Policy Manager
About Awaze
Awaze is one of Europe’s largest vacation rental groups, home to trusted brands including NOVASOL, cottages.com and Hoseasons, sending 6 million guests on holiday each year. We are proud to have over 100,000 properties in our portfolio, in 25 countries across the UK and Europe.
About the Role
The past few years has seen a rapid increase in regulation in the short-term rental industry. We are looking for someone to manage and drive forward our response, all the way from regulatory inception to implementation in the business. The work will be varied; one day you may be responding to a consultation on a licensing scheme, another you may be speaking to the European Commission on upcoming regulation, and another you may be working with the business to implement the collection of visitor levies. Your focus will be on national and regional regulation in the countries in which we operate across the UK and Europe.
What the job involves:
Lead on the delivery of key public policy objectives, particularly in relation to regulatory and government policy development, in key operational areas
Develop, implement and communicate our legislative and public policy objectives; determining advocacy priorities, positions, and strategies
Draft papers setting out our position and respond to consultations that affect our business / stakeholders
Develop evidence to support our positions and objectives
Review legislation / regulation, draft comments and research issues to provide analysis and critical thinking on legislation /regulation
Represent Awaze in meetings with government and elected officials in the UK and EU, as well as industry associations, Awaze owners / guests, and other stakeholders
Build and maintain relationships with a network of contacts in local, regional, and national legislative, executive, and administrative offices, as well as with allied groups and partners
Work closely with our trade associations in the UK and Europe, to ensure that their priorities and objectives reflect ours (including being our representative on some association working groups)
Identify, review and track regulatory updates that affect our business both nationally and locally in the UK and key markets in the EU, develop our response, communicate these to the business / other stakeholders and drive forward & track implementation in the business
Work closely with cross functional partners to make sure that policy plans fit with business priorities, and support as needed to help implement our legislative and public policy activities
Identify opportunities to pro-actively influence government policy and legislative reform in the UK and across key markets in Europe to support our objectives
Ensure progress is reported accurately and regularly
Manage consultants and agencies to support campaigns
What we are looking for in the candidate:
Strong interest in / passion for UK and EU Government & policy
Experience working on regulation / policy / lobbying / with politicians, ideally in the travel industry (but this is not essential)
Ability to quickly get up to speed on complex technical and regulatory issues.
Ability to build /extend existing knowledge of sector regulation and detect new regulatory issues
Excellent written & oral communication and drafting skills
Comfortable building internal and external relations at all levels of seniority
Comfortable presenting internally and externally
Ability to work in teams across an organisation
Understanding of commercial imperatives that drive a business and strong analytical skills
Fluent in English, other European language skills would be a plus, but not mandatory
Due to the nature of the role, there will need to be some flexibility for occasional travel in the UK and Europe
Proactive and positive attitude, reliable and organised with great attention to detail, an eagerness to learn and operate independently
What we’ll give you
You will be joining our legal team of 7 people, at a time of great change and opportunity. The legal team and the wider team at Awaze are genuine, passionate people working in an exciting and growing sector, who will support your growth and development
You will shape and drive forward our strategic response to matters of great importance to the business and our stakeholders
You will have an opportunity to widen your knowledge by working for an international business on a wide range of matters, working with team members and external third parties (including various authorities) in multiple jurisdictions
You will have the freedom to choose the best way of working to get the job done. We work cross-functionally, so you’ll be given opportunities to develop skills outside of your core skillset and with various stakeholders
We offer a competitive salary and benefits including some great travel discounts, flexible working hours and hybrid working (2-3 days in the office per week)
What else do you need to know?
We are advertising this role out of either Manchester or London. The role is advertised as full time, but we are open to applicants looking to work 4 days/week.
We want to make the application process as stress-free as possible, so typically we’ll have an informal chat with you on the phone, followed by a comprehensive interview at our Manchester office or London office.
We believe in equal opportunities and aim to create a team that is representative of our society, knowing that embracing differences enhances the capabilities of our business and makes for a happy place to work. We are proud to recognise and celebrate that we have a diverse culture where employees are accepted for who they are, regardless of age, gender, ethnicity, sexual orientation, religion or ability.