Oatly is hiring a
SVP Global Public Affairs

Hello potential future Oatly employee. It’s us, the original oatdrink company that started in Sweden back 25 or so years ago and continues to grow at a rate such that we need more brilliant minds to come work with us to keep the momentum going and the oatdrink flowing.

Sustainability, health, and transparency are the core values that guide everything we do. Basically, we exist to make it easy for people to eat better and live healthier lives without recklessly taxing the planet’s resources in the process. If any of this resonates with you, then maybe you’d like work for Oatly, too. Now onto the formal stuff.

We are looking for a Senior Vice President of Global Public Affairs.

THE ROLE:

As our first SVP of Global public affairs, you will work closely with EVP of Global Communications and Public Affairs to streamline our public affairs operations across the globe and evangelize the benefits Oatly – and shifting to plant-based eating – bring to people and the planet. We’re up against various industries that have had a multi-hundred-year head start against us, so if you’re looking for a battle against big behemoths – we want to talk to you.

Together with your regional public affairs teams, you will collaborate with members of our our executive team and our regional GMs, as well as colleagues in creative, communications, sustainability, science and innovation, finance, sustainable operations, and legal (among others) across the world to engage policymakers, regulatory authorities, media organisations, and other stakeholders. You will help us speak up and speak out on issues affecting our company and about issues we care about, like reimagining the global food system, with honestly, clarity, and a style of candor most companies don’t have – or allow.

This role will be based in Europe (preferably Amsterdam or London), and will require travel to our Malmö, Sweden headquarters, our other markets in Europe, and the United States. Make sure your airline and hotel loyalty programs are up-to-date.

HERE ARE THE THINGS WE WANT TO HIRE YOU TO DO:

• Create a global public affairs strategy that promotes a unified global operating model and voice, while helping our regional operations maintain their own unique in-market perspectives
• Identify the right policymakers we need to be proactively engage with and….engage them to discuss Oatly, our place in the world, and the good we bring to the table for people and the planet
• Help us better understand, get ahead of, and respond to – various legislative, regulatory, and policy issues we face across the world
• Prove people wrong: There’s a lot of misconceptions about Oatly fomented by established industries *cough cough big dairy* that we need to push back against
• Evaluate and adjust our strategic partner strategy (NGOs, non-profits, trade organisations, and business coalitions,) and work with the public affairs team to ensure we are properly utilising them

WHO YOU ARE/PROFESSIONAL REQUIREMENTS:

• 15+ years experience working in government affairs. Previous experience working directly in the political arena is preferred
• A proven track-record of building global public affairs programs that made tangible impact(s) across multiple planets
• Experience working at or with a publicly-traded company that has operations in multiple countries around the world
• The ability to speak with governmental and regulatory leaders/staff with clarity, ease, and confidence to foster great relationships that help our business and cause
• Clarity in prioritising which projects to manage at the right time. We facetime a lot, but we can’t do it all at once
• A desire to own the function with enough confidence to push back when needed. We want to look to you for advice
• A collaborative spirit to work with colleagues to create and activate programs that might not show immediate results, but helps provide advance context for larger business and creative programs we regularly introduce
• Effortless leadership whereas your team can look to you for mentorship, direction, and support and your colleagues can rely on for advice and informed perspective
• Impeccable attention to detail. Did you catch the two ridiculous errors in this section? If so, congratulations – you get the golden ticket!

SOME IMPORTANT INTANGIBLES:

• You’re corporate but not “corporate.” Oatly is a unique place and while we must run a professional organisation, we don’t like to work with robots

• Failure is learning. We hope you’ve had some spectacular failures in your career. So much so that we want to discuss them at length. Negative feedback and adversity are the best learning experiences out there

• Patience. Sometimes things might not move as quickly as you want. Or your boss might be completely swamped with other work and you really should be sympathetic to them. This really has nothing to do with anything actually. The person writing this (your potential future boss) just wanted to let you know he has a lot on his plate (which is totally cool – this is what he signed up for!!) and you will help make things better for him.
• And here’s another list of qualities we think make a good Oatly team member:
  • You feel connected to our mission of encouraging health, sustainability, and transparency
  • You have entrepreneurial spirit in that you’re comfortable with ambiguity and are energised by the process of building something lasting from the ground up
  • You are ready to make your mark in a smaller, growing brand leveraging your experience to deliver amazing results and build an outstanding company

YOUR APPLICATION:

We value diversity and inclusion and welcome people from all backgrounds who see sustainability and health as important values. Even if your experience doesn’t align perfectly with every qualification in the job description, we encourage you to apply anyway. If you have the curiosity, passion, and collaborative spirit, it’s already a fantastic start.

We treat all candidates equally: If you are interested, please apply through our application system – any correspondence should come from there. This will ensure that the candidate experience is smooth and fair to everyone!