Senior Manager, International Government Relations

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**Company Description**

McDonald’s is proud to be one of the most recognized brands in the world, with restaurants in over 100 countries that serve 70 million customers daily. As the global leader in the food service industry, our legacy of innovation and hard work continues to drive us.

From drive thru updates to delivery to mobile order and pay, we are innovating quickly and growing. Joining McDonald's means thinking big and preparing for a career that can have influence around the world.

At McDonald’s, we see every day as a chance to create positive impact. We lead through our values centred on inclusivity, service, integrity, community and family. From support of Ronald McDonald House Charities to our Youth Opportunity project and sustainability initiatives, our values keep us dedicated to using our scale for good: good for our customers, people, industry and planet.

We are an equal opportunity employer committed to the diversity of our crew members, staff, operators, and suppliers. We promote an inclusive work environment that creates feel-good moments for everyone. We are interested in people who enhance our company culture.

We are looking for a dynamic Government Relations 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 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, analyzing, 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 practices in the region.
- Build a strategy to maximize the 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 the 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.
**Qualifications**
**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 the Middle East is a must.
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Government Relations **- proven track record in GR either in consultancy, corporate, (inter-)governmental organization or trade association.
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Intellectual Ability** **& Problem-Solving** - forward-thinking, intelligent, and agile; comfortable with concepts, complexity and paradox; able to think independently and make sound, reasoned jud