Head of Public Affairs, Germany

Shopify’s Public Affairs Team works with policymakers, legislators, civil society groups, academics, and the public-at-large to speak up for small businesses and entrepreneurs, and advocate for a more open and competitive e-commerce ecosystem.

About You

We’re looking for a curious, passionate and dedicated Berlin-based public policy professional to serve as our Head of Public Affairs Manager for Germany. We are looking for someone with experience who has worked through challenging issues with policymakers and regulators from Germany. Our ideal candidate will have prior experience working on policy issues relevant to Shopify, including e-commerce regulation, platform regulation, data protection, competition, payments and other similar areas.  

Your primary responsibility will be to strategically manage our engagement on policy issues across the government offices in Germany, and help us tell Shopify’s story to policymakers.  You will represent us in meetings and discussions with policymakers and you will work closely with internal teams to ensure we are anticipating and preparing the business for significant legal and regulatory changes on the horizon. You should also feel comfortable working with engineers, product managers, tax specialists, and a variety of other teams, as part of your efforts to understand how policy proposals may affect our business, and the merchants that use our platform. Additionally, you will serve as our primary contact with industry associations and third parties and you will help us draft written submissions where appropriate. You will work closely with the Head of Government Affairs, Europe.

As long as you have relevant substantive experience, we don’t care exactly where you got that experience - you don’t need to be a lawyer, and we are open to candidates who have gained experience in any role anywhere, including in government, in a civil society group, at a company, at an industry group or at a public affairs or law firm.  You also need to be an excellent writer and communicator, and a creative thinker.

Success at Shopify requires intellect, humility and a sense of humour. You need to take the work seriously, but not take yourself too seriously. You also need to be comfortable with being uncomfortable, able to work with many different types of personalities, really connect with people and earn their trust, and enjoy working as a team player. You will handle complicated matters with empathy and professionalism, striking a balance between legal and policy requirements while maintaining our amazing workplace.

Responsibilities:

• Represent Shopify in discussions with policymakers, legislators, and civil society groups in Germany.
• Monitor German policy initiatives and regulatory proposals; evaluate the potential impact on Shopify.
• Prepare written submissions about relevant policy proposals.
• Prepare policy papers and circulate internally to ensure that our view is informed by stakeholders across the organization.
• Manage relationships with third parties in Germany.

• You are located in or around Berlin, Germany.
• Strong knowledge of tech policy stemming from time in government or covering tech policy elsewhere - NGO, private sector, or civil society organization.
• Understanding of policy areas important to Shopify, including platform regulation, intellectual property, data protection, content moderation, competition, and e-commerce regulation.
• Existing relationships with policymakers, industry groups, and civil society groups in Germany.
• Excellent communication and writing skills.
• The​ ​ability​ ​to​ ​build​ ​and​ ​maintain​ ​strong​ ​relationships​ ​with​ ​a​ ​variety​ ​of​ ​people and teams, both internal and external.​ ​​​You​ ​will​ ​need​ ​to​ ​be​ ​able​ ​to​ ​gain​ ​the​ ​trust​ ​of​ ​a​ ​wide​ ​range​ ​of​ ​folks​ ​at Shopify,​ ​to​ ​speak​ ​to​ ​each​ ​team​ ​“in​ ​their​ ​language,”​ ​and​ ​to​ make them ​feel​ ​comfortable​ ​enough​ ​to​ ​reach​ ​out​ ​when things​ ​go​ ​wrong. You will also need to build trusted relationships with key external stakeholders. You will need to do all of this in a new “Digital by Design” (read, remote) workplace.
• The ability to talk about highly technical products and services with both technical experts and regulators with no technical background.

We know that applying to a new role takes a lot of work and we truly value your time. Kostas, our Head of Government Affairs, Europe, is looking forward to reading your cover letter. In your cover letter, please include a paragraph on a current policy issue in Germany that may affect Shopify and your initial thoughts on what Shopify’s position should be on such an issue.

At Shopify, we are committed to building and fostering an environment where our employees feel included, valued, and heard. Our belief is that a strong commitment to diversity and inclusion enables us to truly make commerce better for everyone. We strongly encourage applications from Indigenous peoples, racialized people, people with disabilities, people from gender and sexually diverse communities and/or people with intersectional identities.

If you’re interested in helping us shape the future of commerce, click the “Apply now” button to submit your application. We know that applying to a new role takes a lot of work and we value your time. 

Experience comes in many forms, many skills are transferable, and passion goes a long way. If your experience is this close to what we’re looking for, consider applying. We know that diversity of thought makes for the best problem-solving and creative thinking, which is why we're dedicated to adding new perspectives to the team and encouraging everyone to apply.

Our belief is that a strong commitment to diversity & inclusion enables us to truly make commerce better for everyone. We encourage applications from Indigenous peoples, racialized people, people with disabilities, people from gender and sexually diverse communities, and/or people with intersectional identities. Please take a look at our Sustainability Reports to learn more about Shopify’s commitments to our communities, and our planet.

At Shopify, we understand that experience comes in many forms. We’re dedicated to adding new perspectives to the team - so if your experience is this close to what we’re looking for, please consider applying.