Director, Public Affairs - Canada

Job Description:

The Director, Public Affairs (Canada) serves as Mars’ lead for public affairs in Canada, working in close partnership with the One Mars Corporate Affairs lead and in collaboration with each business unit to ensure alignment with public policy issues that impact market priorities. The role reports directly into the North America Government Relations Service Center (GRSC) to ensure consistency of messaging, strategy, and execution across regional, national, and local-level public affairs.

A central responsibility is to lead advocacy strategy development and implementation on business-critical Canadian policy issues, working closely with the market Corporate Affairs teams and other relevant functions. The role plays a vital role in shaping Canada’s positions on both domestic and international policy issues, both directly and through trade association, ensuring Mars’ priorities are understood early and reflected in policy actions. The Director builds and maintains senior relationships with policymakers, regulators, and relevant policy stakeholders, and provides senior counsel across segments.

What are we looking for?​

• Undergraduate degree required, advanced degree in Public Policy, Political Science, Law, International Relations, or a related field preferred.
• Minimum 10 years of Public Affairs experience, ideally with a mix of government, corporate, and/or industry association roles.
• Proven experience working within complex multi-national organizations and highly matrixed teams.

What will be your key responsibilities?

Canadian Public Affairs

• Lead monitoring and analysis of political and economic conditions in Canada to counsel internal business stakeholders on development, risks, and opportunities.
• Lead public affairs strategy development and engagement on domestic and international policies relevant to enterprise or segment priorities, in close partnership with the One Mars Corporate Affairs lead, the North American GRSC, and in collaboration with relevant functional colleagues.
• Assess and communicate implications of fiscal, environmental, industrial, and consumer policies on Mars operations.

Influence & Strategy

• Shape and influence positions on priority policy issues (e.g., trade, circular economy & packaging, sustainability frameworks, food policy), ensuring Mars’ enterprise priorities are understood early and reflected in legislation and regulation at the national and local levels.
• Provide early intelligence, analysis, and strategic advice on Canadian government priorities, political dynamics, and regulatory trends with implications for Mars operating environment.

Stakeholder Engagement & Representation

• Represent Mars in key Canadian trade associations (including FHCP, PFAC and IE Canada), ensuring aligned and proactive positions.
• Represent Mars at senior-level engagements with ministries, agencies, parliament, and relevant stakeholder organizations.

Build and maintain senior relationships with:

• Key ministries (Economy, Agriculture/Food, Health, Environment, etc.)
• Legislators and key policy staff at all levels of government .
• Regulatory agencies.
• Industry associations and relevant NGOs.
• Foreign embassies.
• Academia and Think Tank Community.

Internal Leadership & Alignment

• Partner closely with the “One Mars” Corporate Affairs and segment CA teams (Petcare, Snacking, Food), as well as relevant functional team in each segment.
• Work directly with the North America Government Relations Service Center (GRSC) to ensure sequencing and coherence of regional and national engagement.
• Provide clear, timely internal communication on political developments and advocacy plans.
• Contribute to enterprise-wide strategies for external engagement, reputation, and policy positioning.

What can you expect from Mars?

• Work with diverse and talented Associates, all guided by the Five Principles.

• Join a purpose driven company, where we’re striving to build the world we want tomorrow, today.

• Best-in-class learning and development support from day one, including access to our in-house Mars University.

• An industry competitive salary and benefits package, including company bonus.

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