EU Government Relations Manager

About Stripe

Stripe is a financial infrastructure platform for businesses. Millions of companies - from the world’s largest enterprises to the most ambitious startups - use Stripe to accept payments, grow their revenue, and accelerate new business opportunities. Our mission is to increase the GDP of the internet, and we have a staggering amount of work ahead. That means you have an unprecedented opportunity to put the global economy within everyone's reach while doing the most important work of your career.

About the team

The Government Relations & Public Affairs team represents Stripe to governments, regulators, industry partners, and broader stakeholder audiences. We help policymakers understand the businesses building on Stripe, and help Stripe understand the policy decisions that affect them. Our EU work sits at the intersection of financial services, technology and economic policy. The team works closely with Policy Strategy, Legal, Communications and regional product and go-to-market teams to translate Stripe’s experience and our users’ needs into effective policy engagement.

We are looking for an EU Government Relations Manager to advance Stripe’s priorities in Brussels through effective advocacy and strong relationships with policymakers. You will bring deep expertise in either payments and financial services policy or technology policy, and use that expertise to influence EU legislative and regulatory debates that matter to Stripe and the businesses we serve.

This is an advocacy-led role: you will develop and execute engagement strategies, build relationships across the EU institutions, and make persuasive arguments for policies that help European businesses start, grow and compete. Working closely with Policy Strategy, Legal and business colleagues, you will turn Stripe’s policy positions into practical advocacy, exercising judgment about where, when and how to engage.

The position is based in Brussels and reports to the Head of EU Government Relations. Its primary focus is the EU, working closely with colleagues across EMEA and globally.

Responsibilities

• Develop and execute EU advocacy strategies for an agreed portfolio of issues, setting clear objectives, identifying opportunities to shape the policy making process.
• Build and maintain relationships across the EU institutions, developing a strong network of policymakers, officials and advisers.
• Represent Stripe directly in policy discussions, making clear, persuasive arguments grounded in our business, our users’ experiences and the needs of Europe’s digital economy.
• Bring deep subject expertise to Stripe’s advocacy in either payments and financial services or technology policy, while building the knowledge needed to engage effectively across a broad waterfront of issues.
• Work closely with Policy Strategy, Legal, Product and Go-To-Market colleagues to develop and refine advocacy positions, drawing on their expertise and ensuring our engagement reflects commercial and technical realities, and the needs of our users.
• Build support for shared policy objectives through trade associations, industry coalitions and engagement with other companies and stakeholders.
• Gather political and regulatory intelligence to guide advocacy decisions, keeping colleagues informed of material developments and recommending when and how Stripe should act.

We're looking for someone who meets the minimum requirements to be considered for the role. If you meet these requirements, you are encouraged to apply. The preferred qualifications are a bonus, not a requirement.

Minimum requirements

• At least 5 years of relevant experience in government relations, advocacy, public affairs or public policy, including direct experience of EU policymaking and engagement.
• Deep expertise in either payments and financial services policy or technology policy. Expertise in both is not required.
• A demonstrated track record of developing and delivering advocacy strategies and influencing legislative or regulatory debates.
• Strong understanding of EU institutions, political dynamics and legislative processes, with experience building productive relationships with policymakers and officials.
• Sound political judgment: the ability to identify what matters, assess opportunities to influence outcomes, and recommend a practical course of action.
• Curiosity about unfamiliar products and policy issues, and the ability to build working knowledge beyond your area of specialism.
• Excellent written and spoken English, including the ability to turn complex issues into clear, persuasive arguments and adapt them to different audiences.
• Proven collaborator who is resourceful, detail-oriented, and able to work both independently and as part of a team.
• Willingness to travel for meetings and events.
• Passionate about Stripe’s mission of helping ambitious businesses grow and thrive.
• Empathy, humility, and some comedy.

Preferred qualifications

• Experience working in a high-growth, rapidly scaling environment.
• Industry experience working in technology, payments, merchant or financial services.
• A willingness to work with a diverse group of policy, regulatory, and product nerds who embrace Stripe’s policy issues, our users and each other.
• Experience in the other policy domain: technology policy for a payments and financial services specialist, or payments and financial services policy for a technology specialist.
• Knowledge of the business landscape and experience with relevant business associations in the EU.
• Globally-minded and interested: while the focus will be on the EU and the wider EMEA region, given Stripe’s global presence, projects will inevitably become broader than that and the person will have to translate and explain what’s happening in the region to a global audience within Stripe.