Senior Manager, International Government Relations

McDonald’s is proud to be one of the most recognized brands in the world, with restaurants in over 100 countries and billions of customers served each year. As the global leader in the food services industry, we have a legacy of innovation and hard work that continues to drive us. Today, we are growing with velocity and are focused on modernizing our experiences, not to make a different McDonald’s but to build a better McDonald’s.

We are a people business just as much as we are a restaurant business. We strive to be the most inclusive brand on the planet by building complementary teams who create delicious, feel good moments that are easy for everyone to enjoy, Joining McDonald’s means thinking big daily and preparing for a career that can have impact around the world.

We are looking for a dynamic Government Relations Senior Manager for APMEA to join our International Government Relations team. A member of the Global Public Policy & Government Relations (GPPGR) team, the position reports into the Senior Director for International Government Relations, who is based in Brussels, Belgium. GPPGR is part of the Global Impact Function whose mission is to make McDonald’s one of the most respected, trusted, and admired brands in the world

Across APMEA markets, a variety of business models are in place including third-party Developmental Licensees (DLs) who own and operate local restaurants under the McDonald’s brand name, joint ventures, and wholly owned markets. In this role, you will work within relevant business models to strengthen and protect the company’s social license to operate and drive sustained business growth.

**Principal Responsibilities**

Act as external radar to ensure political, legislative and regulatory risks/opportunities are identified proactively throughout the region and enable the company to address these. This includes:

- Monitor political and legislative developments that may affect the company directly or indirectly.
- Assist the business with anticipating, identifying, analysing, prioritizing, and managing legislative and regulatory issues that may affect McDonald’s business objectives and/or operations. Support the International Corporate Relations (ICR) in identifying and addressing reputational risk.
- Brief and advise global teams, ICR team, business units in APMEA and markets in the region on international and regional legislative trends and developments.
- Inform the Global Public Policy (GPP) team on legislative / regulatory pressures - flag needs for company POV and nudge the business on approach.
- Serve on cross-functional teams relating to McDonald’s reputation, operations, and geopolitical risk to provide an APMEA perspective.
- Understand avenues of influence to inform decision-making in the region - where relevant, and in collaboration with ICR, develop relationships with select markets.
- Support / advise APMEA markets and business units on GR priority issues, strategy, and tactics.
- Coordinate and drive consistent GR approach acknowledging the specificities of local contexts.
- Specifically, create tools and outline execution tactics to assist local markets with managing GR issues, for example develop briefing notes, position statements and comment on regulatory proposal/other political documents.
- Identify and scale GR best practice in the region.
- Build strategy to leverage network of US embassies and chambers of commerce across APMEA.
- Lead McDonald’s engagement with Food Industry Asia (FIA) while increasing ROI of trade.
- Revive and strengthen relationship with World Federation of Advertisers (WFA) regional office in Singapore.
- As appropriate, network, create alliances and work formally and informally with industry bodies in the region to achieve global brand and business objectives, while bringing market opportunities forward for local partners, as appropriate.
- Lead regional self-regulatory activities and coordinate / advise on self-regulatory activities in markets.

**Skills & Competencies**

The following are some of the skills, competencies and experiences that are important in this role:

- Asia and Middle East experience - having lived and worked in both Asia and/or the Middle East is a must.
- Government Relations - proven track record in GR (7-10 years) either in consultancy, corporate, (inter-)governmental organisation or trade association.
- Intellectual Ability & Problem-Solving - bright, intelligent and agile; comfortable with concepts, complexity and paradox; able to think independently and make sound, reasoned judgements and solve problems.
- Communication - excellent writer and overall communicator; can credibly adopt a broad range of communication styles.
- Cultural Sensitivity and Awareness - confident and experienced to evolve in a multicultural and multinational context and to present to diverse stakeholders; sensitive to specific audiences in tone, attitude as well as content.
- Languages - full professional flue