Communications and Public Affairs Manager, Asia-Pacific

WHY WORK WITH OATLY?
Hello potential future Oatly employee. It’s us, the original oat drink/oatmilk (depending on where on planet earth you reside) company that started in Sweden nearly 30 years ago and we need more brilliant minds to come work with us to keep the momentum going and the oat drink/oatmilk 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 you should read on.
We are looking for a Communications and Public Affairs Manager for Asia-Pacific (with a focus on Australia, Singapore, Japan and Korea).
THE ROLE:
As Communications and Public Affairs Manager Asia-Pacific, you will work closely with our senior Communications and Public Affairs leaders, regional GMs and teams, and others in the Oatly Department of Mind Control (ODMC) to develop programs that tell the Oatly story, extend our brand in crucial emerging markets – in addition to protecting our business from regulatory threats that usually originate from those who don’t agree with our mission.
Who doesn’t agree with our mission, you might ask? Well, we don’t want to call them out specifically, but let’s just say it’s various industries that have a multi-hundred-year head start over us with a lot to lose as people adopt a more plant-based diet.
So, if you’re looking to play a role in the large societal shift to plant-based consumption whilst battling big behemoths – we want to talk to you.
This role reports into our SVP of Corporate Communications and is based in Sydney. It could require occasional travel to our Malmö, Sweden headquarters as well as travel to the markets you will cover.
HERE ARE THE THINGS WE WANT TO HIRE YOU TO DO:
Overall Responsibilities:

• Develop and lead Communications and Public Affairs activities that support Oatly’s business priorities in your markets to help further lead a societal shift away from Cow Dairy
• Partner with key executives, cross-functional colleagues, ODMC, and other internal partners (such as our Sustainability function, Nutrition and Innovation Teams, and our colleagues in Legal and Regulatory) to coherently further the company’s mission, identify and tackle business threats and overall ensure a holistic approach to everything we do externally
• 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
• Routinely and regularly collaborate and coordinate strategy and work with your Communications and Public Affairs colleagues to identify globally relevant narratives, priorities, and opportunities
• Work closely with local market leadership to understand competitive landscapes, needed activities and other brand challenges to build programs to further Oatly’s business interests
• Act as a company spokesperson in relevant situations
• Manage and oversee relevant agencies and association relationships in your markets

Public Affairs:

• Develop and execute a comprehensive Public Affairs program for your markets and aligned to Oatly’s mission and help promote the societal shift towards plant-based sustainable food systems
• Play a key role in challenging outdated rules and regulatory barriers that have been put up by those previously cited first incumbent industries with a lot to lose as people adopt a more plant-based diet
• Cultivate relationships with relevant government officials, policymakers, regulatory bodies, and trade associations
• Monitor and prepare action plans for legislative and regulatory risks to Oatly’s business and coordinate with your colleagues against any global risks
• Identify and develop strategic partnerships with key advocacy partners and organizations especially relevant in your markets
• Research, identify, and lead Public Affairs aspects of new market entries

Communications:

• Drive and lead all communications activities that supports the strategic priorities of the markets you will cover and ultimately help people make the shift to plant-based dairy
• Act as the primary point of contact for media inquiries for your markets
• Develop press releases, organize press events, and foster positive relationships with journalists and media outlets that positively effect Oatly’s brand reputation
• Engage with relevant media and external partners on behalf of the brand, vet and screen
• Work with Global Communications to strategically and effectively utilize company leadership in your markets as needed
• Work within our Crisis response model to create and implement communications strategies, should an issue arrive

That’s a lot. And we’re sure we’ve missed some things along the way.
WHO YOU ARE/PROFESSIONAL REQUIREMENTS:

• 8-10 years experience in the communications/Public Affairs fields
• A proven track-record of building programs that have yielded results that would make Demeter, the Greek goddess of agriculture and harvest, proud
• Experience working at or with a publicly-traded company with operations in multiple countries is a huge plus
• Similarly, working in the regional offices of a global company is preferred
• The ability to speak with the media, governmental and regulatory leaders, and their staff with clarity, ease, and confidence to foster great relationships that help our business and cause
• Juggling ability preferred. (Metaphorically, not literally – although if you really know how to juggle that’s a super-cool talent that you would be required to show in your first team meeting.) But what we mean IS the ability to prioritize which projects to manage at the right time. You’ll be working with multiple markets all of whom have set goals and timelines
• 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
• Impeccable attention to detail.
• Full professional proficiency in English

Some important intangibles:

• You’re corporate but not “corporate.” Oatly is a unique place and while we must run a professional organization, we don’t like to work with robots
• Failure is learning. We hope you’ve had some failures in your career. So much so that we want to discuss them. Negative feedback and adversity are the best learning experiences out there
• Patience. Sometimes things might not move as quickly as you want. Or you might need to hold off on some workstreams because of things happening in other regions. That’s the joy of working for a multi-national company! This really has nothing to do with anything actually. The person writing this (your potential future boss’ boss) just wanted to let you know he has a lot of faith in you and can’t wait to take credit for your great work on LinkedIn

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 are a self-starter who doesn’t need direct supervision to motivate you for success – we believe strongly in building a culture of individual accountability and ownership and need partners that can embrace that mentality
• You are ready to make your mark in a smaller, growing brand leveraging our experience to deliver amazing results and build an outstanding company
• You have entrepreneurial spirit in that you’re comfortable with ambiguity and are energized by the process of building something lasting from the ground up
• You enjoy sharing your quirkiness and talents with your coworkers

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!
APPLY FOR THE POSITION NO LATER THAN FEBRUARY 4 and please be sure to include what your spirit animal is. The person writing this is very partial to the Capybara – the animal kingdom’s cool best friend.
THE OATLY WAY
Oatly is a company built on the idea of change. Our mission is to help people upgrade their everyday lives and the health of the planet by making tasteful oat-based food products accessible to a wider audience. It's why we come to work every day.
Headquartered in Malmö, Sweden with production facilities in Sweden, Netherlands, China, Singapore and the US, our products are available in more than 20 countries globally.
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