Head of Public Policy, South Africa, International Public Policy at Amazon

DESCRIPTION

Embrace the challenge and accelerate your growth with Amazon’s International Public Policy and Government Affairs Team. The Head of Public Policy for South Africa will join a growing and dynamic team that works across Europe, Middle East, Africa, India and Asia-Pacific, in support of Amazon’s global consumer and digital businesses. Like our business interests, our policy issues are broad, forward-thinking, and driven by what is best for our customers. The International Public Policy team works with a wide range of national, local, and supranational policymakers, industry organizations, and non-governmental organizations across numerous policy issues spanning the consumer and commercial environment.

As the Head of Public Policy for South Africa you will lead our work with policymakers and non-governmental groups in support of our consumer-centric business model within South Africa. You will have an astute understanding of the public policy and regulatory environment as well as the key stakeholders within it. You will coordinate across Amazon’s business, locally and globally, to develop and implement positioning and engagement strategies. You will also provide support to Amazon businesses in West Africa, on an as-needed basis.

You will lead external advocacy efforts, outreach programs, partnerships, and initiatives in support of these business objectives. You will coordinate Amazon’s engagement with relevant industry associations and wider coalitions, and manage consultancy support. You will be able to manage and drive complex projects, and provide clear and confident guidance, including in situations of high ambiguity. You will be a confident leader, but are also able to operate respectfully and collaboratively within wider regional and international structures.

The position is based in Johannesburg or Cape Town.

Basic Qualifications

• 15+ years of relevant public policy and advocacy experience, e.g. within corporate public policy and government relations, in public administration, trade associations or non-governmental organizations.
• A keen working understanding of policy-making processes and government relations in South Africa.

Preferred Qualifications

• Experience of public policy leadership in consumer-facing, technology or retail companies.
• Experience working at high level and collaboratively in a highly-matrixed environment, alongside teams including Legal, PR, and business teams.
• Knowledge of policy-making processes and government relations in West Africa.
• Project management experience.
• Public speaking experience.
• International experience.
• A track record of highest integrity and public policy success.
• Ability to concurrently address numerous and wide-ranging issues, and deal effectively with a broad range of public policy matters.
• Is a self-starter who can take general direction and produce specific results.
• Ability to identify and understand key technical aspects pertaining to corporate operations in legislative and regulatory proposals, understand business implications, and synthesize policy documents for internal and external customers.
• Ability to think critically, process data from multiple sources, forecast potential scenarios, prioritize based on probability and desired outcome, and recommend a best course of action.
• Ability to influence, negotiate with, and persuade others; be flexible and demonstrate strong judgment/decision-making skills, and political acumen. Ability to intelligently build a course of action, analyze trade-offs, and make recommendations even in ambiguous situations.
• Advance degree in a relevant subject.