Senior Corporate Affairs & Issue Manager

Job Title: Senior Corporate Affairs & Issue Manager

Location: 100VE

JOB PURPOSE

Reporting to the Global Head of Communications & Corporate Affairs for Personal Care, this role will lead the implementation of the Personal Care corporate affairs and issues agenda and play an active role in leading key workstreams that support strategic priority areas of focus that are common across the Personal Care, Beauty & Wellbeing and Home Care Business Groups.

As part of the global Personal Care Communications & Corporate Affairs team you will enjoy being part of an agile and driven team with a focus on responding to opportunities and threats, working cross functionally, with other functions, our powerhouse brands and market teams.

The ideal candidate will have a blend of issues/ crisis, corporate affairs, government relations, communications creativity, agility, content development, quick-thinking, planning, project management, growth-mindset, attention to detail and the ability to work under pressure to tight deadlines. You will have exceptional written and verbal communication skills, with proven experience across corporate communications, corporate affairs, media relations, brand PR, social media, and proactive reputation building.

You will be a strong networker, able to build support and commitment with a variety of stakeholders at all levels across the business and be a confident trusted adviser and business partner to business, brand, and functional leaders. You will have a natural passion for and understanding of the impact of exceptional issues management and proactive reputation building working with internal and external stakeholders.

This position offers unprecedented access to senior stakeholders, a truly global perspective, and the opportunity to work with some of the world’s most well-known and purposeful brands.

RESPONSIBILITIES

• Strategic reputation management advice and support to brands, functions and markets, through reactive and proactive issues handling
• Lead the creation of issue/ crisis responses, chairing rapid reaction issue management teams, working closely with Global Issue Experts, ensuring to keep internal stakeholders updated on developments and thinking ahead in terms of scenario planning and potential escalations whilst closely monitoring developments
• Develop proactive corporate affairs and issues management strategies and positions, together with Global Issue Experts and key functions to address the priority long term issues for Personal Care, ensuring effective positions, messaging, Q&As, media responses, communications materials are in place as needed
• Champion effective issues management across the business group ensuing all issues are managed in line with established procedures and systems and that the Personal Care issues matrix is kept up to date, adding any new issues as they arise
• Provide secretariate support to the x-Business Group Issue Policy Group (across Personal Care, Beauty & Wellbeing and Home Care) that makes C-suite level decisions on policies, strategies and positions, including oversight of the agenda, pre-read, minutes, decision cascades and related workstreams
• Care and maintenance of the Issue Policy Group SharePoint site including guidance, trainings, and records of the Personal Care free-from claims and underfilling requests are maintained
• Advise brands on external activations, content and campaigns especially those that may be sensitive in nature, sustainability focused, or policy /systems change led i.e. assessing risks, reviewing assets, reviewing Q&As
• Represent Unilever in external industry and partnerships forums i.e. the Communications working group of BeautyEcoScore the global cosmetics consortium and/or the Communications working group of the International Cosmetics Collaboration on Safety
• Lead x-Business Group proactive external communications on ingredient topics across Personal Care, Beauty & Wellbeing and Home Care, leading the care, maintenance and evolution of Unilever’s ‘What’s in our Products’ ingredient digital content, working closely with teams across Digital Communications, Regulatory Affairs, SEAC, R&D and Legal
• Partner the Communications & Corporate Affairs Network across Business Units, working with colleagues to clarify corporate affairs priorities
• As needed support the delivery of multi-country, multi-brand and Unilever communications and advocacy moments and campaigns, for example like the European Citizens Initiative Campaign on No Animal Testing, working with external partners (suppliers, NGOs, industry)
• Monitor the external landscape - identify and act on trends, opportunities and issues arising
• Support and deputise as needed the Head of Communications & Corporate Affairs across issues/ crisis management and corporate affairs providing strategic advice

