Corporate Affairs Senior Manager Central Europe

Based in Bucharest, the Corporate Affairs (CA) Senior Manager will be part of a CA team in Central Europe that works across the Mars Wrigley and Mars Pet Nutrition business divisions, reporting to the CA Director of Pet Nutrition in Central Europe (Czech Republic, Slovakia, Romania, Hungary, Moldova, Ukraine, Lithuania, Latvia and Estonia), with a dotted reporting line responsibility to the CA Director of Mars Wrigley in Central Europe.

Job Purpose

The Corporate Affairs Senior Manager will - in alignment with the two CA Directors of Pet Nutrition and Mars Wrigley in Central Europe - develop and execute Public Affairs strategy for the markets, engage with external stakeholders, including, among others, trade associations, regulators and non-governmental organisations, as well as drive external corporate and brand reputation for brands like Snickers, M&M´S, Whiskas, Sheba, Pedigree and others in owned and earned media. The Corporate Affairs Senior Manager will represent the function at the Romanian market management level (supporting the Market Head of Mars Wrigley and the Market Head of Pet Nutrition in Romania). They will work collaboratively with colleagues from Marketing, R&D, Commercial, P&O (People and Organization) and other members of the PN and MW Central Europe Leadership Teams, as well as with the regional Mars Wrigley Europe & Central Eurasia and Pet Nutrition Europe Corporate Affairs Leadership Team. 

What are we looking for?

• Minimum relevant Bachelor’s degree with 10+ years’ experience across senior corporate affairs / communications roles.
• Excellent written and verbal communications and presentation skills in Romanian and English – must be articulate and to the point, able to set clear and challenging targets.
• Experience in Public Affairs/Government Relations, Crisis Management & Corporate Reputation management as well as overall stakeholder management.
• Ability to manage and lead a diverse and broad range of issues and projects simultaneously, as well as able to track projects with varying deadlines.
• Ability to influence & impact without authority. Skilled in shaping and driving dialogue by building “buy in”, must have the presence and stature to influence, establish credibility and trust with peers, senior leaders and external stakeholders.
• Strong strategic and analytical skills

What will be your key responsibilities?

• Supports the two CA Directors of Mars Wrigley and Pet Nutrition in Central Europe in developing Public Affairs strategies for the markets.
• Engages with influential external stakeholders, including trade associations, governments/ regulators, non-governmental organizations, academia, key opinion formers and communities.
• Contributes to the development and executes a trade association strategy.
• Continuously brings external perspective from Romania, Hungary, the Czech Republic, Slovakia and Moldova to the leaders of Central Europe.
• Increases our external visibility through executive positioning, own external visibility in media, at conferences and on owned social media.
• Contributes to the development of the corporate reputation plan for Central Europe to drive the share of voice of Mars in Central Europe. Provides insights & recommendations from markets’ perspective.
• Ensures global and regional (social) media strategies are adhered to in the local unit.
• Executes local Romanian market events and supports local internal communication.
• When required, supports and enables change management through effective change communications.
• Ensures crisis and issue preparedness in the stated markets
• In times of issues and crisis, leads all CA responsibilities in the Crisis Management Team in the stated markets
• Together with the external agencies manages systems to provide an early warning and tracking of political and media issues that may impact the unit’s business.
• Contributes to recruitment, selection and manages (together with CA Directors) the relationship and work of communications agency partners to ensure the effective and efficient delivery of budget and plans.
• Recommends budget levels for all CA activities at local level. Supports the CA Directors in managing these budget areas throughout the financial year

What can you expect from Mars?

• Work with diverse and talented Associates, all guided by the Five Principles.
• Join a purpose driven company, where we’re striving to build the world we want tomorrow, today.
• Best-in-class learning and development support from day one, including access to our in-house Mars University.
• An industry competitive salary and benefits package, including company bonus.

Mars is an equal opportunity employer and all qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, national origin, disability status, protected veteran status, or any other characteristic protected by law. If you need assistance or an accommodation during the application process because of a disability, it is available upon request. The company is pleased to provide such assistance, and no applicant will be penalized as a result of such a request.