Regulatory Director

JOIN OUR SUNTORY GLOBAL SPIRITS FAMILY!

As a world leader in premium spirits, Suntory Global Spirits inspires the brilliance of life by delivering great consumer experiences through its world-class portfolio of brands. Known for its craftsmanship of premium whiskies, including Jim Beam®, Maker's Mark®, Basil Hayden® and Knob Creek® bourbons; Japanese whiskies, including Yamazaki®, Hakushu®, Hibiki® and Toki™; and leading Scotch brands including Teacher's, Laphroaig® and Bowmore®, Suntory Global Spirits also produces leading IMFL brand Oaksmith in India.
A global company with approximately 6,000 employees in more than 30 countries, one of Suntory Global Spirit's core values is Growing for Good and through its Proof Positive sustainability strategy, the company has committed to ambitious goals and investments to promote environmental sustainability in its operations, ensure the company has a positive impact on the communities where employees live and work, and programs to educate and inform consumers to make the right personal choices about drinking. Headquartered in New York City, Suntory Global Spirits is a subsidiary of Suntory Holdings Limited of Japan. 
For more information, on our brands and commitment to social responsibility, please visit www.suntoryglobalspirits.com and www.drinksmart.com. 

We are looking for people who bring something unique to Suntory Global Spirits - themselves. We value differences, and we appreciate what each of us can contribute. We inspire each other, and challenge ourselves to innovate, improve, advance new ideas and try new things. We create endless opportunities to Unleash Your Spirit every day in a culture that is charged, creative, challenging and fun.

What makes this a great opportunity?

Suntory Global Spirits is a world leader in premium spirits with $5.5 billion in annual revenues and an ambition to become the World’s Most Admired Premium Spirits Company. We have a strong vision and strategy, an incredible brand portfolio grounded in quality and craftsmanship, an unwavering commitment to sustainability and top talent across the organization. We are focused on driving value across key priorities including American whiskey, Japanese Spirits, Scotch, Tequila and Ready-to-Drink. Headquartered in New York City, Suntory Global Spirits is a subsidiary of Suntory Holdings, which is world renowned for delivering quality and excellence across a range of products and categories.

Role Responsibilities

• Will focus on regulatory affairs in India. They will have primary responsibility for advocating on behalf of Suntory Global Spirits India on legislative and regulatory issues in India. 
• Responsible for defining, delivering, and executing the strongest possible regulatory strategy that delivers against Suntory India’s top line objectives in the short and long term.
• Anticipating and mitigating risks incl. geopolitical, tax, trade, regulatory and reputational risks.
• Provide expertise, counsel, analysis and intelligence to the India leadership team, HQ and senior leaders on decision making of state governments and potential policy outcomes that could impact Suntory Global Spirits.
• Government Relations - Build relationships with Excise departments, FSSAI, CMOs, and bureaucrats.
• Ensuring and building a process for streamlining label registration process.
• Navigating complex state-by-state excise laws, licensing, and compliance. This includes anticipating, monitoring, and liaising with excise authorities in the different states for all regulatory matters including label registration, pricing, state SKU mix, and circular pricing issues.
• Engaging with state and central authorities on excise policy and taxation. Excise policy is released in all states in India on an annual basis and can have far reaching implications, therefore anticipation and preparedness is critical.

Role Responsibilities

• Regulatory Affairs - Ensure compliance with central/state regulations. Liaise with legal teams for implementation.
• Advocacy & Stakeholder Engagement - Develop advocacy strategies consistently with global public affairs priorities. Engage with associations, NGOs, and civil society.
• Crisis & Issues Management - Lead local regulatory affairs response during crises. Prepare briefing documents and communication plans.
• Internal Collaboration – Work closely and align with commercial, supply chain, marketing, finance, legal, sustainability, communications and global public affairs teams.
• Regional responsibility – state excise engagement. Develop effective resolution strategies for state specific issues
• Label registration support
• Innovation and footprint expansion support
• Team Management - hiring, engagement, talent management and effective performance management to ensure India plans are delivered and met.  
• Proactive approach is ensuring business teams are updated and trained on regulatory changes to be future ready.

Qualifications

Education- Bachelor’s degree preference for legal, communication, political science or a related area

Years of experience- Minimum 10-15 years substantive experience in public policy/government relations

Type of experience- Experience and familiarity with Indian legislative systems, corporate and highly regulated industries, and trade associations.

Travel %- 50%

Competencies

Organizational Competencies

• Entrepreneurial Approach
• Creating Innovative Solutions
• Beating the Competition Together

Role Specific Competencies

• Agility
• Collaboration
• Critical/Logical thinking
• Results oriented
• Communication
• Persuasiveness/Impact
• Integrity
• Relationship builder

Leadership Competencies

• Works in a collaborative manner
• Inspires engagement, passion, and performance.
• Thinks and acts like an owner.
• Delivers impactful results with integrity.

WE BELIEVE IN EQUAL OPPORTUNITIES

At Suntory Global Spirits, people are our number one priority, and we believe our people grow together in diverse and inclusive environments where their unique insights, experiences and backgrounds are valued and respected. Suntory Global Spirits is committed to equal employment opportunity regardless of race, color, ancestry, religion, sex, national origin, sexual orientation, age, citizenship, marital status, disability, gender identity, military veteran status and all other characteristics, attributes or choices protected by law. All recruitment and hiring decisions are based on an applicant’s skills and experience. 

We welcome applications from all members of society irrespective of age, gender identity, disability, sexual orientation, race, religion, or belief. All recruitment and hiring decisions are based on an applicant's skills and experience. We will ensure that individuals with disabilities are provided reasonable accommodation to participate in the job application or interview process, and to perform crucial job functions. Please contact us if you require assistance.

In 2023, Suntory Global Spirits earned a top score in Human Rights Campaign Foundation’s 2023-2024 Corporate Equality Index and was a recipient of the Equality 100 Award: Leader in LGBTQ+ Workplace Inclusion.