Main purpose of job:

The British High Commission Ottawa is inviting applications for the position of Assistant Trade Policy Officer within the Economics and Trade Team. The successful candidate will provide policy support across a variety of trade files, conducting research, analysis, monitoring and reporting on Canada’s trade relationship with both the UK and other countries of interest.

The successful candidate will be required to contribute to policy development and implementation, as well as to participate in external representation. They will need to be adaptable to emerging organisational priorities and will be called upon to assist in other portfolios as required.

We are looking for a candidate with an analytical mindset, strong written and verbal communication skills, and an established grounding in trade policy, enabling them to hit the ground running and support across the breadth our team’s work. At the same time, it is not an essential requirement that they be familiar with all areas the role may cover. We will support the jobholder to build upon their existing knowledge. What is most important is the ability and willingness to learn quickly about new areas and issues.

The role is Ottawa-based due to the importance of interaction with the Canadian federal government and senior leaders in the High Commission. However, depending on business need there may be opportunities to travel as part of the role.

Roles and responsibilities:

The UK-Canada relationship is among the closest enjoyed by any two countries in the world: we’re both members of the 5-Eyes, NATO, the Commonwealth, the G7, the G20, the OECD, and in the coming months CPTPP. We share a similar outlook on the world, driven by the pursuit of open, values-based democracy through rules-based international institutions. After the UK’s exit from the European Union, new opportunities have arisen to strengthen these ties – in particular, through our trade.

The Economics and Trade Team (ETT) cover multiple elements of the UK-Canada trading relationship, and the Assistant Trade Policy Officer should be prepared to support work across all of them. This could include:

• Free Trade Agreements: The UK and Canada currently enjoy a strong and growing trading relationship worth around £26 billion a year, which is underpinned by the UK-Canada Trade Continuity Agreement (TCA). To further enhance and modernise the current arrangements, we are now in the process of negotiating a permanent, bespoke bilateral Free Trade Agreement (FTA) as well as finalising the UK’s accession to the CPTPP plurilateral agreement of which Canada is a member. In supporting this work, the successful candidate may be asked to assist on: developing and maintaining key contacts across government, academia and business; media monitoring and reporting; focused research on priority issues; supporting ministerial and official visits and events; contributing to briefing materials; and helping with logistical arrangements during negotiation rounds.
• Market Access: Alongside formal trade agreements, there is an ongoing need to identify, assess and – where possible – resolve other non-tariff barriers to trade between the UK and Canada, particularly at the provincial/territorial level. These can range from differing technical standards for goods, to hidden fees or administrative requirements, to difficulties in gaining recognition for one’s professional qualifications. The ETT team leads work across the UK’s Canada Network to prioritise these issues and develop action plans for their resolution. The successful candidate may assist in: research/fact-finding around potential market access barriers; sourcing economic impact analysis; stakeholder identification and outreach; and ensuring up-to-date progress reporting to London.
• Economic Security:  An open and resilient global economy is fundamental to the UK’s economic and national security interests. We are advancing work to protect the capabilities, supply chains and technologies of strategic importance to us and our allies, while upholding the international rules-based economic order. In supporting this work, the successful candidate may be asked to assist on: delivering economic analysis, developing and maintaining key contacts across government, academia and business; media monitoring and reporting; supporting ministerial and official visits and events; and contributing to briefing materials. 
• Trade Communications: The High Commission utilises a range of communication channels to highlight the UK’s trade policy agenda and to promote UK interests – from social media posts, to newspaper op-eds, to speeches. The successful candidate will work with trade leads and the High Commission’s Media and Public Affairs team to coordinate trade-related communications on behalf of the Economics and Trade Team. This will involve developing and confirming up-to-date lines on key UK trade objectives and developments, and assisting with a trade communications strategy that builds support around upcoming key milestones across the UK-Canada trade agenda (i.e. in our bilateral FTA, TCA implementation, CPTPP accession, WTO, G7 work etc.)
• Other policy work, as needed: Given the many pieces at play in the current UK-Canada trade relationship, the successful candidate will be agile and able to cover trade policy work (research, analysis, reporting) in other emerging priority sectors, if needed.

In order to successfully carry out this role, the job holder will need to identify and build relationships with trade-related stakeholders across Canadian government, academia and business. To do this effectively, the successful applicant should be a self-starter with excellent networking and communications skills. The applicant will also need to deliver a service for all parts of the UK Government and be able to build strong working relationships with other UK Government departments (particularly our colleagues in the Department for Business and Trade), including dealing with Parliamentary interest. The right person for this job will have a background in trade, economics or politics/policy work; an interest in wider international affairs; a strong analytical mindset; and the ability to collaborate effectively with colleagues and external stakeholders.

Essential on arrival:

•  An undergraduate degree in economics, trade policy, public administration/policy or related discipline (or appropriate work experience).
•  Knowledge of current trends in Canadian trade policy and political dynamics.
•  Understanding of the Canadian federal and provincial system, and machinery of the federal government.
•  Ability to write clearly for range of audiences in varying degrees of detail.
•  Ability to plan and structure work effectively so as to deliver to short and longer term deadlines. 
•  Proven ability to work within changing circumstances and willingness to be adaptable to new priorities

Language requirements: 

Language: English

Level of language required: Fluency