Context:

We are looking for a new Head of Public Affairs at Coca-Cola Europacific Partners Belgium & Luxembourg. In close partnership and collaboration with the Director Public Affairs, Communications & Sustainability Belgium-Luxembourg, you will stay abreast of expectations of society, decision makers/takers, key opinion leaders & other stakeholders. You then translate these expectations in strategies to protect CCEPs licence to operate and advocates against incremental discriminatory taxation of soft drinks and its packaging. Next to that, you also get ahead of the curve by proactively promoting our corporate reputation in Belgium-Luxembourg and help drive sustainable long-term growth for the business. 

In this role, you will work transversally with all company functions, therefore you have a proven ability to work with senior leaders and a diverse set of decision makers/takers. We expect the new Head of Public Affairs to come with a solid network, knowledge and experience in Belgian politics (Federal/Wallonia/Flanders/Brussels/German speaking) and notions of the Luxembourg political landscape. 
We’re looking for someone who can lead on long term vision and strategy while leading and delivering the day to day execution. Given the scope of the role, we expect our new Head of Public Affairs to spend most of their time externally in meetings with decision makers/influencers, key opinion leaders & other stakeholders in combination with time investment needed to build a strong internal network.

Your job will involve:

• In collaboration with PACS country Director, support the development and deployment of the Belgian-Luxembourg Public Affairs strategy and initiatives, aligning with the global CCEP Public Affairs strategy and agenda. 
• Stay abreast of relevant regulatory and non-regulatory developments Belgium/Luxembourg/Flanders/Wallonia/Brussels and translate these into a public affairs strategy and frame guidance towards the business planning
• Ensure accurate stakeholder mapping on all relevant business critical topics in combination with a clear view on the opportunity landscape. 
• Bring an established and strong political network on both sides of the country while further developing a constructive relationship with key stakeholders and decision takers/makers.  
• Bring confidence and ability through established experience to develop and maintain positive relationships at all levels of government, political parties, public services, and other authorities.
• Represent the organization’s position on legislation and government policy towards government representatives, committees, trade associations and other regulatory bodies. Play an active and leading role in our trade associations (expected to sit on the board and represent CCEP within FIEB and FEVIA)
• Enable a positive policy and regulatory environment unlocking our sustainability journey.
• Drive and contribute to 360° communications campaigns bringing public affairs, communications, sustainability, and marketing together. 
• Play a pivotal role, liaising with the EU Public Affairs team because of the importance of Brussels / Belgium for a wider EU stakeholder range.

Your Profile:

Capabilities:

• Tact & Diplomacy
• Networking
• Influencing
• Negotiation
• French – Dutch - English

Knowledge & Experience:

• Minimum of 10 years in public affairs
• Public Policy Processes
• Integrated Public Policy Campaigning

What does it mean? 

• Tact & Diplomacy
  • Ready to see compromise as a necessary requirement for getting by in a radically imperfect world
  • Manages own emotions and senses and recognizes emotions, thinking and triggers of others
  • Responds in a way to avoid bad feelings or responses, while still asserting or reflecting one's own feelings, idea, or perspective in a delicate and well-meaning way
• Networking
  • Identifies internal and external stakeholders and their positions vis-a-vis clearly identified public policy goals
  • Sets deliberate networking tasks
  • Understands the difference between position and influence
  • Builds and maintains a network of contacts necessary to accomplish public policy goals both internally and externally
• Influencing
  • Understands industry politics, defining the best way of influencing
  • Holds resilience with high reactivity and tolerance for change
• Negotiation
  • Understands how multi-party negotiations differ from bilateral ones
  • Understands and applies the different sources of power in multi-party negotiations to achieve win-win outcomes
  • Recognizes most common manipulative tactics and understands and applies ways to neutralize their effects

• Minimum of 10 years in public affairs, specifically in the Belgian political context 
• Public Policy Processes
  • Understands in detail policy structures and processes at relevant levels
  • Understands relationships between Member State and EU institutions
  • Understands how relevant institutions work and when and how to engage
  • Able to develop / execute strategy and plans to influence decision making within and between relevant institutions
• Integrated Public Policy Campaigning
  • Understands the difference between PA, Comms, Sustainability and Marketing, and how the disciplines can be integrated and efficiently complement one another
  • Understands how social media can support change of focus, frames and actors of public discourse around political decision making
• Strengthen the public affairs network internally & industry bodies externally
  • Ensures Industry associations representation and leadership maximizing influence and impact for the company strategy
  • Participate and contribute to the CCEP Public Affairs Network development and its own upskilling & reinforcement

Who are we?

Coca-Cola Europacific Partners (CCEP) is a major fast-moving consumer goods business and the world’s largest independent Coca-Cola bottler. With a dedicated team of 33,200 people, serving customers in 29 countries, we make, sell and distribute the world’s most loved drinks brands to more than 600 million people, including Coca-Cola®, Fanta®, Sprite, Monster®et Nalu®. 

Our recruitment vision 

At CCEP, we advocate for equal opportunities and welcome candidates from all backgrounds, regardless of their ethnic origin, gender, sexual orientation, age, religion, or disability status. Only skills will be taken into consideration.
We encourage candidates from diverse backgrounds to apply and bring their unique perspectives and experiences to our teams thereby creative valuable richness.
Convinced? We eagerly await your application!

We constantly strive to provide a friendly and inclusive recruitment process, encouraging candidates to inform us of their specific needs or any necessary adjustments needed to ensure a pleasant and accessible experience for everyone.
For any additional information, please feel free to contact our recruitment team: TalentAcquisitionBelux@ccep.com.