Policy & Government Affairs Lead

Position: Policy & Government Affairs Lead — The Global Risks Forum (GRF) / Nexus Governance System
Type: Public policy interface, adoption diplomacy, and neutrality-safe government engagement role (non-executive; strictly non-executing)
Board: Officers may be considered for Board/Trustee nomination after serving in good standing (where permitted by governance rules and independence constraints)
Location: International (distributed, hybrid)
Term: 3 Years
Time commitment: ~12–25 hours per month (build-year cadence; surge periods around policy releases, cross-jurisdiction escalations, and high-stakes convenings)
Apply here: https://therisk.global/work/job/policy-government-affairs-lead/

Context and Purpose

Whole-of-society risk governance must be usable by public authorities without becoming political, partisan, or a substitute for state decision-making. Adoption fails when government engagement resembles lobbying, when standards are misread as regulation, or when recognition is confused with endorsement. Public authorities need clarity on what GRF is, what it is not, and how to adopt GRF outputs safely within domestic legal frameworks.

The Global Risks Forum (GRF) stewards standards, recognition, due process, and legitimacy across multiple constituencies. Government engagement is a critical interface: enabling lawful adoption pathways, clarifying reliance boundaries, supporting interoperability across jurisdictions, and ensuring that GRF remains neutral and whole-of-society—without being captured by any state or bloc.

The Policy & Government Affairs Lead is accountable for GRF’s public-authority interface: building neutral, disciplined engagement with ministries, regulators, agencies, and legislative stakeholders; producing adoption guidance; and managing cross-jurisdiction policy alignment—without lobbying, partisan signaling, or execution drift.

This is governance—not execution. The role does not negotiate treaties, allocate funds, broker deals, or provide legal advice. It supports adoption diplomacy and policy clarity.

Key Responsibilities

• Maintain a disciplined government engagement strategy: priority jurisdictions, engagement objectives, and clear “what GRF is / is not” posture.
• Produce adoption guidance for public authorities: how to reference GRF standards, recognition states, and claims rules in domestic policy and procurement-neutral frameworks.
• Maintain reliance boundaries: ensure governments understand that GRF outputs are standards/recognition language—not approvals, funding guarantees, or regulatory determinations.
• Convene neutrality-safe dialogues with public authorities across regions: briefings, listening sessions, and policy workshops that preserve whole-of-society posture and avoid bloc dominance.
• Track cross-jurisdiction policy constraints that affect adoption: data sovereignty, critical infrastructure sensitivity, sanctions/export controls awareness, licensing perimeter clarity, and public disclosure rules.
• Coordinate with Legal & Instruments, Standards & Recognition, and Communications Integrity functions to ensure policy materials are accurate, bounded, and record-linked.
• Ensure government engagement does not become lobbying: adopt transparent engagement logs (public-safe), ensure equal access, and prevent preferential influence pathways.
• Ensure competition-safe posture and procurement neutrality: avoid vendor steering, “preferred partner” signaling, or government engagement being used to influence procurement outcomes.
• Route disputes or contested interpretations through formal mechanisms rather than political channels.
• Support membership growth and seat completion for public-authority representation, ensuring balanced coverage and fit-and-proper onboarding.
• Sponsor quarterly learning cycles: adoption friction, misunderstandings, disputes, and improvements to government-facing guidance and templates.
• Support crisis-tempo clarity: during major risk events, ensure GRF communications to public authorities remain bounded, safe, and consistent with handling and due process.

Compensation, Remuneration, and Expenses

• Governance authority is not paid. Compensation is never linked to recognition outcomes, dispute results, enforcement actions, standards outcomes, market outcomes, or influence.
• Operational workload may be compensated (where permitted). If build-year operational work is required (briefing packs, adoption guidance, engagement operations), any compensation must be scoped, deliverable-based, independently approved, auditable, and never linked to recognition outcomes.
• Expenses may be reimbursed where documented, pre-approved, and policy-compliant.
• Continued service depends on remaining in good standing and meeting disclosure and integrity obligations.

Opportunities for Leaders to Join

• Enable adoption of whole-of-society standards and recognition language by public authorities without politicization or capture.
• Build procurement-neutral and legally coherent adoption pathways that reduce confusion and accelerate safe use.
• Convene cross-jurisdiction government dialogues that respect sovereignty while improving interoperability and trust.
• Strong performance positions leaders for senior stewardship roles and board consideration (without implying entitlement).

Leaders Profile

We are seeking senior leaders (typically 12–20+ years) with credibility across one or more of:

• Public policy leadership in risk, resilience, science/technology governance, or standards adoption.
• Government affairs in high-integrity, non-lobbying contexts; interagency coordination; legislative briefing discipline.
• Cross-border public sector engagement with strong neutrality posture and public accountability.
• Administrative law / public governance literacy sufficient to draft adoption guidance without legal overreach.

Capabilities and Mindset

• Neutral diplomacy: can engage governments without becoming captured or partisan.
• Clarity on boundaries: prevents standards from being misread as regulation or endorsement.
• Strong writing: produces adoption guidance, briefing packs, and templates that survive scrutiny.
• Integrity instincts: avoids preferential access, maintains engagement logs, and routes conflicts through due process.
• Calm under pressure: maintains bounded posture during crises and media scrutiny.

Eligibility, Membership, and Independence

• Holds a primary role outside the officer seat (unless otherwise permitted) and can sustain the expected cadence.
• Willing to fully disclose relevant interests and comply with conflict-of-interest and recusal requirements.
• Not placed in a situation where service creates unmanageable conflicts or compromises neutrality.
• Accepts confidentiality, handling discipline, and communications integrity expectations.
• Commits to remain in good standing (participation, disclosures, and applicable contribution obligations).