Public Affairs Lead - Europe

Overview

The Role:

To strengthen the External Affairs team, we are seeking a Public Affairs Lead Europe to support and implement MDPI’s public affairs strategy across the region. Acting as a regional lead, you will manage public affairs activities across assigned European countries and serve as a key contact for policy, institutional, and governmental engagement.

As part of our commitment to fostering a collaborative team environment, this role requires working fully on-site. Our office is located in Manchester city centre.

• Support and implement MDPI’s public affairs strategy across Europe in alignment with External Affairs objectives.
• Manage public affairs activities across assigned countries and act as a key internal contact for policy-related topics.
• Contribute insights to strengthen MDPI’s positioning at a regional and European level.

• Support engagement with academic, governmental, and policy stakeholders across Europe
• Coordinate meetings, consultations, initiatives, and participation in relevant events
• Maintain stakeholder records and support long-term relationship management

• Coordinate with public affairs and PR/PA agencies to ensure consistent messaging and effective delivery
• Support team workflows, guidelines, and process improvements
• Monitor relevant policy and regulatory developments and prepare briefings, intelligence updates, and advocacy materials

• Bachelor’s degree in a related field
• 2-5 years of professional experience in strategic communications, public affairs, policy, or related roles
• Experience working with public affairs or communications agencies
• Experience in or knowledge of publishing, research, or the academic sector
• Experience supporting small teams, mentoring and leading collaborative initiatives

• English - fluent (C1 required); additional European languages are an asset
• Ability to prepare clear and concise policy briefings, reports, and stakeholder materials
• Familiarity with European policy environments and institutional landscapes
• Proficiency in Microsoft Office 365

• Proactive, reliable, and detail-oriented working style
• Confidence in meetings and stakeholder interactions, internal and external
• Strong communication and coordination skills
• Problem-solving mindset with the ability to adapt to changing priorities
• Team-oriented, resilient, and motivated to contribute to long-term objectives.

A pioneer in scholarly, open access publishing, MDPI has supported academic communities since 1996. Headquartered in Basel, Switzerland, MDPI has the mission to foster open scientific exchange in all forms, across all disciplines.

We operate currently over 400 diverse, peer-reviewed, open-access journals supported by over 66,000 academic editors. We serve scholars from around the world to ensure the latest research is openly and broadly available.

Besides our main publishing business, we develop and maintain digital platforms and software ranging from scientific exchange platforms to article databases and search engines, all focused on empowering scholars and giving them the best possible product and service. As of the end of 2022, we count more than 6700 colleagues in 17 offices across 11 countries.

• Flexible Working Times You are able to start work anytime between 7-9am, and finish between 3pm-6pm.
• Special Days Off Getting married or moving house? No need to use up your holidays, MDPI offer paid time off for such occasions.
• Our Culture A friendly working environment with monthly lunch parties, office snacks and seasonal events.
• Bonus Incentives Depending on your role, you may be eligible for one of our bonus schemes which rewards high-performing employees.
• Perkbox You will have access to our benefit platform called “Perkbox.” This will provide you with a range of discounts and benefits across various retailers, including savings on food, drinks, tech, travel, and more.
• Health Cash Plan After passing probation, employees are enrolled into our private health membership with Bupa. You can…