Job Description
The Government Relations team is part of the Corporate Affairs division at Sainsbury’s and works collaboratively with colleagues across the business to support our strategic plans and to advise senior management on key political, policy and regulatory issues. The team is vital in highlighting the important positive contribution which Sainsbury’s makes to communities across the UK, our brand purpose to Help Everyone Eat Better and our ambition to be Net Zero by 2035.
The Senior Government Relations Manager works closely with the Head of Government Relations and the wider team to build and develop Sainsbury’s relationships with a broad range of external stakeholders including government (ministers, officials and advisers), parliamentarians, trade associations, the devolved administrations, NGOs and third-party organisations.
The Senior Government Relations Manager also works closely with the team’s Government Relations Manager/s to support the wider business to engage with external stakeholders while shaping and responding to a wide range of public policy issues.
To be successful, you’ll have strong, proven experience in Government Relations, including acting as an ambassador for a high-profile organisation and representing the company at events and external meetings. You’ll quickly understand complex policy issues, have excellent written and verbal communications skills, the ability to juggle a busy agenda and build strong external and internal relationships.
More about the role
- Build and deliver a proactive programme of engagement with political stakeholders around the positive impact we make in local communities, our brand purpose and our ambition to be Net Zero by 2035.
- Lead on a number of policy areas, which reflect the business’s commercial priorities.
- Work with internal experts to understand the impact of policy on our business and devise corresponding proactive and reactive responses.
- Help the business respond to policy consultations and prepare briefings for senior colleagues and internal governance groups.
- Coordinate with agency support to ensure monitoring of relevant announcements and developments in Parliament and the devolved nations.
- Liaise with our retail teams to execute meetings and site visits with members of the government and local MPs in our stores and depots.
- Oversee correspondence with MPs’ offices on constituency issues, engaging with internal stakeholders to inform our responses.
More about you
- Creativity and a proven track record bringing to life corporate engagement initiatives.
- Experience formulating and delivering public affairs & policy events, campaigns, and communications.
- A desire to always focus on the external and thus the ability to bring great insights into the business on a regular basis.
- Strong networking skills and a great network across politics and industry.
- Excellent organisational skills are essential in order to deliver against the team’s priorities and our Government Relations plan.
In return you'll get
As a Senior Government Relations Manager, you’ll receive a host of great benefits. As well as a competitive salary, rewarding bonus scheme and private healthcare, you will receive a huge range of learning and development opportunities, 26 days’ holiday, a save-as-you-earn scheme, pension and staff discounts at Argos, Sainsbury’s and Habitat.
Work-life balance is important to us, so we offer our colleagues as much flexibility as possible in line with the needs of their role. We trust them to decide how, where and when they work, combining remote and collaborative working with a flexible approach to hours, giving them plenty of time and space for life outside of work whilst delivering against our business goals.
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