Government Affairs Specialist (Coastal)

Purpose of the Job

To proactively manage government and regulatory-related stakeholder issues to support progress and execution of the strategic initiatives / infrastructure development projects in the Coastal region, with primary focus on the Durban Marine Terminal (DMT) and related infrastructure projects.

What you'll have done before:

Baseline:

• NQF Level 7 (Degree in Commerce/ Law/ Political Science/ Social Science/ Communications/ Public
  Relations).
• 6 years experience in Government Affairs/ Public Relations/ Stakeholder Engagement/ Regulatory Affairs

Advantageous:

• Qualification in Law/ Regulatory disciplines
• Commercial acumen including sound financial/ business knowledge
• Ability to drive large infrastructure projects within oil & gas downstream

What you'll be doing:

LOCAL & PROVINCIAL GOVERNMENT STAKEHOLDER ENGAGEMENTS 

• Develop and maintain local & provincial Government relationships including with key related influencers and
  local organisations, serving as a focal point for all related engagements.
• Focus on eThekwini Municipality (local) and Kwazulu-Natal (KZN) provincial levels. However, also needs to maintain and leverage relationships across the Engen Coastal regions with strategic awareness of how developments in other ports may impact the Durban port e.g. Richards Bay port
• Lead proactive and reactive eThekwini & KZN Government engagements related to Engen’s DMT operations,
  including setting up, attending formal / informal meetings & debriefs and ensure adequate Engen
  representation at all relevant Government-interfacing external fora.
• Work closely with the Gov’t Affairs Strategic Projects Lead to coordinate relationship development and issue
  management at local / provincial levels as it relates to national Government levels, including both the Executive Branch and Parliamentary Portfolio Committees.
• Ensure that all engagements comply with all applicable governance requirements and are in accordance with all relevant Vivo- Energy policies, procedures and ethics & compliance codes of conduct

TECHNICAL PROJECT EXECUTION SUPPORT – LICENSING & REGULATORY 

• Provide input into DMT technical project plans to develop and lead project-level Government stakeholder engagement plan development / coordination / execution, including identifying and anticipating potential Government-related risk areas / issues, and developing and executing appropriate mitigation plans.
• Provide execution support to DMT technical project teams on local and provincial Government-related licensing & regulatory requirements to secure the necessary approvals, leveraging the Government relationships developed as outlined above
• Serve as Government lead on fully embedded in the various technical project teams as a team member and
  to work in matrix form with the technical project teams, with full participation incl. attending SteerCos etc.

COMMUNITY RELATIONS-GOVERNMENT COORDINATION

• Collaborate closely with the Community Relations Managers and Community Liaison Officers in the Transformation & Stakeholder Engagement team to proactively manage Government-related impacts and risks arising from broader community and other stakeholder issues primarily in the Durban area around DMT
  operations.
• For avoidance of doubt, the Transformation & Stakeholder Engagement team will remain the lead Department on managing all community-related matters – the Gov’t Affairs Specialist – Coastal will be responsible for responding to Government-related issues and impacts arising from these broader matters, working in conjunction with the team.
• Participate in broader local community stakeholder engagements / dialogues / fora and CSI events with the objective of proactively identifying and responding to issues, risks and opportunities which may be raised by various communities around Engen operations with Government stakeholders, so as to effectively mitigate these.

Working Conditions:
Ability to travel to local communities.