VP Public Policy & Government Affairs

Equinix • Washington, DC

23h • $272,000 - $408,000

About The Position

The Leader, Public Policy and Government Affairs (PPGA) shapes and advances a global public policy, regulatory, and geopolitical strategy that enables Equinix’s long-term growth, resilience, and license to operate. The role supports a favorable legislative, regulatory, and community environment by engaging with senior government stakeholders and influencing policy outcomes that affect the company’s global business strategy.

As a senior enterprise leader and trusted advisor to the Board, CEO, Executive Team, and senior leadership, the PPGA Leader integrates geopolitical intelligence, regulatory foresight, and systems-level thinking to anticipate threats and opportunities and develop coordinated strategies that protect and advance the company’s interests worldwide. The role leads the PPGA function within the Legal Department, builds and leads a global PPGA organization, and partners across the company to connect policy and geopolitical considerations to business planning and execution.

Requirements

• Considerable overall experience in Public Policy and Government Affairs, including at least 10 years in a senior leadership role.
• Experience leading globally diverse teams and delivering outcomes across jurisdictions.
• Experience leading an organization through transformation.
• Strong leadership skills, including motivating a team to deliver objectives as a unified team with one voice.
• Highly evolved commercial sensibility.
• Executive presence and ability to influence at the SVP level and above.
• Ability to standardize global policies while translating them for local complexities.
• Ability to balance intense short-term pressures with long-term goals.
• Ability to inspire behavior change by motivating teams, planning initiatives, setting priorities, and making decisions amid ambiguity.
• Focus on execution and results, including setting high performance standards and goals, developing plans, following through, and holding people accountable.

Nice To Haves

• Cross-functional experience, such as leading regulatory and compliance strategies and teams.
• Experience as a strategic business partner, preferably in the technology or data center sector.

Responsibilities

• Advise the Board of Directors, Executive Chair, CEO, Executive Team, and Senior Vice Presidents on public policy, regulatory, geopolitical, and government-related risks and opportunities.
• Engage Board members and executive leadership to shape enterprise responses to government, regulatory, community, and geopolitical challenges affecting company strategy, investment decisions, and growth.
• Partner with Regional Presidents, Managing Directors, Legal, Corporate Communications, Strategy, Sustainability, and other senior leaders to align public policy and government engagement with business objectives.
• Represent the company externally as its senior voice on public policy and government affairs, strengthening credibility with governments, regulators, industry peers, and other stakeholders.
• Develop a coherent, multi-year global PPGA strategy with a cross-functional leadership team, aligned with corporate and regional strategies.
• Apply systems thinking to analyze interdependencies across geopolitics, regulation, infrastructure, energy, technology, capital investment, and community sentiment, and translate insights into actionable processes and strategies.
• Establish enterprise-wide frameworks linking geopolitical trends, regulatory developments, and policy risk to business planning, site selection, capital allocation, and market-entry decisions.
• Monitor the external environment for emerging threats and opportunities and adapt strategy to changing political, regulatory, and geopolitical conditions.
• Anticipate and interpret global geopolitical, regulatory, and legislative developments and assess their impact on company strategy, operations, supply chains, and growth plans.
• Design and execute offensive and defensive public policy and regulatory strategies to mitigate risk, counter adverse policy developments, and shape favorable outcomes.
• Lead engagement with governments at international, national, state, and local levels, including executive branches, legislatures, regulators, and utilities.
• Guide community engagement and government relations to secure support for development, operations, and long-term presence in key markets.
• Build, develop, and lead a high-performing global PPGA organization.
• Translate strategy into priorities, operating models, and execution plans, ensuring consistent implementation across regions while accounting for local needs.
• Empower senior PPGA leaders to execute effectively while maintaining alignment with enterprise strategy.
• Evolve PPGA organizational design, capabilities, and resource allocation to address material company risks and opportunities.
• Lead the PPGA function within the Legal Department in partnership with Legal leadership and cross-functional teams.
• Establish governance, processes, and metrics to track strategic goals and provide transparency to executive leadership.
• Oversee PPGA budgets and external spending, aligning investment with strategic priorities and risk mitigation.
• Develop commercially grounded, pragmatic approaches connecting PPGA, compliance, advocacy, and stakeholder engagement.
• Serve as an internal and external thought leader on public policy, regulation, and geopolitics as they intersect with digital infrastructure, energy, sustainability, and technology.
• Shape and articulate policy positions reflecting the company’s values, long-term vision, and business needs.
• Provide senior leadership with clear, concise, forward-looking insights to support decision-making amid uncertainty and change.

Benefits

• Employee Assistance Program.
• Health, life, disability, and voluntary insurance plans for employees and eligible family members.
• Retirement plan to which employees and Equinix may contribute.
• Accrued paid time off and paid holidays.
• Employees are eligible for a bonus, and equity may be offered depending on the position.

What This Job Offers

• Job Type: Full-time
• Career Level: Executive
• Education Level: No Education Listed