build relationships with, and advise, senior politicians and civil servants in relevant public institutions, including the Council of Ministers, federal ministries, the Congress of Deputies, the Senate, as well as other national and regional-level institutions.
- Build alliances and work in collaboration with other organisations, businesses, scientists and stakeholders, to amplify our policy advocacy through multiple channels and help create a positive ecosystem for alternative proteins. You will also engage respectfully with people who are still to be persuaded.
- Act as a spokesperson and representative for GFI Europe in meetings with Spanish stakeholders (including donors), in the media and at public events, as needed.
- Closely monitor and stay abreast of relevant policy proposals, spotting opportunities and pre-empting threats.
- Together with your Brussels-based colleagues, ensure that Spain plays a positive role for alternative proteins in EU policy.
- Together with Communications colleagues, draft policy-focused online content in Spanish, work with the media and use social media to help deliver our objectives and raise the profile of alternative proteins in Spain.
- Together with other programmatic colleagues, develop informative briefings and resources for policymakers, positioning GFI Europe as the go-to expert on alternative proteins in Spain.
- A demonstrated ability to drive policy change.
- Comfort with, and experience of, interacting with and influencing officials and politicians.
- Experience working on policy at the regional, national (Spain or other country-level), EU, or multilateral level, for example, in a government, public institution, political party, NGO, think tank, industry association, public affairs agency, consulting firm, multilateral, or other relevant institution.
- Excellent people skills – the ability to influence, network, build alliances and work well in a team.
- Enthusiasm, a strong work ethic and self-motivation; a sense of ownership and responsibility to drive outcomes. A positive, can-do, hands-on attitude.
- An affinity with our commitment to diversity, equity and inclusion, and with maintaining our welcoming and supportive culture.
- Good level of IT literacy and a willingness to learn new software packages.
- Native-level fluency in Spanish, with strong written and spoken ability. Working proficiency in English.
It would be an advantage to have some or all of the following attributes, but none of them are prerequisites, and we welcome applications from candidates without either of them:
- In addition to the above, experience working on Spanish national or regional policy, including in one or more of the following policy areas: research and innovation, food and agriculture, climate change, public health, or industrial policy.
- Experience of and demonstrated ability to interact with the media.
- A strong network of contacts at the national or regional policy level.
- A demonstrated ability to build alliances with NGOs and industry actors.
- Fluency in other languages used in Spain by regional governments.
We want the best people and we know that building a diverse, inclusive workplace leads to stronger, happier, more productive and resilient teams. We strongly encourage people of every ethnicity, orientation, age, gender, origin, socio-economic background, and ability to apply. As a pan-European organisation, we welcome applications from across the whole continent. Because we value a diverse workplace, we prioritise an inclusive culture absent of discrimination and harassment during the application process and after you join the team.
Benefits and the fine print
- Terms of employment: : Full-time (flexible hours), permanent. Requests for part-time hours (0.8 FTE) can be considered – please state in your application.
- Location: Flexible within mainland Spain.This is a remote role, and you will be able to work from home, or anywhere you choose. We are happy to consider supporting costs for co-working to enable you to work from an office if you wish. We will consider candidates based anywhere in mainland Spain, preferably in proximity to Madrid or Barcelona. You will need to be willing and able to travel to Madrid regularly for in-person meetings – probably at least twice per month, and sometimes at short notice. The whole GFI Europe team aims to get together in person approximately twice per year for around 3-5 days at a time. Travel costs will be covered by GFI Europe within our policy.
- Salary and benefits: The salary and benefits of this role are benchmarked on similar non-profit roles in Spain The total annual amount received in gross salary plus benefits, including home-working allowance, are likely to be:
- €38,000 – €45,000 in Spain
- Right to work requirements : The successful candidate must, by the start of the employment, have permission to work in Spain, and to be able to travel within the EU.
- Application Deadline: Wednesday 17 January 23.59 CET. We will get back to all candidates after that date, no matter the outcome of their application. You should expect to hear back from us within about a week of the deadline.
Application process
Please both upload your sample work tasks and your CV through this short application form. The sample work tasks document can be found here .
We want you to have every opportunity to shine and show us your talents – we are happy to make all the reasonable adjustments that we possibly can to make sure the assessment process works for you. Email us at [email protected]
The full application process is outlined in the job brochure . We really look forward to hearing from you!
If you have any questions about this role, please do reach out to us at [email protected] . If you’ve read this far but decided not to apply, please share this job description with someone else in your network who you think might be a good fit for the role! Thank you.
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