Lead French Public Affairs

Job description

Here at The Exploration Company, we are building spacecrafts for humanity. ## Position Summary The Lead French Public Affairs is responsible for designing and executing the company’s public affairs strategy at French level, in close coordination with the Chief Government Officer and the other countries Leads In a fast-growing startup environment, this role combines strategic policy leadership, direct institutional engagement, and hands-on execution. The position requires strong autonomy, political judgement, and the ability to translate complex regulatory developments into clear business and strategic implications for executive leadership. ## Key Responsibilities ### Strategy & Executive Advisory - Co-define French public affairs strategy with the CGO, aligned with the company’s growth, funding, and market-access objectives. - Act as a trusted advisor to the CEO and executive team on political, regulatory, and institutional matters. - Identify policy-driven risks and opportunities (regulation, funding, industrial policy, sovereignty, public procurement). - Anticipate regulatory roadmaps and translate them into actionable business recommendations. ### French Public Affairs Leadership - Lead relationships with French ministries, Parliament, regulators, agencies, and institutional partners. - Drive French public affairs actions in close alignment with EU-level strategy. - Draft and validate position papers, consultation responses, and strategic briefings for senior leadership. - Support CEO and CGO in high-level French institutional meetings, including preparation of messaging and briefings. ### Hands-On Execution in a Startup Context - Personally execute key public affairs actions (no large team or heavy hierarchy). - Build lightweight but effective public affairs processes adapted to a startup environment. - Contribute to funding-related policy work (EU programs, national schemes, public support mechanisms). ### Internal Alignment & Communication - Work closely with future projects, legal, business development, and communications teams. - Ensure consistent messaging across EU and French public affairs activities. - Provide concise, decision-ready updates to leadership (CEO, CGO, ExCom when relevant). ## Required Experience & Profile - Master’s degree in European Studies, Political Science, Law, Public Policy, or equivalent. - **5-7+ years** of experience in EU and/or French public affairs, ideally with exposure to startups, scale-ups, or fast-moving regulated sectors. - Proven experience engaging directly with French public authorities at senior level. - Track record of advising executives and operating in politically sensitive, ambiguous environments. - Strong understanding of how public policy impacts business models, funding, and market access. ## Key Skills & Mindset - Strategic thinker with a builder’s mindset: comfortable creating structure from scratch. - Highly autonomous, pragmatic, and execution-oriented. - Excellent political judgement and stakeholder management skills. - Clear, concise communicator able to brief effectively. - Comfortable switching between big-picture strategy and detailed policy work. ## Languages - **French**: native - **English**: fluent - Additional EU languages are a plus ## Why Join Us - Direct impact on the company’s strategic positioning and growth - High visibility role with the CEO and leadership team - Opportunity to shape public affairs in a fast-scaling startup environment - Exposure to French policymaking at the highest leve **Why you should join us!** What makes us special here at The Exploration Company and why we think you will enjoy working here is: - We’re Agile - we make decisions fast whilst keeping our goals and systems in mind - We’re Open and Collaborative - we are transparent about risks and obstacles, so that we can cooperate to overcome them - We have a lot of Fun - we refuel our energy knowing we are democratising space. It’s a wonderful and rare opportunity, are YOU up for the challenge? We'd love to hear from you if you wish to be a part of our journey. Please submit your CV now for immediate consideration and we will be in touch shortly. *The Exploration Company is an equal opportunity employer and values diversity. We do not discriminate based on race, religion, colour, national origin, gender, sexual orientation, age, marital status or disability status. Relocation assistance is provided for those willing to relocate including visa sponsorship where applicable.* *All offers are contingent upon the successful completion of a background check, which will be subject to the country, role, and project you applied for. By submitting your application, you acknowledge and agree that any offer of employment may be conditional upon successful condition of this check. The Exploration Company partners with Zinc Work Limited located in the UK (Zinc), a third-party provider, to ensure this process as efficient and transparent as possible. If applicable, you will receive an email from Zinc upon acceptance of your offer with a link to a secure portal where you can provide the required information to Zinc.*