Account Director

Harwood Levitt Consulting is a boutique consultancy that delivers strategic counsel on public policy issues for Fortune 500 companies, industries, and organisations.

We bring strategic and creative thinking to a wide range of cross-sectorial campaigns, bridging the gap between public affairs and management consulting, influencing policy, the public and commercial strategies. We support companies and organizations engaging across key levels of national, European, and global policy. 

We are a dynamic, diverse, and flexible team looking for fast-thinking, creative problem solvers with consulting experience who are ready to take on new challenges and responsibilities in a growing, dog-friendly firm. We love people who are intellectually curious and are excited when our clients bring them some of their toughest problems to solve. We pride ourselves on our whiteboarding skills and ability to transform our clients’ problems and asks into an actual strategy.

We are looking to hire at a senior position level, such as an Account Director in Public Affairs, to work on several new projects across different sectors, including healthcare, sustainability, food and agriculture. You will be managing the competing demands of driving several key client portfolios, working with senior counsel, and managing small teams, with a track record of successful client relationship management.

For further information on our work, please consult our website and our profile on Best in Brussels.

Key responsibilities include:

• Leadership and integrity: Lead your project team to achieve client goals while becoming your client’s trusted advisor
• Strategic thinking and analytic capabilities: Provide insightful strategic counsel to colleagues and clients on challenging public policy and reputational issues
• Planning and organisation: Deliver workable public affairs strategies and plans supportive of client goals underpinned by solid rationale, models and thinking
• Content development: Create communications and advocacy collateral and run multi-layered external campaigns
• Presenting and Communication excellence: Present your ideas clearly and creatively to maximise impact, and in front of senior NGO and business leadership during workshops or other high-intensity settings
• Managing finances: Oversee yearly and project-based budgets for different accounts, and ensure projects stay within budget
• Solution-oriented: Proactively bring solutions or suggested ways forward when faced with new challenges. ‘Can do’ attitude is a must in a growing company!

Skills / qualities we are looking for:

• Knowledge of an industry sector, in particular healthcare and/or sustainability, chemicals/energy, food & drink, crop science
• Writing and editorial skills with experience drafting political narratives, positioning, and advocacy materials
• Experience organising virtual and F2F events, e.g., workshops and webinars, trainings, large-scale stakeholder events
• Ability to handle large amounts of information and to translate it into focused verbal and written internal briefings & external position papers
• Ability to effectively prioritise and manage competing demands
• Experience with direct reports / line management
• Ability to manage a team effectively
• Excellent spoken and written English. Knowledge of other languages is desirable

The candidate’s required qualifications:

• 4+ years’ experience (up to 7 years): preferably with client/stakeholder relationship management, either in-house or with a consultancy or trade association
• A track record of managing a portfolio of clients and multiple projects, meeting client expectations and maintaining high-quality work product
• Experience managing small teams and being a direct line manager to junior colleagues supporting their professional development
• Ability to think critically and solve problems: proven track record of finding solutions to complex public affairs issues and ability to communicate them effectively
• Excellent communication skills with professional proficiency in spoken and written English
• Good knowledge of PowerPoint and experience developing presentations and communication materials

What we offer:

• The opportunity to join and thrive in a unique strategic and creative environment
• An attractive salary package with comprehensive benefits
• Opportunities for fast development into more senior roles in the company
• Annual performance bonus and pension scheme
• Generous holidays
• Training opportunities driven by your learning goals
• Flexible working hours and teleworking
• Beautiful and creative office in the heart of Brussels
• A dynamic and diverse working environment

Starting date: asap (flexible)

Applications should consist of a CV (n.b. PDF format) and a cover letter. Please send your application to jobs@harwoodlevitt.com with the title “Account Director Public Affairs” in the subject line. Deadline is Thursday, 29 February 2024. Typos will immediately disqualify your application. Due to the high number of applications we receive, only short-listed candidates will be contacted.

Do not forget to mention that you found this job ad on the Euractiv Jobsite!