Senior Director - Auto Industry and Batteries

Position description

Europe’s leading advocates for clean transport and environment are looking for an exceptional leader to join our team as Senior Director Auto Industry and Batteries.

Transport & Environment (T&E) is an independent, non-partisan think tank and NGO working to decarbonize transport. Our vision is a zero-emission mobility system that is affordable and has minimal impacts on our health, climate and the environment. Through our advocacy activities, grounded in authoritative analysis and strong coalitions with business and civil society, we have shaped some of Europe’s, and the world’s, most important automotive regulations.

The Role 

You will be responsible for defining the organization’s strategy for road transport decarbonization. You will develop T&E’s strategy on all things automotive with a specific focus on the industry’s transformation and battery supply chains.  

We are looking for an exceptional people leader to build and lead a high-performing team of directors and expert leads, fostering a culture of trust, accountability and ambition. You will create the conditions for individuals and teams to perform at their best, grow as leaders, and maximize the organization’s impact.

You will report to the Executive Director and join T&E’s Senior Management Team (SMT), helping set the organization’s overall strategy.

Primary responsibilities

Strategy Development

As Senior Director, you will be responsible for T&E’s road transport strategy. This includes teams working on trucks and corporate fleets, car electrification, industrial policy and batteries and raw materials.

• Develop and drive forward a coherent, high-impact strategy for the transformation of Europe’s vehicle industry. Your task will be to co-create this strategy and ensure the great people and resources to deliver it are in place.

• Ensure strategies are grounded in robust evidence, analysis and real-world dynamics.

• Identify emerging political and industrial trends (e.g. autonomous vehicles) and translate them into strategic opportunities for T&E.

• Ensure strategies are politically relevant and communicated effectively.

• Ensure strong delivery against both long-term vision and short-term policy windows.

Leadership and management

You will lead by example and shape your team’s and T&E’s overall culture:

• Build and maintain a cohesive, dynamic and high-impact culture, where others can do their best work.

• Ensure that advocacy, analysis, communications and partnerships are aligned to maximize impact.

• Support and develop your staff, ensuring continued organizational excellence

• Ensure alignment across programmes, facilitating and coordinating  not just within the cluster but also with T&E’s national offices and members.

• Support strategic discussions, horizon scanning and decision-making across T&E’s leadership.

• Contribute to organizational decision-making beyond your immediate cluster, e.g. energy related topics (grids, V2G), carbon pricing (ETS2), T&E’s Asia Pacific programme, and operations to ensure strong integration across T&E’s work.

• Support the Executive Director in ensuring strong leadership across the organization.

External representation

As senior director for T&E’s most visible programme you will play an important role in externally representing the organization. This is a responsibility you will share with team directors, the ED and other key staff across the cluster.

As such, the Senior Director will:

• Act as one of the key public voices of T&E in high-level events, media, and strategic forums in particular on industrial strategy and battery supply chains.

• Build and maintain a strong network of policymakers, industry and civil society leaders.

• Coordinate and support advocacy efforts especially the European Commission and Parliament, as well as the Member States.

Finances and Fundraising

The Senior Director will support the Executive Director and Senior Operations Director in ensuring sound financial management :

• Ensure the financial sustainability of the cluster.

• Lead fundraising efforts, particularly for expanding work on industrial transformation.

• Ensure effective budget management and transparent reporting.

Qualifications

• At least 10 years of relevant professional experience, including experience in senior leadership roles

• Proven experience of successful team leadership and management, building high-performing teams.

• Proven ability to drive fundraising initiatives and oversee financial allocations to large teams to maximize impact

• Strong strategic thinking and leadership skills, with the ability to turn vision into results.

• Proven track record in policy development, and high-level advocacy, ideally with EU institutions.

• Demonstrated experience in one or more of the following areas: industrial policy, batteries and raw material or automotive.

• Exceptional communication and influencing skills, with the ability to translate complex issues into compelling narratives.

• Ability to critically interrogate analytical outputs and steer strategic research directions.

• A collaborative, thoughtful and supportive leadership style aligned with T&E’s values.

What we offer

We are an equal opportunities employer and offer a competitive salary and benefits, lots of flexibility and a great workplace with smart, motivated and fun colleagues. Of course we also offer you a chance to dedicate your energy and brainpower to solving one of humanity’s greatest challenges: halting climate change and transforming the road transport industry, one of Europe’s top sources of climate pollution.

This position is advertised as a permanent, full-time position based in Brussels. The role will involve some travel, mainly inside but occasionally outside Europe. The ideal start date would be as soon as possible.

Application instructions

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