Tech Policy Director in London

Milltown Partners is a global advisory firm working with influential organisations and individuals on the communications and public policy challenges that define their reputations. In recent years we have worked on a number of projects advising clients on their policy strategies, which cut to the ethical and commercial core of their businesses. We take a research driven approach to anticipating the direction of travel of public policy, and help our clients chart an optimal course through it. We are looking to further develop this specialism to capitalise on exciting new opportunities and continue to grow the breadth of what we can offer to our clients.

We are looking for a leader in this space with at least 10 years experience to join us in London to help deliver our ambitious plans in this area. We are flexible to bring someone on as an Associate Director or Director. The right title will depend on what is best for the right person for the role. The salary range included is indicative of that flexibility.

Directors are responsible for the quality of everything we produce. They ensure every team has an agreed strategy, clear priorities, and consistently exceeds client expectations. They set the scope, agree the fees and design the structure of our teams to ensure we have the right resources to deliver our best work. They give brilliant advice to our clients, deliver exceptional work and coach their teams to do the same. Directors are instrumental in the growth of the firm, helping to build external networks and lead on new business opportunities, while also supporting the design and delivery of plans for quality, talent and growth.

• Policy and public affairs

• Crafting and delivering advice that supports our clients' ability to influence policy and regulation.
• Providing strategic advice to our clients by combining a deep understanding of key technology policy issues (inc. AI, online safety, data and competition) with insight into political dynamics.
• Using relationships with policy and political stakeholders to provide insights that elevate the quality of our advice.
• Translating technical and policy concepts into compelling narratives that resonate with policy stakeholders (inc. parliamentarians, civil servants, regulators).
• Understanding how to execute public affairs engagement, in order to lead a team that provides hands‐on support to public affairs teams.
• Designing and interrogating client asks and designing briefs that ensure all advice is underpinned by insights.
• Confidently and transparently discussing AI-enhanced work with clients and explaining value‐add.

• Collaborating with senior management to set clear goals and priorities for your teams and holding everyone, including themselves, to account for meeting them.
• Building trust with your client in order to give the most impactful advice and support.
• Taking responsibility for the strategic direction and tactical choices for clients.
• Sharing your insights and experience in a way that allows the rest of the team to replicate your success.
• Drawing on the full expertise and resources of the firm to develop and deliver advice that helps our clients build and protect their reputations.
• Coaching individuals both in line management and on teams to identify opportunities to meet their goals.

• Being a role model and leading by example in both managing and delivering exceptional work.
• Ensuring research, data and insight underpins all work that we deliver.
• Seeking expertise from outside the firm—not media, business, policy, academia, research—and using it to improve the quality of our advice and analysis.
• Identifying operational efficiencies that enable us to deliver our best work.
• Identifying opportunities for collaboration, knowledge sharing and growth for the business beyond your own client teams.
• Proactively engage clients and potential clients about AI‐enhanced services.

• Identifying and leading on converting new opportunities into work and extending our work with existing clients.
• Cultivating an external network that enables us to deliver impactful results for our clients (e.g. with journalists, subject matter experts or other advisers).
• Developing and building your external network in order to attract new clients and reach potential referrers.
• Showing entrepreneurial thinking internally by identifying opportunities for collaboration, skills building and knowledge sharing.

• Giving and receiving regular feedback to individuals at all levels in the firm.
• Actively seeking input or assistance from others and reflecting their contributions in the work.
• Demonstrating allyship to all colleagues and supporting the wellbeing of everyone on the team.

Our Associate Director salary band starts at £75,000 and our Director salary band starts at £100,000. We determine a successful candidate's salary based on what we believe is a fair and competitive offer for their experience and our level expectations as laid out in our internal career framework. You'll have access to competitive pay with transparent salary bands, twice‐yearly bonuses, professional development opportunities guided by our career framework and progression pathways, private healthcare, mental health support, 26 days holiday plus public holidays (outside of our annual Christmas break), and a hybrid working model (three days in the office: Monday, Tuesday and Thursday).

• Policy adviser (political appointments / SpAds) working on technology policy issues across UK, Germany, France, Brussels or US
• Civil servant
• Trade associations
• Regulator
• Parliamentary researcher for a parliamentarian
• Experience working for political party apparatus or campaign team
• Excellent command of written and verbal English language
• At least 10 years of advisory experience in technology policy issues – ideally in one or several of: consultancy, government, regulator or a technology company
• Ideally this experience will include advising or engaging with large global technology companies.
• Deep understanding of key policy issues in the UK (inc. AI, online safety, data privacy and competition) and how these interact with policy developments in the EU, US and globally.
• Relationships with a range of policy stakeholders (e.g. government, regulators, parliamentarians, party officials, trade associations, policy influencers)
• Experience communicating complex topics to non‐technical audiences
• Experience managing a team and pushing work to the appropriate level
• Intellectual curiosity to develop subject matter expertise in new topics, and share that with colleagues
• A highly motivated team member who values collaboration and has a desire to seek out feedback in order to learn and develop
• Commitment to contributing to a supportive and inclusive culture

We're an independent, employee‐owned firm, which means the people who work here share in our collective success. We operate across London, Brussels, San Francisco, New York, Washington D.C., advising technology companies, global investors, iconic brands and influential individuals on the communications and policy challenges that define their reputations. Our culture is built on five values: brilliance, restlessness, comradeship, inclusivity and integrity. We expect a lot from each other, but we also invest in each other—through honest feedback, shared learning and genuine care that goes beyond the work itself. We're also serious about building a diverse, equitable and inclusive workplace. We have measurable commitments around representation, inclusion and supporting underrepresented communities through pro‐bono work. Creating an environment where everyone can thrive is central to how we operate.