Public Affairs Manager - Sweden (f/m/x)

Founded in 2017, refurbed is Europe’s fastest-growing marketplace for refurbished products, active in 12 European countries and having surpassed €2Bn in GMV — all while being profitable. With beautiful headquarters in Vienna, we operate as a remote-first company, and our 250+ employees enjoy up to two months of workation per year. We’ve also been recognised as a Top DACH Employer by Kununu for three consecutive years.

Our mission is to make sustainable consumption the easy choice by enabling customers to buy products up to 40% cheaper while significantly reducing CO₂ emissions.

If you thrive in an environment that values momentum, ownership, and impact, you’ll feel at home here. We’re a fast-paced, high-performance team that works hard and challenges itself everyday. To enable this high-performance every team member enjoys full autonomy over their location (we’re remote-first).

As the Public Affairs Manager for Sweden, you will own and drive one of refurbed’s most important policy initiatives: lowering VAT on circular products in Sweden. You will build refurbed’s political footprint in the Swedish market from the ground up and help turn our mission of “rethink new” into concrete policy change.

You will operate with a high degree of independence, set direction together with the Public Affairs Lead, and lead the day-to-day implementation of the project in Sweden. The role combines strategic thinking, hands-on advocacy, and relationship-building across the Swedish political ecosystem, while being closely connected to refurbed’s broader EU public affairs work.

WHO YOU ARE

• You have 2–5 years of professional experience in public affairs, government relations, politics, or a closely related field, ideally with a strong focus on Swedish and/or EU-level policy topics.
• You understand the Swedish political and legal system well and know how influence is built across parties, institutions, and civil society, either through prior hands-on experience or close professional exposure.
• You bring an existing network in Sweden or are confident building one quickly and credibly, and you communicate clearly and confidently with political stakeholders as well as internal teams.
• You are comfortable working independently and owning complex projects end-to-end, managing priorities, navigating ambiguity, and driving progress with a high degree of autonomy in an international, collaborative setup.
• You are fluent in Swedish (native level) and English, both written and spoken, and motivated by sustainability, circular economy, and impact-driven business models. Prior experience with tax or VAT policy is advantageous but not required.
• You are pragmatic and persistent, and feel comfortable operating in political processes that are often uncertain, long-term, and non-linear.

 Location & eligibility: This role is open to Europe-based candidates only with a valid right to work.

WHAT YOU’LL DO

• Own and drive the “0% VAT project” in Sweden end-to-end, from early awareness-raising and agenda-setting through to concrete legislative progress. This includes developing and executing a clear public affairs strategy for Sweden, with defined goals, milestones, and advocacy pathways.
• Build, manage, and activate refurbed’s political and institutional stakeholder landscape in Sweden, mapping and engaging actors across government, parliament, authorities, associations, NGOs, and industry. You will build and maintain strong relationships with political decision-makers and key influencers at national level, and establish coalitions and partnerships that help build political momentum for policy change.
• Identify and actively shape opportunities in the legislative and political process, including preparing and supporting key moments such as consultations, parliamentary procedures, hearings, and votes. You will contribute to shaping the public and political narrative around refurbished products, circular economy, and VAT policy.
• Represent refurbed externally on public affairs topics in Sweden, working closely with the Public Affairs Lead and Co-Founder in meetings, discussions, and public-facing engagements with political and institutional stakeholders.
• Work cross-functionally to align policy work with business and impact goals, collaborating closely with internal teams such as Brand & PR, Legal, and Technical. Where needed, you will support EU-level public affairs activities in close coordination with the central Public Affairs team.

WHAT WE OFFER

• The opportunity to lead a high-impact policy project with real potential for systemic change and to play a key role in shaping refurbed’s long-term public affairs presence in Sweden and beyond.
• Close collaboration with senior leadership, including direct exposure to strategic decision-making at company level.
• A remote-first working setup with flexibility, while being based in Sweden, and occasional travel to Vienna and Brussels (around 4–5 times per year in total).
• A purpose-driven environment where public affairs work is closely connected to real economic outcomes and measurable environmental impact.

WHY YOU WILL ENJOY WORKING WITH US:

Our Culture and Values:

• Decisions should be made based on facts and not by hierarchy levels? We sure think so!
• We embrace giving and receiving feedback, testing and welcoming new ideas, as well as sharing our knowledge across the company.
• You fail sometimes? Well, so do we! We’re all just human, let’s learn from our mistakes to improve in the future!
• No matter who you love, where you’re from, who you pray to, whether you pee sitting down or standing up – we are a bunch of talented people who enjoy spending our time making a difference!

Personal & Professional Development:

• You'll have access to a dedicated learning budget within your department to support your growth, whether it's courses, conferences, or other learning opportunities that matter to you.
• We partner with Likeminded, offering you private sessions with experts for your personal growth and mental health.
• We frequently host internal workshops, allowing our teams to further develop their skills in different areas and enhancing collaboration across departments.

Flexibility:

• We care about a healthy work/life balance. We not only function and support a fully remote setting but also offer the possibility to work from our beautiful office in the vibrant heart of Vienna – we love dogs, so feel free to bring your furry little buddy too 😊
• We trust you to do the best job, so we don't care so much when you do it – you are able to self-organize.
• You will also be invited to take part in our office weeks, happening three times a year, where you will have the chance to work side by side with your colleagues and enjoy the team-building events and on-site workshops

…and much more! See https://careers.refurbed.com/ for further insights!