Helping people, animals and the planet by ensuring that plant-based and cultivated meat, eggs, dairy, and seafood are fairly regulated in Europe

Industrial animal agriculture is at the root of many of the most pressing global issues of our time, from climate change and global hunger, to antibiotic resistance and poor animal welfare.

The Good Food Institute Europe (GFI Europe) is at the forefront of the movement to use food technology to replace the products of industrial animal agriculture with plant-based and cultivated alternatives. Please check out our website (GFIEurope.org) and read the 2020 Year in Review (gfi.org/2020) to find out more about who we are and what we do.

We are at an exciting stage in our growth, and are looking for a Policy Manager to join our team. For more information about this role, please read the Policy Manager job brochure: https://bit.ly/3tikffD.

How You Will Make a Difference

Your role will have high responsibility and high impact. You will significantly influence how quickly Europe and the world move to a more ethical and sustainable food system.

You will be responsible for driving our regulatory policy work in Brussels and beyond. The focus of this role is ensuring that sustainable protein products can safely come to market in Europe. You will work to deliver a clear, transparent, and evidence-based regulatory path-to-market for plant-based, fermentation-made and cultivated proteins in the EU, and potentially in other European countries, including the UK. This role will not focus on the scientific, technical, or legal aspects of regulatory approval and risk assessment, but on ensuring that there is sufficient political support for the approval of sustainable proteins.

To achieve this, you will:

Monitor regulatory approval processes for sustainable proteins, and advocate for them to be clear, robust, and evidence-based.
Inform and advise policymakers and regulatory bodies about innovations and industry trends in the plant-based and cultivated meat, egg, dairy, and seafood sectors.
Build relationships with, and advise, senior politicians and civil servants in relevant EU institutions, including the European Commission, as well as national governments and other national-level institutions.
Monitor upcoming and ongoing applications of sustainable protein products for regulatory approval and, if products are deemed safe after a strict risk assessment by regulators, maximise the chance for a positive final approval decision.
Build partnerships and coordinate with other organisations and engage respectfully with people who are still to be persuaded.
Closely monitor and stay abreast of relevant policy proposals, spotting opportunities and pre-empting threats.
Together with colleagues, work with the media and use social media to help deliver our objectives.
Represent GFI Europe in meetings and events with external stakeholders.
Perform other tasks as required.

Who we’re looking for:

You must have:

A passion for GFI’s philosophy and mission.
A demonstrated ability to drive policy change.
Comfort with, and experience of, interacting with and influencing officials and politicians.
Experience working on policy at the EU, national or multilateral level, for example in a government, regulatory body, public institution, political party, NGO, think tank, industry association, public affairs agency, consulting firm, multilateral organisation, or other relevant institution.
Excellent people skills – the ability to influence, network, build alliances and work well in a team.
Enthusiasm, a strong work ethic and self-motivation; a sense of ownership and responsibility to drive outcomes. A positive, can-do, hands-on attitude.
Fluent English, both written and spoken.

It would be an advantage to have some or all of the following attributes, but none of them are prerequisites, and we welcome applications from candidates without any or all of them:

Knowledge of the EU’s committee procedures (‘comitology’) and of regulatory frameworks for pre-market authorisation of food products at the EU level, including for one or more of the following product categories: novel foods, genetically modified foods, additives, enzymes or flavourings.
Experience working on EU regulatory approval of food products or other products (eg medicines) that require pre-market authorisation.
A strong network of contacts in the EU.
A demonstrated ability to build alliances with NGOs and industry actors.
Fluency in major European languages other than English.

We want the best people and we don’t want biases holding us back. We strongly encourage people of every colour, orientation, age, gender, origin, and ability to apply. Because we value a diverse workplace, we prioritise an inclusive climate absent of discrimination and harassment during the application process and after you join the team.

The Fine Print:

Terms of employment: Full-time (flexible hours), permanent
Reports to: GFI Europe’s Head of Policy
Location: This is a remote role, and you will be able to work from home, or anywhere you choose. We will consider candidates based anywhere in Europe, but you will need to be willing and able to travel to Brussels frequently for in-person meetings – probably at least twice per month, and sometimes at short notice. If the successful applicant for this role is based in Brussels, they would be able to join the Brussels-based members of our policy team in their office as needed. Once the Covid-19 situation has cleared, the whole GFI Europe team will aim to get together in-person approximately twice per year for around 3-4 days at a time, most likely in the London area or Brussels.
Right to work requirements: The successful candidate must, by the start of the employment, have permission to work in the country where they are based, and to be able to travel within the EU.
Application Deadline: 4 October 2021, 11.59pm CET. We will be assessing candidates on a rolling basis, so please apply now!
Application process: Please complete this short form, and upload your CV and cover letter, here: https://forms.gle/mpwEPja8Db7pXauX6 – thank you. Your cover letter (of 1-2 pages) and CV should set out:
what motivated you to apply for this role
how you meet each of the requirements for the role as listed in the job description
and which bit of the job description energises you the most.

The full application process is outlined in the job brochure: https://bit.ly/3tikffD. We really look forward to hearing from you!

Any questions? If you have any questions about this role, please do reach out to us at europe@gfi.org. If you’ve read this far but decided not to apply, please feel free to share this job description with someone else in your network who you think might be a good fit for the role! Thank you.

this job offer is not open for applications