Governance Manager COO Office (f/m/d)

Context 

At Bauer Media Group, the former President of the Audio Business has been appointed as our new COO. As he steps into leading the newly formed Group Leadership Team (GLT), it is critical that the COO Office establishes strong visibility and connectivity across both the Lines of Business - Audio, Outdoor and Publishing - and Group Functions. The COO must actively engage in supporting and engaging with the business, while at the same time ensuring that Group-level transformation, governance, and support functions are aligned with strategic priorities. To enable this, two new roles have been created within the COO Office: Business Partner and Governance Manager.

Mission Statement – Governance Manager COO Office

The Governance Manager, based in Hamburg, is a key role within the COO Office and responsible for the full governance cycle: planning, agenda management, content preparation, coordination, and outcome tracking across the COO’s key leadership forums. By providing structured oversight of meeting cadences, the Governance Manager enables the COO and Head of COO Office to focus on strategic discussions while ensuring meetings are efficient, decisions are documented, and follow-ups are actioned. Beyond governance, this role offers the opportunity to contribute to group-wide strategic initiatives aligned with evolving priorities and organizational needs. Depending on the candidate’s expertise and interests, the Governance Manager may support high-impact projects that shape the future direction across our three Lines of Business.

Key Responsibilities

1. Executive Governance & Leadership Forum Management

• Own the agenda and logistics for Group Leadership Team, Extended Leadership Team, and other senior leadership forums, including COO’s 1-1s with direct reports (GLT members)
• Collaborate with senior leaders to secure inputs and align expectations ahead of the aforementioned meetings, join all senior fora to capture key outcomes and decisions
• Enforce overall discipline in pre-read processes, coordinate preparation and review of meeting materials, track outcomes, and ensure follow-up actions are executed
• Benchmark governance practices against leading companies to continuously optimize cadence and ways of working

2. Board & Shareholder Interface

• Work closely with the Chair of the Board’s Office to coordinate agendas, materials, and logistics for Board meetings and COO’s 1-1s with the Chair of the Board, ensuring such discussions are aligned to Group Strategy and Group Leadership Team decisions

3. Senior Leadership Development & Team Effectiveness

• In collaboration with Head of COO Office and external facilitators, lead the team development journey of the Group Leadership Team, a newly created senior leadership body headed by the COO, responsible for BMG’s overall strategic steering and decision-making

4. Special projects & Communications Support

• Actively participate in group-wide strategic initiatives and special projects that align with evolving business priorities, leveraging governance expertise to support high-impact programs (to be identified based on candidate’s skillset and topic preferences where possible)
• Serve as key contact for the Group Communications team, supporting major COO communication touchpoints (e.g., logistics and content input for townhalls, Future Builders meetings, external engagements, speaker opportunities, industry events)

Requirements 

• Strong organizational and project management skills, with the ability to manage multiple priorities simultaneously
• Ability to contribute beyond core governance responsibilities by engaging in strategic initiatives and high-impact projects, applying analytical, organizational, and influencing skills to drive business priorities forward
• Proven experience in governance, executive support, or project management roles
• Excellent written and verbal communication skills: able to draft agendas, synthesize discussions, and capture outcomes concisely
• Comfortable working with senior executives, with strong stakeholder management skills and credible presence in senior settings
• High degree of discretion, reliability, and professionalism given the confidential nature of the topics
• Structured, proactive, and detail-oriented, with strong follow-through discipline
• Ability to work independently, prioritize effectively, and escalate critical issues promptly via the Head of COO Office, working collaboratively with Business Partners to ensure holistic visibility for the Head of COO Office and COO
• Good critical thinking, with the confidence to challenge assumptions and ensure decisions are based on robust evidence
• Low ego, high ambition, humility, open-mindedness

Location:

Based in Hamburg, Germany

Earliest possible starting date:

01.01.2026

We are a media business focused on creating content that matters to millions of people across Europe. Our offering extends from print and online publishing to audio broadcasting and entertainment, alongside investments in other media related sectors. With more than 500 million copies sold each year, we are one of Europe’s largest Publishers. From women’s and celebrities’ magazines to TV listings to food and special interest, we own some of the most popular publishing brands in Germany, UK, Poland and France – both digital and print. But not only that. Reaching over 61 million listeners weekly, we operate over 150 radio and podcast brands in nine countries, spanning the UK, Ireland, Poland, Slovakia, Denmark, Sweden, Finland, Norway and Portugal. Family-owned in the 5th generation, Bauer Media focuses on the long-term, with a consumer-first mindset that guides us across our diverse portfolio. Our workforce of 12,000 shares a common purpose: to deliver content and services that enrich people‘s everyday lives.

We want to inspire not only our customers, we also want to inspire our colleagues. How? By giving you the opportunity to take on responsibility and by offering you a long-term perspective.

You can also benefit from our attractive offers:

• Individual solutions for the flexible organisation of working hours and location
• Targeted and individual training for your professional and personal development
• A central location in Hamburg's city centre with good transport options (bus & train)
• Subsidy for Deutschlandticket & bike leasing
• Effective health management (e.g. health week, free sports programmes & Wellhub)
• 30 days of holiday & frequent events for employees
• Company restaurant, free magazines & various discounts via corporate benefits
• A culture in which personal responsibility, teamwork and creativity are valued and you have room for creativity and for exciting and challenging tasks

If you are looking for an independent position and would like to enrich our existing team with fresh impulses, we look forward to receiving your complete application documents.

Your contact for this position is Laura (Mohr).

We are an international employer and equal opportunities are important to us. That's why we welcome everyone in their uniqueness, regardless of e.g. religion, gender, skin color, disability in our house.