Head of Frontier Policy Partnerships

About Us

Artificial Intelligence could be one of humanity’s most useful inventions. At Google DeepMind, we’re a team of scientists, engineers, machine learning experts and more, working together to advance the state of the art in artificial intelligence. We use our technologies for widespread public benefit and scientific discovery, and collaborate with others on critical challenges, ensuring safety and ethics are the highest priority.

We’ve built a supportive and inclusive environment where collaboration and learning are encouraged. We constantly iterate on our workplace experience to support flexibility and balance. From excellent office facilities through to extensive manager support, we strive to support our people and their needs as effectively as possible. Our list of benefits is extensive, and we’re happy to discuss this further throughout the interview process.

Snapshot

This is a leadership role leading a new Frontier Policy Partnerships function in our Frontier Policy team. As the lead for this new group, you will develop and execute a global strategy to build deep, strategic partnerships with key governments and create highly impactful ways to land our public policy positions, shaping regulatory frameworks that advance the use of frontier AI systems while managing their risks. This is a unique opportunity to shape the global norms and regulations that will govern the development and deployment of frontier AI, ensuring its benefits are realized safely and responsibly.

The Role

You will lead a specialized team focused on building holistic, trust-based relationships with governments in priority countries. This involves developing actionable frameworks for AI adoption in strategically important areas like scientific research, and public services, while also helping governments build their own capacity for AGI preparedness. You will be responsible for crafting and executing a sophisticated public affairs strategy, shaping policy debates and regulatory frameworks through high-impact, substantive engagement.

This role requires a leader who can operate at the intersection of policy, technology, and commercial strategy, working closely with senior leaders across Google DeepMind and the broader Google ecosystem.

Key Responsibilities:

• Strategic Leadership: Define and execute the vision and strategy for the Government Partnerships and function, establishing Google DeepMind as the most capable and trusted partner to governments on frontier AI.
• Team Building and Management: Lead and develop a high-performing team, fostering a collaborative culture and integrating its work across our Frontier Policy and broader AI governance work at Google DeepMind.
• Partnership Development: Drive the creation and execution of strategic partnership plans for priority governments. This includes identifying opportunities for collaboration, developing pilot projects, and establishing frameworks for AI adoption and risk management. 
• Public Affairs & Targeted Advocacy: Develop and deploy a sophisticated policy engagement toolkit to shape regulatory and policy outcomes. This includes crafting compelling narratives for political decision-makers, orchestrating senior executive engagement, and building coalitions to advance our policy objectives.
• Cross-Functional Collaboration: Serve as the key interlocutor between government needs and our internal teams. You will partner with our technical, research, and business development units to translate government requirements into actionable projects and potential commercial opportunities.
• Thought Leadership: Channel our internal expertise into external thought leadership materials, ensuring Google DeepMind maintains a leading voice in conversations about the future of AI governance.

About You

To be successful as the Head of Government Partnerships at Google DeepMind, you will need the following skills and experience:

• Extensive Government Experience: Significant experience working within or closely with government, preferably in technology policy, national security or related roles. You understand the machinery of government and how to navigate complex political landscapes.
• Proven Government Affairs Leadership: A track record of leading high-impact government affairs or public policy teams, ideally at a large, innovative technology company. You have experience designing and executing successful strategies to shape policy and build relationships with senior government officials.
• Deep Policy Expertise with an Understanding of the Frontier Space: Strong grasp of technology policy, ideally with a good understanding of frontier AI, with a demonstrable ability to quickly master complex technical and governance issues related to AI. 
• Exceptional Leadership, Influence and Communication skills: Proven ability to build and lead teams, influence a variety of internal and external audiences, communicate clearly and effectively and build strong, trust-based relationships with senior stakeholders.
• Mission-Oriented: A genuine passion for the potential of advanced AI and a commitment to contributing to Google DeepMind’s mission of ensuring AI is developed for the benefit of humanity.
• Strategic & Commercial Acumen: Experience in identifying and advancing commercial opportunities that arise from policy-led discussions. You are adept at aligning public policy goals with business objectives.

In addition, the following would be an advantage:

• Experience working on AI policy issues.
• Established networks within key government and policy circles in the UK, US, or other priority regions.
• Experience in a fast-paced, matrixed organization, working across multiple teams and functions.

Note: In the event your application is successful and an offer of employment is made to you, any offer of employment will be conditional on the results of a background check, performed by a third party acting on our behalf. For more information on how we handle your data, please see our Applicant and Candidate Privacy Policy.

At DeepMind, we value diversity of experience, knowledge, backgrounds and perspectives and harness these qualities to create extraordinary impact. We are committed to equal employment opportunity regardless of sex, race, religion or belief, ethnic or national origin, disability, age, citizenship, marital, domestic or civil partnership status, sexual orientation, gender identity, pregnancy, maternity or related condition (including breastfeeding) or any other basis as protected by applicable law. If you have a disability or additional need that requires accommodation, please do not hesitate to let us know.