Vice President, Public Affairs

Vice President, Public Affairs - Melbourne, Australia

The Opportunity

As Teneo continues to grow its presence in Australia, we are seeking a Vice President with a strong background in corporate and public affairs to join our Strategy and Communications team, based in Melbourne.

This role focuses on advising clients on public affairs, policy, regulatory engagement, and stakeholder strategy, particularly where business objectives intersect with government policy, regulatory change, and broader geopolitical dynamics. Australia has a highly visible, fast‑moving environment, requiring strong judgement, political and regulatory literacy, and the ability to advise senior leaders through complex and sensitive situations.

A Vice President at Teneo is a core member of our account teams, responsible for helping execute strategic communications programmes in support of Teneo’s clients. You will play a pivotal role in providing the highest quality of service to our clients and act as the day‑to‑day lead for all client projects and oversee team delivery.

The role will suit candidates with proven experience advising on the Australian public affairs landscape, corporate affairs, policy advisory, or closely related fields, whether from consultancy, in‑house, or adjacent professional services environments.

As a Vice President within Teneo’s Strategy and Communications team in Australia, your role will include:

• Advise clients on public affairs, regulatory, and policy‑related issues relevant to Australia and the wider Asia‑Pacific region.
• Support clients in anticipating and responding to political, regulatory, and stakeholder developments that may impact business operations or reputation.
• Contribute to stakeholder mapping, policy analysis, and engagement strategies aligned to client objectives.

• Support the development of integrated stakeholder engagement strategies across government, regulators, industry bodies, and other relevant audiences.
• Advise on issues preparedness and response, ensuring clients are positioned credibly and constructively in sensitive or high‑risk situations.
• Support the development of public affairs strategies, including research, policy analysis, and scenario planning.
• Translate complex policy and regulatory developments into clear, actionable advice for senior client leadership.

• Develop narratives and messaging that support public affairs objectives, including briefing materials, position papers, executive talking points, and thought leadership.
• Work with communications specialists to ensure alignment between public affairs strategy and broader reputation management efforts.

• Support leadership in identifying and developing new public affairs opportunities.
• Contribute to proposals, pitch materials, and client meetings.

• Oversee work streams and deliverables across public affairs‑led accounts, ensuring high‑quality execution and timely delivery.
• Mentor and support Consultants, Associates, and Senior Associates, contributing to their development in public affairs advisory work.

In addition, you will be expected to:

Work as a core member of integrated client teams, supporting public affairs and policy advisory engagements across Australia and the region.

• Help ensure consistently high standards of delivery by supporting project coordination, research, and quality assurance.
• Contribute ideas and analysis that inform client strategies, drawing on policy, regulatory, and stakeholder insights.
• Engage actively with the wider Teneo team to build skills, share knowledge, and support the firm’s public affairs work across Asia Pacific.

• 6 – 10 years of relevant experience in public affairs, policy advisory, corporate affairs, or related roles ideally within a consultancy or professional services environment.
• Strong understanding of Australia’s political, regulatory, and stakeholder environment, with awareness of regional and global dynamics.
• Existing network of relationships with government, public policy makers, think tanks and industry associations would be…