About Milltown Partners
Milltown Partners is a global advisory firm working with influential organisations and individuals on the public policy and communications challenges that define their reputations. The firm is looking for a Brussels-based Associate Director who has technology policy and leadership experience to take a hands-on role in advising clients and colleagues, and helping to grow the Brussels office with the Head of Office.
About the role
The successful candidate will be an experienced tech policy leader with an extensive network in the EU institutions and beyond. They will have deep experience of working on a range of tech policy areas, ideally including fintech, within one of the institutions, in house at a tech company or as an external adviser.
They will join Milltown Partners’ ambitious and growing policy team in Brussels and will have the opportunity to work with some of the world’s most interesting and influential tech companies on the issues that define their reputations and impact their success. Drawing on expertise within the teams in San Francisco, New York and London, they will support the Brussels office lead in all aspects of client advice and in managing the work of the Brussels team.
The Associate Director role
Associate Directors are responsible for the quality of everything Milltown Partners produce. They ensure every team they are on has an agreed strategy, clear priorities, and consistently exceeds client expectations. Associate Directors work in partnership with the firm’s senior management to set the scope, agree the fees and design the structure of the teams to ensure they have the right resources to deliver their best work. They give brilliant advice to Milltown Partners’ clients and coach their teams to do the same. Associate Directors are instrumental in the growth of the firm, helping to build external networks and lead on new business opportunities, while also supporting the design and delivery of plans for quality, talent and growth.
Key responsibilities
Leadership: defining direction and inspiring others to meet a common goal
- Collaborating with senior management to set clear goals and priorities for your teams and holding everyone, including yourself, to account for meeting them
- Building trust with clients in order to give the most impactful advice and support
- Taking responsibility for the strategic direction and tactical choices for clients
- Sharing your insights and experience in a way that allows the rest of the team to replicate your success
- Drawing on the full expertise and resources of the firm to develop and deliver advice that helps clients build and protect their reputations
- Coaching individuals both in line management and on teams to identify opportunities to meet their goals
Innovation: pushing the boundaries of the work we do as a firm
- Being a role model and leading by example in both managing and delivering exceptional work
- Ensuring research, data and insight underpins all work that Milltown Partners deliver
- Seeking expertise from outside the firm – European institutions, think tanks, business, academia – and using it to improve the quality of Milltown Partners’ advice and analysis
- Identifying operational efficiencies that enable the team to deliver its best work
- Identifying opportunities for collaboration, knowledge sharing and growth for the business beyond your own client teams
Growth: Contributing to the future of the business beyond the boundaries of client work
- Identifying and leading on converting new opportunities into work and extending Milltown Partners’ work with existing clients
- Cultivating an external network that enables the team to deliver impactful results for its clients (e.g. with policy and political stakeholders, subject matter experts or other advisers)
- Developing and building your external network in order to attract new clients and reach potential referrers
- Showing entrepreneurial thinking internally by identifying opportunities for collaboration, skills building and knowledge sharing
Contributing to a collaborative and inclusive work environment
- Managing Consultants, including by setting development goals that enable them to perform at their best and stretch into new development opportunities
- Giving and receiving regular feedback across all levels in the firm
- Actively seeking input or assistance from others and reflecting their contributions in the work
- Demonstrating allyship to all colleagues
- Supporting the wellbeing of everyone on the team
Your profile
Must have skills and experience
- Experience of working on EU tech policy
- Excellent command of written and verbal English language
- Demonstrable ability to take a strategic approach to policy and public affairs, rooted in research, data and insight
- Experience engaging with different audiences across the EU public affairs landscape
- Experience building advisory relationships with senior stakeholders in order to deliver strategic counsel and insight, often on a short timeframe
- Experience developing political and public affairs strategies and managing relationships with senior stakeholders in the EU institutions and regulators
- Experience in organising successful events in Brussels
- Experience managing high-performing teams with diverse experiences
- Willingness to play a hands-on role within client teams and across the firm
- Intellectual curiosity to develop subject matter expertise in new topics, and share that with colleagues
- A highly motivated team member who values collaboration and is interested in coaching and building capability across the team
- A desire to seek out feedback in order to learn and develop
- Commitment to contributing to a supportive and inclusive culture
Desirable skills and experience
- Experience working in the European institutions
- Experience in relevant fields including media and communications
- Experience in the technology industry – either/or consultancy or in-house role
- Experience leading new business conversations, including RFP processes
