Public Policy and Government Relations Specialist - Google Cloud, Sub-Saharan Africa

About the Role

Join Google's Government Affairs and Public Policy team to engage with stakeholders globally, including government officials, legislators, and regulatory bodies. You will play a pivotal role in shaping policies that impact Google's Cloud and AI products within the Sub-Saharan Africa region. This position requires collaboration across various Google teams such as Go-to-Market, product, legal, and risk areas. The role involves managing multiple campaigns and initiatives to ensure Google's position is represented in policy discussions.

Key Responsibilities

• Identify and analyze policy topics affecting Google and assess their impact on business and users.
• Build and maintain relationships with policymakers, academics, think tanks, and industry influencers to secure Google's participation in Cloud and AI policy dialogues.
• Support Google Cloud by recognizing business opportunities, particularly in the public sector.
• Design and drive policy campaigns aimed at influencing policy development effectively.
• Collaborate externally with allied groups and internally with leadership and teams such as Legal, Marketing, Trust and Safety, and Public Relations.

Essential Qualifications

• Bachelor’s degree or equivalent practical experience.
• A minimum of seven years’ experience in policy analysis and advocacy, focused on technology or related policy landscapes.
• At least seven years of experience working within government, think tanks, public interest organizations, technology industry entities, or corporate public policy teams.

Preferred Qualifications

• Knowledge and experience within the Sub-Saharan Africa region, including multi-jurisdictional policy environments and industry trends.
• Proven ability to act as a trusted policy adviser to technology business units across GTM, product, legal, and risk departments.
• In-depth understanding of cloud services (IaaS, PaaS, SaaS) and technical infrastructure regulatory concerns such as data centers and subsea cables.
• Strong project leadership skills managing complex initiatives with engineering and product teams.
• Excellent communication skills to translate technical topics for broader, non-technical audiences.
• Demonstrated government relations experience with political insight to advance public policy outcomes successfully.

Equal Opportunity Employer Statement

Google is committed to creating an inclusive workplace providing equal employment opportunities regardless of race, color, ancestry, religion, sex, national origin, sexual orientation, age, citizenship, marital status, disability, gender identity, veteran status, or criminal history in line with legal requirements. Accommodation needs can be communicated via the application process.