Director, EU Public Affairs (Brussels)

Shopify is seeking a senior leader to direct our EU Government Affairs work. Decisions made in Brussels shape the rules merchants operate under across every member state. This role exists to make sure those decisions create the conditions for entrepreneurs to build, and for Shopify to keep building for them.
You will lead Shopify’s public policy and government engagement strategy in Brussels, building influential relationships across the EU institutions and broader policymaking ecosystem to ensure Shopify’s voice is heard, respected, and differentiated in Europe’s most important policy debates. You will shape legislative and policy outcomes across issues critical to our business and merchants, owning the full advocacy lifecycle from intelligence gathering and policy development through stakeholder engagement, coalition building, and legislative strategy. Working closely with product, legal, regulatory affairs, communications, and executive leadership, you will translate policy developments into strategic opportunities, mitigate regulatory risk, and help shape a business environment that enables entrepreneurship and commerce to thrive.
RESPONSIBILITIES
- Develop, lead, and execute Shopify's EU government affairs and public policy strategy, ensuring our priorities are at the center of EU legislative and political debates.
- Be Shopify's lead voice in Brussels with the European Commission, European Parliament, Council, regulators, trade associations, and industry peers.
- Oversee Shopify's EU trade association memberships and external advisors, keeping advocacy efforts aligned and focused.
- Lead engagement on priority policy areas affecting Shopify and our merchants, including platform regulation, artificial intelligence, payments and fintech, privacy and data protection, consumer protection, digital trade, and emerging digital policy issues.
- Coordinate engagement across priority EU member states, translating EU-level advocacy into relevant national government outreach, coalition building, and consultation responses where appropriate.
- Develop and deliver data-driven policy narratives that translate merchant experience, market realities, and Shopify's strategic priorities into messaging that lands with EU institutions, member-state policymakers, and the press.
- Create opportunities for policymakers to engage directly with Shopify's merchant ecosystem, bringing real-world business experience into policy discussions.
- Anticipate regulatory trends, political risks, and policy opportunities; translate them into strategic recommendations that shape product, business, and reputation strategy.
- Brief and advise Shopify's executive team on EU political and regulatory developments.
- Lead both proactive engagement (agenda-setting, coalition-building, thought leadership) and reactive engagement (risk mitigation, issue management) across the EU policy landscape.
- Represent Shopify in public forums, conferences, and high-level engagements with senior officials, in addition to closed-door meetings.
- Partner cross-functionally with executives, communications, legal, product, and public affairs colleagues to align EU positions with global strategy.
REQUIREMENTS
- 15+ years of experience in government affairs, public policy, or regulatory advocacy, with deep expertise in tech policy, digital services, payments, ecommerce, or other highly regulated adjacent sectors.
- Deep understanding of EU institutions and the legislative process, with an established network across the European Commission, European Parliament, Council, and key member state capitals.
- Demonstrated track record of end-to-end ownership and delivery on high-impact EU policy and advocacy outcomes.
- Strong data literacy and ability to use research, analytics, and merchant stories to strengthen advocacy.
- Exceptional written and verbal communication skills in English. Working proficiency in additional EU languages is an asset.
- Track record of building durable relationships and coalitions across government, industry, and civil society to move policy outcomes. Experience managing trade associations and external advisors.
- Reflexive AI use: you're comfortable leveraging AI tools for drafting, research, and analysis but also know when human judgment, nuance, and stakeholder expertise are essential.