[Hiring] Head of Public Affairs @Airalo

Role Description

You will build Airalo's public affairs function from scratch and oversee our external relationship with the world's regulators, policymakers, and industry bodies. This isn't a communications role with a government relations side — it's a substantive policy and advocacy role for someone who understands how to shape the environment a fast-growing tech company operates in.

You will advise senior leadership and represent Airalo in regulatory processes across multiple jurisdictions simultaneously, and ensure that market-access risks are identified early and addressed proactively. The role requires a sharp political instinct, genuine interest in the telecoms and digital economy regulatory space, and the credibility to represent a global brand.

What You'll Do:

• Strategy & Leadership:
  • Design and lead Airalo's global public affairs strategy, aligned to business priorities and market-expansion plans.
  • Build the public affairs function — establish processes, select external advisors and lobbying firms by market, and, in time, grow a team around you.
  • Develop a forward-looking policy horizon scanner to anticipate regulatory change before it becomes a fire to fight.
• Government Relations & Advocacy:
  • Lead direct engagement with government ministries, telecom regulators (TRAIs, Anatel, OFCOM equivalents, etc.), and consumer protection bodies across priority markets.
  • Represent Airalo in regulatory consultations, public hearings, parliamentary or congressional inquiries, and trade body working groups.
  • Build a trusted network of policymakers, civil servants, and industry peers who see Airalo as a credible and constructive actor in the sector.
  • Contribute to regulatory enforcement actions — working closely with Legal.
• Policy & Regulatory Intelligence:
  • Monitor and analyse policy and regulatory developments across APAC, EMEA, LATAM, and North America.
  • Develop and maintain Airalo's policy positions on key issues: eSIM licensing, data privacy, consumer protection, digital markets regulation, and cross-border telecoms.
• Industry & Stakeholder Engagement:
  • Build and manage Airalo's relationships with industry associations (GSMA, MVNO associations, digital economy coalitions) and shape our participation in their policy workstreams.
  • Represent Airalo at industry events, conferences, and forums as a senior external voice.
• Cross-functional Collaboration:
  • Partner with Legal, Compliance, Communications, and Commercial teams to ensure policy work is integrated into broader business decision-making.
  • Working with legal, support market-entry workstreams by providing regulatory assessments for new geographies.
  • Align external messaging with Internal Communications and PR to ensure consistent positioning.

Qualifications

• 8+ years in public affairs, government relations, policy, or regulatory affairs — in-house at a tech or telecoms company, or in a public affairs consultancy serving this sector.
• Demonstrable track record of influencing regulatory outcomes and managing multi-jurisdictional government relations programmes.
• Deep understanding of the telecoms, digital economy, or platform regulation landscape.
• Ability to operate autonomously as a first hire, building structure and process without a team underneath you from day one.
• Outstanding written and verbal communication skills.
• High political intelligence: you know how to frame Airalo's interests in a way that resonates with government stakeholders, not just internal audiences.
• Comfortable operating remotely across time zones in a fast-moving, commercially driven environment.

Requirements

• Experience managing external affairs agencies and consultants across multiple geographies.
• Prior experience building a public affairs function from the ground up.

Benefits

• Learn more about our benefits here in this link - Benefits

Company Description

At Airalo, we're making it easier for people to stay connected wherever they travel. As the world's first eSIM store, we help millions of travelers access affordable mobile data in 200+ countries and regions around the world.

Today, we're a team of 400+ people across 60+ countries, building a product used by travelers every day. We've grown quickly, but we've worked hard to keep what matters: trust, ownership, and the freedom for people to do great work without unnecessary layers or bureaucracy.

We're fully remote by design, genuinely global, and united by a shared mission to make travel simpler for everyone.