Regional Manager - Regulatory And Public Affairs, Africa At East-west Seed

Job Summary

• As EWS continues to expand in Africa, a dynamic and visionary Regional Manager - Regulatory and Public Affairs (Africa) is critical in developing and executing the regional Regulatory Strategy to enable market access, ensure Regulatory compliance, facilitate International Seed Movement, and support sustainable business growth across Africa.
• The position serves as the regional regulatory expert, providing strategic leadership in regulatory affairs and regulatory advocacy across Africa. The role leads regulatory initiatives related to seed legislation, international seed movement, plant variety protection (PVP), seed certification, biodiversity and Access and Benefit Sharing (ABS) and other emerging regulatory frameworks affecting the seed industry. This role involves engaging with governments, regional economic communities and regional industry associations to promote science-based, transparent and harmonised regulatory systems that enable innovation, facilitate market access, and improve farmers' access to quality vegetable seed.
• Public Affairs responsibilities will guide the regional stakeholder engagement strategy by strengthening relationships with key strategic partners including governments, regulators, industry associations, development organisations, NGOs and farmer organisations to support EWS's freedom to operate and enhance the company's reputation across Africa.
• The role works closely with Country teams, Breeding, Production, Supply Chain, Commercial, Quality Management and Legal functions to proactively identify regulatory risks, provide timely regulatory guidance, support compliance, and enable effective business decision-making across African markets. This role will ensure continuous awareness of evolving regulatory requirements, proactively assess regulatory risks and opportunities, provide timely guidance to cross-functional teams, and influence policy developments that support the long-term business strategy.
• This role reports to the Regional Business Head and has a dotted-line report to the Global Head, Public Affairs and the Global Manager, Regulatory Affairs.

Roles and Responsibilities

Strategy Development and Execution

• Develops and implements a comprehensive regional strategy for EWS Public and Regulatory Affairs for the African region by using knowledge of and insights from the overall business strategy and requirements, seed industry and regulatory developments, new and upcoming industry legislation, trends and market needs.
• Translates the regional strategies into functional initiatives and a deployment plan which local teams under the function related or affected by the policy or regulatory changes can execute and be guided by this role.
• Provides strategic regulatory leadership by identifying regulatory priorities, emerging trends and business risks across Africa.

Regulatory Affairs

• Monitors seed-related policies, legislation and regulatory developments nationally and regionally in specific regions/markets (e.g. seed legislation, phytosanitary requirements, Import and Export Regulations, Plant variety protection, access and benefit sharing and plant breeding innovation) and coordinates with the local team to provide guidance / advises on risks and opportunities on regulatory change.
• Facilitate market access and monitor regulatory compliance and support to provide guidance to the regional supply chain team in solving the issues.
• Provide regional leadership and develop standardised regional processes to improve efficiency and compliance on international movement of germplasm, breeding materials and commercial seed.
• Advocate for science-based enabling policies through collaboration with industry associations and key strategic partners and represent EWS as a thought leader in the seed industry through speaking opportunities and relevant board positions at the regional and international levels.
• Develop and maintain a regional regulatory intelligence system to identify regulatory changes, assess business impacts, communicate risks, and recommend mitigation strategies
• Partner closely with Breeding, Production, Supply Chain, Quality Management, Commercial and Legal teams to integrate regulatory requirements into business planning.

Public Affairs

• Identifies the key stakeholders of the Public Affairs function (internally and externally) and understands their needs and requirements aligning with the regional business strategy.
• Coordinates with internal stakeholders and provides expert support to help them build critical stakeholder relations with local industry and seed industry associations and government bodies; and with other groups that may influence EWS' local development plan (ex: local community associations, unions, academics, etc.)
• Takes responsibility for developing and managing stakeholder relations with "priority" engagement targets including but not limited to: Governments, Academics, Seed industry associations at the national and regional levels including African Seed Trade Association (AFSTA), East African Community (EAC), Common Market for Eastern and Southern Africa (COMESA), and national seed associations, International Organisations (UPOV, ISTA, OECD, SeedNL, etc), Civil Society organizations (farmers community), Dutch embassy with a direct relevance to vegetable farming business.
• Align regional corporate communication strategies to enhance visibility, reputation and brand awareness by collaborating with the Regional Business Head, Country Managers and Group Head of Communications to ensure consistent messaging.

Minimum Requirements (Education, Experience, Skills)

• Bachelor's degree in Agriculture, Plant Science, Biotechnology or a related discipline.
• University degree or postgraduate degree is an advantage
• Minimum 5-8 years of Experience in Regulatory Affairs, policymaking, stakeholder management, public relations and government affairs management within the seed, agriculture, biotechnology or plant breeding industry, preferably across multiple African countries.
• Strong understanding of the African seed industry, including breeding, seed production, variety registration, seed certification, international seed movement and commercialisation.