Corporate Affairs Manager

Who we are:

Allwyn is a multi-national lottery operator with leading market positions in Austria, the Czech Republic, Greece, Cyprus, Italy, the United Kingdom, and the United States.  Our primary focus is lotteries, helping them raise more for good causes.  We drive innovation, efficiency, and safety across our casual gaming entertainment platform in the quest for enhanced player engagement.

Allwyn North America is headquartered in Chicago, and currently operates the Illinois Lottery under a private management agreement while seeking other opportunities throughout the U.S.  We also provide products and services to lotteries and their players throughout Europe and the United States.

About the Team:

Our Corporate Affairs team is responsible for connecting Allwyn with our stakeholders and managing our brand and reputation. This team covers a number of functions including: public affairs, public relations, bid management, and corporate social responsibility. We drive public affairs, public relations, and responsible gaming for the Illinois Lottery in our role as private manager. Working as part of an integrated team across the business, Corporate Affairs supports Allwyn’s overarching objective to be a trusted and reliable partner to the Illinois Lottery as we aim to responsibly maximize revenue for good causes. 

Position Overview:

The Corporate Affairs Manager at Allwyn North America plays a pivotal role in supporting the Vice President of Corporate Affairs in executing Allwyn’s Corporate Affairs strategy. This position is key in managing relationships between Allwyn North America and the Illinois Lottery leadership team, owning governance processes, and stepping into a leadership capacity when required. 

Responsibilities:

Governance & Reporting

Manages the formal reporting cycle

Is responsible for ensuring Allwyn meets its formal reporting requirements to a high standard of delivery and adheres to all timeframes. This includes:

• Monthly governance reporting 
• Quarterly Lottery Control Board reporting
• Business cases to support project initiatives 

Annual business planning process

Is responsible for managing the process to produce the annual business plan for the Illinois Lottery. This includes:

• Creating and managing a detailed project plan with milestones and key delivery dates
• Managing content and timeline expectations with the Department of Lottery
• Collaborating with the VP of Corporate Affairs and the Senior Leadership Team to define an overarching strategy
• Working closely with subject matter experts to agree on content and manage deliverables to agreed timelines
• Facilitating review sessions with the Department of Lottery and Allwyn subject matter experts 
• Overseeing the production, design, and distribution of the business plan..

Relationship management

Key Liaison to the Department of Lottery:

• Acts as a key liaison with the Department of Lottery to support an effective working relationship between Allwyn and Lottery leadership
• Acts as the first point of contact for inquiries to Allwyn from the Department in order to funnel into the business. The intention is to have a single view of lines of inquiry and prevent requests to multiple people or double-up of activity.
• Coordinates all correspondence between Allwyn and the Department, ensuring timely responses to requests for information, research, and ad hoc inquiries. 
• Maintains a register of approval requests to the Department and tracks upcoming requests to ensure a logical flow, prioritizing based on business needs.
• Serve as the primary point of contact for assessing proposed amendments to administrative rules.

Develop and maintain internal expertise

• Builds and maintains effective working relationships with key internal stakeholders, including senior management and key business functions - particularly legal, finance, business operations, and marketing.
• Maintains a high level of engagement across key business activities and initiatives to enable self-supporting navigation of the business deliverables  
• Establishes and executes processes for key deliverables to the Department. Proactively manages expectations of internal, with regards to timelines, deliverables, and required next steps. 

Corporate Affairs support 

• This role is considered the second in charge to the VP, of Corporate Affairs and will support the VP in delivering Allwyn’s corporate affairs program of work
• Serve as the acting lead during the VP’s absence, including presenting corporate affairs updates during governance meetings, Lottery Control Board meetings, project reviews, and Board meetings as necessary

Requirements

• Bachelor’s Degree in Communications, Public Relations, Public Affairs or related field.
• 5 plus years of public affairs/legal/compliance-related experience.
• Previous experience in a similar corporate affairs or public affairs role.
• Ability to handle sensitive or proprietary company information confidentially.
• Strong understanding of governance, regulatory frameworks, and reporting processes.
• Excellent relationship management skills with the ability to liaise effectively between multiple stakeholders.
• Exceptional project management abilities with a proven track record of delivering high-quality results within set deadlines.
• Strategic thinker with the ability to anticipate challenges and propose effective solutions.
• Strong communication and presentation skills.

Preferred:

• Proactive, flexible, self-reliant, problem solver, results-oriented.Proficiency with Microsoft Office and/or Google Suite.
• Balance of intuition and data to drive action 
• Accountability, incentives, and impact aligned with results

Benefits

Working for Allwyn North America:

Our goal is to create one of North America’s most inclusive organizations – where people can bring the best of themselves, to do their best work, every day, for the benefit of good causes.  While the main contribution of the Lottery to society is through the funds to good causes, at Allwyn we put our purpose and values at the heart of everything we do.  That’s why we have committed to an ambitious Social Value strategy, which is woven into the way we do business.  We believe that lotteries must serve everyone, not just those who play.  So, whether as an employee, a supplier, a retailer or any of the stakeholders that we interact with, we will be powering good across the US.

Moreover, we pledge to have the highest standards of respect, diversity and inclusion at our company and support and encourage our partners to do the same.

Allwyn North America is an equal opportunity employer. We evaluate qualified applicants without regard to race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, national origin, disability, veteran status, and other legally protected characteristics.