Director, External Affairs - Latin America

Be part of a world class Senior Leadership Group.

Inspire and drive positive outcomes for our host & neighboring communities.

Based In Washington, D.C.

About the role

The Director, External Affairs – Latin America will support Rio Tinto’s government and civil society engagement in Latin America. The role holder will provide advice on government affairs, policy and regulatory issues, and lead on engagement with a range of stakeholders, both in government and in the NGO community.

They will support business activities by partnering closely with country teams, product groups, legal, strategy and development and exploration teams, along with other internal stakeholders regionally and globally. They will play an important part in progressing key projects for our business in the region, including our newly acquired Rincon lithium project in Argentina and other growth opportunities across the region and across the Rio Tinto portfolio.

Key Accountabilities

• Providing advice, guidance, and support to the business on government and external issues impacting our social license to operate in the region, working across multiple functions.
• Monitoring the policy, regulatory environment, and civil society expectations in jurisdictions where Rio Tinto is present, to identify potential risks and opportunities likely to impact our business interests and develop strategies to manage them.
• Acting as an intermediary between in-country teams and government stakeholders.
• Maintaining and developing positive relationships with key government stakeholders across the region, relevant Embassies, and other regional and international stakeholders.
• Building a deep knowledge of the civil society landscape in our Latin American jurisdictions and engaging as appropriate with key players (working in close collaboration with the communities (CSP) and environment teams).

It is envisaged that the incumbent (amongst other duties and responsibilities) would:

• Support the Vice President, External Affairs for US & LA to develop and implement an external affairs strategy for Latin America and emerging markets, in support of our key projects, new opportunities and new markets.
• Support the Vice President, External Affairs for US & LA in advising ExCo members and the Americas steerco on key external developments, risks and opportunities for mining, climate, energy transition and our operations in Latin America.
• Provide insight and advice to Rio Tinto’s operations in Argentina, Brazil, Chile, Colombia, Peru on geopolitical issues and government engagement in the region.
• Ensure up-to-date socio-political and economic analysis for Latin America, for communication to broader RT stakeholders and for new market entry decisions.
• Support meetings between RT senior leaders and Heads of State, Foreign Ministers and Ambassadors.
• Maintain a focused stakeholder map to inform engagement.
• Represent Rio Tinto in relevant government initiatives, investment conferences, and civic forums across Latin America and in select emerging markets.
• Support the design of effective risk mitigation and growth strategies to support project development.
• Work with communications and branding teams, and the Group External Affairs Civil Society team as required, particularly in the management of Rio Tinto reputation and management of global civil society relationships.
• Assist the Vice President, External Affairs for US & Latin America in the development of strategic and tactical responses to threats of disruption and crises to Rio Tinto operations in the region.

What you’ll bring

• Proven and successful track record in government and stakeholder relations
• Effective in managing multiple, senior and varied stakeholders, both internally and externally
• High level of understanding of the Latin American geopolitical and business landscape, with a strong understanding of the nuances of regional and country governments.
• Highly effective communication skills
• Minimum 10-15 years’ experience in Government/Regulatory Affairs and stakeholder relations
• Experience of engaging senior stakeholders in Latin America
• Fluency in Spanish

Nice to have

• Demonstrated ability to work in a complex global business across organizational and geographic interfaces
• Ability to recognize and understand threats and opportunities in the external environment and use this information to develop viable decisions.
• Experience in the mining sector
• Proficiency in Portuguese

What we offer

We are committed to providing our employees with a generous benefits package. Be recognized for your contribution, your thinking, your hard work, and go home knowing you’ve helped the world progress, we provide:

• A safety-focused and inclusive working environment
• Advantageous salary package with annual cash incentive awards (STIP) for eligible employees
• Access to top-tier family-friendly health programs including medical, prescription drug, dental, vision, life insurance coverage, and various voluntary benefits.
• Excellent retirement plan including up to 6% defined company contribution; Generous 401k matching program
• Generous Rio Tinto employee share program, which allows you to purchase Rio Tinto Company shares.
• Comprehensive leave policies which cover all moments that matter in life: PTO (paid time off), paid holidays, and paid bereavement leave.
• A favorable child-caregiver leave program (Up to 100% salary top-up)
• Discount programs for leisure purposes and access to Virgin Pulse with incentives supporting your wellbeing
• Ongoing Employee Assistance Program (EAP) for you and your family; to help in addressing educational opportunities, addiction treatment, depression, stress, domestic issues, financial management, and legal concerns.
• Our team and industry experts are here to support and work with you to explore your learning potential and career goals

Every Voice Matters

At Rio Tinto, we particularly welcome and encourage applications from Indigenous Peoples, women, the LGBTQ+ community, mature workers, people with disabilities and people from different cultural backgrounds.

Equal Opportunity Employer M/F/D/V

Rio Tinto participates in E-Verify to confirm work authorization. Please visit http://www.uscis.gov/ for more information.

We are committed to an inclusive environment where people feel comfortable to be themselves. We want our people to feel that all voices are heard, all cultures respected and that a variety of perspectives are not only welcome – they are essential to our success. We treat each other fairly and with dignity regardless of race, gender, nationality, ethnic origin, religion, age, sexual orientation or anything else that makes us different.