Director, Public Affairs

Director, Public Affairs

Luogo: Italia

Azienda: APCO Worldwide Holdings

Description: APCO’s Rome office is hiring a Director to join our fast-growing public affairs team. We are looking for an ambitious, enthusiastic, and talented professional to join our team based only a few minutes’ walk to the Italian Senate. We work with high-profile companies and organisations spanning energy, transport, health, tech, sustainability, fmcg and professional services. Candidates with an interest in these sectors would be welcomed. You will have strong expertise navigating Italian policy issues on behalf of clients in an agency setting and a deep understanding of ongoing developments within Italian politics.

The ideal candidate would need to have a minimum of fifteen years of relevant experience in consultancy, in-house, Italian political institutions, or within trade associations/think tanks. Experience of working in the Italian Parliament or political parties would be of advantage, but not a pre-requisite for this role. You will be self-directed, proactive, and motivated to win for your clients every day. You will have experience leading teams, driving new business and managing work streams while also serving as senior counsel on major projects. You will have a desire to learn and grow – both across industries/sectors and communication mediums, such as traditional media, social/digital media, issues advocacy, grassroots, and stakeholder communications. You know how to work with clients and have a positive, proactive attitude that wins the confidence of clients and inspires teams.

By joining our team, you will be working with colleagues across APCO’s international network of 32 offices who are open, collaborative, collegiate, supportive, and diverse.

Responsibilities:

1. Lead a wide range of public affairs, strategic communication and issue campaigns for our clients.
2. Manage and grow client relationships including overseeing client projects, supervising project teams, allocating resources, and delegating and reviewing work effectively.
3. Provide the highest level of client service on a daily basis through proactive account management, serving as the key client contact while also managing staff (both senior and junior) to successfully maintain and grow client relationships.
4. Design and implement integrated public affairs campaigns to position client issues, messages and priorities with key audiences that may include politicians (national, regional and local), civil servants, media, trade associations, consumers and other key stakeholders for our clients.
5. Lead strategy development and craft effective messages for both prospective clients (as a key part of the new business process) and for existing clients.
6. Monitor developments in key client issue areas and flag opportunities for further client engagement.
7. Identify and lead new business opportunities for APCO.

Qualifications:

1. At least 15 years of Italian public affairs and strategic communications campaign experience including leading successful teams.
2. Exceptional presentation, writing and analytical skills, and the ability to write both strategically and creatively under tight deadlines.
3. Solid project management experience, including overseeing a team and multiple deliverables, providing clear and concise feedback to maintain high standards.
4. Demonstrated success formulating and leading strategic engagements with external stakeholders.
5. Attitude for identifying, leading and winning new business opportunities in line with APCO’s growth strategy.
6. Have strong enthusiasm for Italian politics and a deep understanding how connections are built, and policy forged.

We are recognised as one of the best agencies to work for in our industry, providing:

1. The opportunity to work on a diverse range of clients and projects with some of the industry’s best and brightest.
2. A collegial and collaborative working environment, where you will work closely with colleagues from around the world.
3. Significant opportunities to develop professionally, with extensive training and personal development programmes.
4. A competitive compensation and benefits package, including private medical insurance and mental health support.
5. Industry-leading global exchange program.

About APCO in Italy: APCO Italy has over 60 staff working across more than 100 clients and sits at the centre of the firm’s global operations. Thanks to a diverse and multilingual team, APCO Italy leads on many of the firm’s most dynamic global assignments. With a growing client base in the most pressing issues facing the world today, APCO has been a fixture of the Italian public affairs and communication’s market since 2000 and continues to be at the forefront of the seismic changes facing economies and societies today. We are a truly integrated firm, with deep expertise and experience across the full range of advisory offerings including corporate communications, public affairs, digital strategy and paid media.