City Engagement Manager, European City Leadership Initiative

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Salary from £42,679 to £51,000 per annum inclusive with potential to progress to £54,730 pa inclusive of London allowance

This appointment is until 30 June 2025; however, we expect the role to be renewed with high likelihood of long-term extension

LSE Cities is preparing to launch a pioneering European City Leadership Initiative (ECLI) for mayors and their teams. The programme will include world class executive education delivered both virtually and in-person at sites across Europe. This essential capability-building work will be accompanied by rapid-fire research and experimentation, informed by mayors' real-world challenges to generate practical resources and data for city leaders.

We are now seeking to build a team of experienced and dynamic professionals to help get this exciting new initiative off the ground. This is a pioneering programme with the potential to create deep impact on the capabilities of European local governments. This role is ideal for a candidate with a strong background in public affairs, diplomacy and international city networks.

Working closely with the Head of Programme, the City Engagement Manager plays a key role in developing and maintaining relationships with cities from across 47 countries in Europe participating in the programme.  The post-holder will liaise directly with city staff across Europe to ensure they get most out of this learning and capacity building experience. The role will involve developing and maintaining proactive communications with city participants taking part in the ECLI, including mayors, elected officials, senior civil servants, and staffers in city halls. The role also involves supporting the Head of Programme in all activities pertaining to the recruitment of cities to the programme, including city selection, application process and admission to the programme. The post-holder will design and oversee both the city application process to the programme and the active onboarding of cities ahead of the programme’s start.

Candidates should have a strong background of relevant professional experience of working in an international environment, with an understanding of European governance structures as an asset. The ability to navigate political environments and a track record of working with politicians, elected leaders and senior civil servants, preferably in city governments or at national or European level, is essential. Candidates should also have proven experience of building and managing relationships with high-profile stakeholders, e.g. ministers, mayors, members of parliament, government officials or European officials.

We offer an occupational pension scheme, generous annual leave, hybrid working, and excellent training and development opportunities.

For further information about the post, please see the how to apply document, job description and the person specification.

To apply for this post, please click the 'Apply' button, above.

If you have any technical queries with applying on the online system, please use the “contact us” links at the bottom of the LSE Jobs page.

Should you have any queries about the role, please email lse.cities@lse.ac.uk

The closing date for receipt of applications is 16 March 2025 (23.59 UK time).

Regrettably, we are unable to accept any late applications.

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