Head: Public Policy

takealot.com, South Africa's leading online retailer, is looking for a highly accomplished Head: Public Policy to join our Corporate Affairs team in Cape Town.

We are a young, dynamic, hyper-growth company looking for smart, creative, hard-working people with integrity to join us. We offer a market-related, Total Remuneration Package which allows full flexibility according to your needs, a great work environment and a promise that you won’t be bored as long as you are prepared for a challenge and want to build something great.

This position reports to the Group Executive: Public Policy & External Affairs

The Head: Public Policy is the technical architect and custodian of Takealot Group’s policy positions. The role exists to ensure that, for every material legislative or regulatory threat or opportunity, the Group maintains a Defensible Strategic Narrative—one that is legally sound, economically credible, and commercially aligned.

This role translates complex and evolving regulatory frameworks into clear, proactive policy positions that protect and advance the Group’s long-term operating model across eCommerce, logistics, and platform businesses. It is both deeply technical and strategically influential, underpinning Takealot’s external advocacy with intellectual rigor and internal coherence.

Serve as the Group’s primary authority on public policy and regulatory interpretation across the South African market.

Design and maintain Group-wide policy frameworks for high-impact regulatory areas, including but not limited to:

• Platform work and labour regulation.
• Competition and platform regulation.
• Develop policy positions that balance legal defensibility, economic impact, and reputational considerations, ensuring consistency across all public-facing engagements.
• Act as the internal lead on policy interpretation where legal ambiguity or regulatory discretion exists.

Draft and quality-assure all material formal submissions, including:

• Government Gazette notices
• Parliamentary Portfolio Committee submissions
• Regulatory consultation papers
• Market inquiries and statutory investigations (e.g. Competition Commission)

Ensure submissions are:

• Technically precise and clause-specific
• Supported by evidence, precedent, and economic reasoning
• Framed to resonate with policymakers’ stated objectives

Maintain a central submissions calendar and ensure 100% compliance with statutory timelines.

Produce comprehensive Technical Briefing Packs to support external engagement led by the Head of Stakeholder Relations.

• Each pack must include:
• Clause-by-clause legislative analysis
• Identification of unintended consequences and enforcement risks
• Clear “red lines” versus negotiable positions
• Proposed alternative wording that is legally viable and politically realistic

Translate highly technical regulatory detail into decision-ready insights for Exco and Board consumption.

Co-ordinate the monthly Internal Regulatory Workgroup, bringing together:

• Legal
• Risk & Compliance
• Business Unit CEOs (Takealot.com, Mr D, Takealot Financial Services)

Ensure:

• Policy positions are aligned with current and future commercial roadmaps
• No contradiction exists between advocacy positions and operational practices
• Regulatory risk is identified early and escalated appropriately

Act as the bridge between policy theory and business reality, resolving tension where necessary.

Produce a quarterly Regulatory Horizon Report identifying:

• Emerging legislative and regulatory risks (12–24 months out).
• Early signals from government, regulators, and political economy trends.
• Potential impact scenarios across Group businesses.
• Develop and execute a Group-wide stakeholder engagement strategy aligned to long-term business and societal outcomes.
• Build and maintain executive-level relationships with priority stakeholders across public, private, and civil society sectors.
• Lead Takealot Group's stakeholder engagement to contribute to modern, balanced policy and forward regulation for the digital economy.
• Design and manage multi-stakeholder partnerships and coalitions that support inclusive growth, innovation, and responsible platform business.
• Drive thought leadership and stakeholder education initiatives that deepen understanding of digital commerce, logistics, and the future of work.
• Maintain a forward-looking political and regulatory radar, producing scenarios and strategies that strengthen business preparedness.
• Advise internal leadership on external developments and their strategic implications.
• Build scalable engagement systems and mentor a high-performing stakeholder relations capability.

• A relevant Honors degree (Public Policy, Political Science, Law, Economics, International Relations, Business, or similar).
• Postgraduate qualification is advantageous.

• LLB (required) 
• Master’s degree in Public Policy, Economics, or related field (strongly preferred)
• Minimum 10 years’ experience in public policy, regulatory affairs, or legal practice
• Exposure to Big Tech, Fintech, platform businesses, or top-tier law firms highly advantageous
• Demonstrated experience engaging with South African legislative and regulatory institutions.

• Core Skills & Competencies
• Mastery of the South African legislative and regulatory process
• Exceptional legal and policy drafting capability
• Strong economic and impact-assessment literacy
• Ability to distil complex regulatory issues into clear executive narratives
• High personal credibility with senior executives and external experts

• Intellectually rigorous and detail-obsessed, without losing strategic perspective
• Calm, authoritative presence in high-stakes regulatory situations
• Comfortable operating in ambiguity and political complexity
• Principled, ethical, and defensible in judgment
• Strong systems.