Director; Policy & Public Affairs

Founders Comms works with the most ambitious founders, startups, scaleups and venture investors to help them tell their story clearly, build trust and navigate a fast moving external environment. We combine senior level strategic thinking with hands‑on delivery, helping high growth companies communicate with conviction and engage effectively with the audiences that matter.

Our aim is to give clients earlier access to senior expertise across communications, external affairs and strategy, helping them anticipate what is coming next, engage effectively and scale with confidence.

In today’s landscape, strong communication and thoughtful external engagement shape reputation, influence key conversations and create real momentum for businesses looking to grow. We bring deep experience in early stage and high growth companies, and work closely with founders to respond with clarity and confidence.

We are building a team of experienced operators and advisors who enjoy both the thinking and the doing, and who want to help build a new kind of communications partner for high growth companies.

We are looking for an experienced Policy & Public Affairs Director to define, build and lead this capability within Founders Comms. Sitting on the leadership team, this role combines senior client advisory work with commercial ownership and team development.

You will be responsible for shaping our public affairs proposition, winning and growing client relationships, and building a high‑performing policy and public affairs team over time. You will work closely with the co‑founders to position Founders Comms as a trusted strategic partner to founders navigating political, regulatory and stakeholder complexity as they scale.

This role suits someone who thrives in an entrepreneurial environment, brings strong political judgement and commercial instinct, and is motivated by the opportunity to build something meaningful from the ground up.

• Lead senior‑level public affairs and policy advice for clients, acting as a trusted advisor to founders and leadership teams.
• Develop and oversee strategic public affairs and policy programmes that support clients’ commercial objectives and scaling ambitions.
• Ensure high‑quality execution across all client work, with clear priorities, accountability and measurable progress.
• Advise on broader corporate communications and reputation strategy where political and regulatory insight strengthens our work.
• Represent clients credibly with government, parliamentarians, regulators, industry bodies and wider stakeholders.
• Own and develop Founders Comms’ policy and public affairs proposition, shaping how we take it to market and how it evolves as the business grows.
• Identify and pursue new business opportunities, working with the leadership team to convert relationships, networks and inbound interest into long‑term client engagements.
• Contribute to pitches, proposals and commercial discussions, helping define scope, pricing and delivery models.
• Build strong relationships across the startup, scaleup and investor ecosystem, positioning Founders Comms as a go‑to partner on public affairs and policy.

• Build, lead and mentor a growing policy and public affairs team, creating clear standards for quality, delivery and professional development.
• Support recruitment as the practice grows, helping shape the future structure and capabilities of the team.
• Foster a collaborative, high‑trust culture that values both strategic thinking and hands‑on delivery.
• Act as a role model for Founders Comms’ values, ways of working and commitment to balanced, sustainable careers.

• Bring significant public affairs and policy experience, ideally gained across high growth environments, government or consultancy.
• Have a strong track record of advising senior stakeholders and navigating complex political, regulatory or reputational challenges.
• Demonstrate commercial acumen, with experience of contributing to business development, client growth and proposition building.
• Show excellent political judgement and the ability to translate complex policy issues…