Head of Public Affairs and Partnerships, Americas

Description

A career at Lilium is for those who want to do something extraordinary. We take pride in pushing the boundaries of engineering, technology and customer experience.

As part of a team, you will tackle challenges and deliver something that has never been done before. By joining Lilium you will have the opportunity to work with a world-class entrepreneurial team of more than 800 people who are as passionate about changing the world as you are.

You will always act with safety and integrity in mind and embody our core behaviors of efficient and positive collaboration, ownership of time, continuous improvements and, ultimately delivering results.

We thrive on diversity and creating an inclusive culture, with more than 50 nationalities currently working hard to bring our vision of a sustainable world to life.

The Role

You will be part of the Global Regulatory and Public Affairs (GRPA) team and report into the Head of Global Regulatory & Public Affairs. You will work closely with senior leaders of the wider Commercial organisation (VP Business Development, VP Flight Ops, Support and Services, VP Communications etc.) and members of their respective teams (Sales, Infrastructure, PR, Business Marketing, Airline Operations).

The GRPA Team ensures that in relevant jurisdictions adequate policy and regulatory frameworks at all levels of government are in place and that all required infrastructure and airspace related approvals are obtained with the objective to allow for operation and commercialisation of the Lilium Jet. We work closely with our commercial partners in the design, permitting and construction of landing infrastructure tailored to be used by Lilium's aircraft.

The role has two angles:

• Public Affairs

You will be leading all public affairs activities and driving stakeholder engagement with governments, regulators and infrastructure partners in the Americas. Your contribution will be key for Lilium's go-to-market strategy, ensuring that all required infrastructure and operational approvals as well as political and public endorsements are secured.

• Network development

You will support the Business Development team in defining and executing the network strategy, establishing new and managing existing commercial partnerships to establish the required infrastructure network across the US.

This includes strategic and conceptual inputs with respect to the infrastructure products and target routes as well as some project management work with the partners to get infrastructure networks set up in the target regions for the launch of a service with the Lilium jet.

Your Day to Day

• Work across the organization to develop/refine and lead our Public Affairs and Partnerships strategy for the Americas
• Establish and maintain relationships with official bodies and stakeholders to explain our vision and work jointly to make it a reality
• Monitor activities in relevant jurisdictions
• Gather intelligence on political, regulatory and industry developments using public sources, political intelligence and personal contacts
• Attend select committee hearings, party conferences and other events
• Anticipate and respond to public policy threats and opportunities
• Draft position papers and other written submissions to government consultations and committee inquiries
• Represent Lilium in relevant associations and trade bodies
• Support the development/refinement of the commercial strategy by assessing, prioritizing, and advancing new and established markets
• Support the development and advancement of infrastructure network models, each containing multiple infrastructure projects
• Develop proposals for landing site infrastructure in the Americas and contribute to partnership contract negotiations
• Advance aircraft sales by providing infrastructure feasibility and public policy counsel to Business Development stakeholders
• Manage budgets, schedules and projects
• Contribute to establishment of project plans, specifications, dependencies, design, and execute infrastructure partnerships working closely together with other corporate teams
• Work with partners to develop regulatory proposals and manage applications to various regulators, including landing site permitting

Your Profile

• 10+ years of work experience in politics, public sector, in-house public affairs or external affairs with exposure to top-level decision makers (at least senior vice president level)
• Strong political network in the Americas
• Work experience and/or deep personal interest in aviation/passenger transportation/infrastructure
• Strong academic background especially in law, economics, politics, a plus
• Fluency in English, both written and spoken (German, French, Spanish language skills a plus)
• Excellent written and verbal communication skills, experiences in public speaking
• Excellent negotiation skills and sound entrepreneurial/commercial thinking
• Interest in learning expanding skills and learning new issues
• Organized self-starter who can work independently
• Savvy manager of budgets, people and projects
• Demonstrated familiarity with international companies and geographically dispersed teams
• Familiarity working with the media, executing communication strategies and speaking on the record
• Project management experience a plus
• MBA, strategy consulting, start-up, or other relevant business experience a plus
• Able and comfortable working in a developing, fluid and constantly changing company, as well as handling multiple priorities while constantly meeting deadlines
• Airport experience is a plus

Life at Lilium:

The wellbeing of our employees is a high priority. In our HQ we have many initiatives such as free healthy food and drinks, free in-house gym and health days. In remote offices we offer online opportunities to stay connected and develop yourself as well including our culture club, free e-library, learning terminal, Employee Assistance Program and many more.

Lilium is an equal opportunity employer and welcomes applications from all qualified individuals regardless of ethnicity, sex, disability, religion/belief, sexual orientation or age.