Executive Head: Public Affairs

**When it comes to putting people first, we're number 1.**

The number 1 Top Employer in South Africa.
Certified by the Top Employer Institute 2025.

**Role Purpose/Business Unit**:
**Your responsibilities will include**:
**Specialist policy Lobby advisor**
- Maintain high level knowledge of all business units issues through internal partnership building
- Facilitate advocacy between VSA and external environment especially public sector Group for the executives mainly in support of CEO and Directors (Chief Officers)
- To maintain a stakeholder engagement plan to drive advocacy, with key internal and external stakeholders, concise messaging, timelines and actions for follow up
- Collaborate with regulatory team on how to support the team with advocacy for policy asks especially on non-traditional ICASA (communications regulatory) issues
- To facilitate smooth interface with Group counterpart on Group issues in support and under guidance of the Chief/Director as and when required.
- Interface with the VSA CEOs office as main internal stakeholder to understand CEOs priorities
- Interface with Group CEO office as and when required in support of VSA CEO under guidance of and support of Chief / Director advocacy responsibilities

**Research, analyse and develop inputs on evolving government policies and monitor implementation**
- Work with business units esp VB, technology and CBU to develop messaging for advocacy purposes
- Identify national public sector departments with no owner internally and build relations for social contract and purpose to change perceptions
- Demonstrate and maintain knowledge and expertise of the public policy cycle
- Keep abreast of trends in the policy development space affecting Vodacom South Africa and provide advisory reports, i.e. energy, BEE, competition, SMMEs, health and safety.
- Assist VB and other business such as SCM on amicable resolution of challenges for litigation to be viewed as the last resort on matters of policy, SME partnerships etc.
- Provide support to all business units on external thought leadership activities anchored by partners such as business forums, private and public sector to strengthen partnerships and to change perpetuates through social contract messaging
Prepare briefs for Vodafone matters in support of the chief as and when required

**Stakeholder universe profiling and mapping**with emphasis on political, public sector, business forums relationships which are material to Vodacom’s strategy and create a platform for Vodacom executives to engage at the highest political, public sector and business forum level (e.g. President, DP, Ministers, Opposition party or coalition governments Leaders, Premiers, and Local government leaders, forum presidents /CEOs etc.) and infusing customer centricity in EA through social contract and purpose
- Maintain relationships with political parties in Parliament and to facilitate meetings when needed to build or to maintain relations on an annual basis
- Custodian of stakeholder universe and able to interface with the key policy stakeholders (public sector, regulators, business forums)
- Infuse customer centricity (customer being part of stakeholder universe albeit managed by commercial teams and considering customer spirit survey is lower for EA) into the public affairs and external affairs work, working closely with Connect4change trust, CBU and VB teams to understand customer issues, escalation of stakeholder complaints that come EAs way.
- Working with brand team, Connect4change, Foundation and sustainability to get customers to be attached to the brand’s social contract and purpose as a key stakeholder, enabling the customers to see Vodacom beyond just a transactional relationship by understanding and contributing to our social contract and purpose and integrate this in public sector stakeholder messaging, ie to Parliament and political parties
- Overseeing of state and company protocol and ensuring observance of those protocols in consultation with relevant colleagues when company is attending state event or hosting public sector stakeholders
- Must have access with the departments of communications and digital technologies, trade industry and competition, presidency, treasury, social development, education working with relevant colleagues who own the content
- Must support regional affairs team with management of regional stakeholders by providing guidelines for engagements (engagement templates, follow up on issues discussed in meetings)
- Must have access to legislature speakers and secretaries to facilitate strategic engagements for executives and attendance to state of national or provincial addresses where relevant
- Custodian of company stakeholder map, profiling, and engagement plan per topical issue for engagement
- Build and maintain active relationships between Vodacom South Africa, the executive, and legislature and “social partners”
- Build and maintain active relationships with civil society, labour