Advisor Government Relations China

• Based in Beijing – China

About the role

China is Rio Tinto’s largest market and a growing source of procurement, while also becoming an increasingly important partner in business development, technology, and talent. A strong and forward-looking relationship with China is therefore critical to our long-term success.

At the same time, evolving dynamics in China–West relations are contributing to a more complex and fluid geopolitical, trade, and industrial environment. Heightened geopolitical tensions, shifting regulatory frameworks, and rising stakeholder expectations are creating new challenges and uncertainties for multinational companies operating in China. Against this backdrop, Rio Tinto must continue to evolve its engagement model—from a primarily transactional relationship to one of deeper strategic partnership—while strengthening its reputation and building trusted, long-term relationships with key Chinese stakeholders.

This environment requires a strengthened capability to systematically monitor and interpret policy, geopolitical, and market developments; generate actionable intelligence; and translate insights into effective Government Relations strategies that mitigate risks and support business objectives.

The Advisor Government Relations role is to drive and accelerate the successful execution of Rio Tinto’s strategic programs, ESG projects, and partnerships in China.

Reporting to the Head of Government Relations China, you will:

1. Program & Project Delivery Enablement

• Translate business objectives into clear China execution plans

• Coordinate across PGs / functions / external partners to unblock delivery bottlenecks and ensure value delivery

• Track progress of key programs and flag deviation vs. milestones

• Support the local level implementation to ensure alignment with GR strategy and licence-to-operate objectives

• Capture and document lessons learned / best practices to improve repeatability of delivery

2. Stakeholder Engagement Facilitation & Orchestration

• Identify and validate relevant external stakeholders for program/project/

• Design and coordinate engagement pathways (who / when / how / messaging)

• Facilitate and attend key engagements, ensuring clear objectives and follow-up actions

• Independently maintain working-level relationships and feedback loops to capture stakeholder signals

3. Regulatory & Policy Pathway Advisory

• Interpret policy developments and translate into practical implications for project execution

• Work with internal/external experts to ensure compliance and alignment with local expectations

4. Support China GR team’s general activities.

• Support preparation and execution of RT leadership engagements in/with China

• Support the Head of Government Relations China and Senior colleagues in preparing advice and analysis.

• Contribute to planning and delivery of key GR programs/projects

About you

To be successfully considered for this role, you will have:

• Bachelor or above degree in Public Affairs, ESG, Economics, International Relations, Communication, or other related disciplines.

• 5+ years professional experiences in corporate relations, ESG, consulting firms, industrial association or chamber of commerce, business development roles.

• Expertise and knowledge of government and industrial policy, political and geopolitical risk, and competency in identification of issues, assessing impacts and prioritizing issues.

• Knowledge of the metals and mining sector.

• Knowledge of stakeholder management processes and the use of relevant tools (research design, mapping, tracking, databases etc.) is a must.

• Communication and expert diplomacy skills are needed to manage complex internal and external stakeholder groups.

• Ability to demonstrate business savvy to link function priorities to overall company objectives.

• Excellent interpersonal and communication skills, positive outgoing attitude, ability to work in a multicultural and multilingual environment with great team spirit.

• High level of discretion and integrity to handle confidential material sensitively.

• Strong project management and multitasking skills with proven track records. Attention to details.

• Strong analytical, presentation and interpretation skills.

Where you will be working

You will be based in our office in Beijing. 

Since Rio Tinto established its first office in Beijing almost 40 years ago with just three people, the Group has built partnerships with China that span supply, innovation, knowledge transfer, culture and procurement. It's a relationship that has been transformative for Rio Tinto and which continues to make a significant contribution to China’s growth story.

China is Rio Tinto’s largest market, and home to our biggest shareholder, customers and important strategic partners. Rio Tinto shares a long, fruitful history of partnership with China. Our collaboration today ranges from trade, exploration, project development, and digital innovation to R&D and talent development. We are also working together to address significant challenges such as climate change and sustainable development to shape a collective future.

About Rio Tinto
 

Rio Tinto is a leading global mining and materials company. We operate in 35 countries where we produce iron ore, copper, aluminium, critical minerals, and other materials needed for the global energy transition and for people, communities, and nations to thrive.
 

We have been mining for 150 years and operate with knowledge built up across generations and continents. Our purpose is finding better ways to provide the materials the world needs – striving for innovation and continuous improvement to produce materials with low emissions and to the right environmental, social and governance standards. But we can’t do it on our own, so we’re focused on creating partnerships to solve problems, create win-win situations and meet opportunities.

Respect and Inclusion

At Rio Tinto, we particularly welcome and encourage applications from Indigenous Peoples, women, the LGBTQIA+ community, mature workers, people with disabilities and people from different cultural backgrounds.

We are committed to an inclusive environment where people feel comfortable to be themselves. We want our people to feel that all voices are heard, all cultures respected and that a variety of perspectives are not only welcome – they are essential to our success. We treat each other fairly and with dignity regardless of race, gender, nationality, ethnic origin, religion, age, sexual orientation or anything else that makes us different.

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