ALL ABOUT YOU

• Significant communications experience across corporate communications, issues/crisis communications, media relations, corporate affairs and government relations.
• Significant experience of responding to short term and long-term issues/ crisis.
• Exceptional and flexible written and oral communication skills i.e. creative and inspiring through to concise and accurate, including media responses and quotes.
• Strong judgement and understanding of the internal and external operating landscape and ability to bring the outside-in i.e. business, marketing, agencies, finance/investors, suppliers, politics, policy, NGOs, academic institutions, media, sustainability, activist citizens, geopolitics, professional societies, industry bodies.
• Calm under pressure and discretion when dealing with confidential matters.
• Strong understanding of brand PR, social media, influencers, and digital channels. Adept at partnering business leaders providing strategic communications advice i.e. during an issue or crisis.
• Passion for Personal Care brands, performance, sustainability, innovation, consumers, and communications.
• Delivery in a fast-paced environment: highly organised, able to handle multiple tasks at once, balancing long-term strategic planning, and short-term changing priorities.
• Confidence, drive, positive can-do attitude, and initiative – a self-starter working independently and confidently to lead projects.
• Comfortable working in cross functional, multi-disciplinary teams across time zones and navigating a large global organisation.
• Track record of delivering impactful communications – delivering high levels of engagement and positive earned media, growing reputation and trust.
• Experience leading and managing projects, PR agencies, budgets. Line management experience and coaching to improve performance and personal development.
• Cultural sensitivity and resilience. Places importance on equity, inclusion, and diversity.

• Strong judgement and understanding of the internal and external operating landscape and ability to bring the outside-in i.e. business, marketing, agencies, finance/investors, suppliers, politics, policy, NGOs, academic institutions, media, sustainability, activist citizens, geo-politics, professional societies, industry bodies
• Confidence, credibility, and gravitas to deputise for the Head of Communications & Corporate Affairs

NOTES

About Unilever

Unilever is one of the world’s leading suppliers of Food, Home and Personal Care products with sales in over 190 countries and reaching 2 billion consumers a day. Unilever has more than 400 brands found in homes around the world, including Dove, Tresemme, Lynx, Lifebuoy, Shea Moisture, Persil, Domestos, Ben & Jerry’s, Magnum, Marmite, The Vegetarian Butcher, Graze and Pot Noodle.

Faced with the challenge of climate change and the need for human development, we want to move towards a world where everyone can live well and within the natural limits of the planet. That’s why our purpose is ‘to make sustainable living commonplace’

Location

In September 2020, Unilever announced the intention to build a new sustainable campus site in Kingston, London to house the employees who currently work in 100 Victoria Embankment in Blackfriars, Lever House in Kingston and Graze in Richmond. We are creating our own Unilever sustainable, agile work environment, purposefully bringing us together in our own Unilever ecosystem. The campus is due to be completed in early 2025 and will consist of two interconnected buildings, as well as landscaped surrounding areas.

What We Offer

Not only do we offer a competitive salary and pension scheme, we also offer an annual bonus, subsidised gym membership, a discounted staff shop and shares. You’ll have the opportunity to work directly with our renowned and exciting brands in a flexible and hybrid working environment.

Whilst the role is advertised on a full-time basis, we would be happy to discuss possible flexible working options and what this may look like for you. We are a key advocate of wellbeing and offer a variety of support for our people including hubs, programmes and development opportunities. We strive to achieve a family-friendly and inclusive workplace and to, above all, create possibilities for all.

Diversity at Unilever is about inclusion, embracing differences, creating possibilities and growing together for better business performance. We embrace diversity in our workforce. This means giving full and fair consideration to all applicants and continuing development of all employees regardless of age, disability, gender reassignment, race, religion or belief, sex, sexual orientation, marriage and civil partnership, and pregnancy and maternity. We are also more than happy to provide reasonable adjustments during our application and interview process to enable you to be present your best self. To find out more, including about our Employee Resource Groups, please click here [Register to View] target="_blank" rel="noreferrer">Equity, Diversity & Inclusion at Unilever | Unileveropens in a new window.

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How is Unilever tackling this?

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