Main purpose of job

The successful applicant will play a key role in driving the UK Government’s work on mining and clean energy in Peru and be committed to driving the UK’s international growth mission by working within the UK’s Department for Business and Trade (DBT), as well as closely with other government departments, as part of the British Embassy in Lima.

DBT is responsible for promoting UK trade and investment with the rest of the world. This is a brilliant opportunity to work on one of the most important export campaigns for the British government in Peru, supporting business (exports and investment) between the UK and Peru in the mining and energy sectors. 
 
The UK is one of the largest foreign investors in the mining and energy sector in Peru. A broad portfolio of UK companies are part of the mining & energy supply chains in Peru, and the UK is positioned as one of the leading countries in innovation, technology and sustainability. These are important sectors in Peru and your role will be to support UK companies to do business with local stakeholders promoting UK expertise throughout the supply chain. The main pillars of work include:

• Trade Support – manage a pipeline of commercial opportunities for UK companies, supporting their business engagement in Peru.
• Promotion – showcase UK capabilities and innovation throughout the mining and energy sectors at trade fairs, commercial events, trade missions and other promotion activities.
• Market Access – identify and create action plans for the key market barriers facing UK companies when doing business in Peru.

The successful candidate will need to be an enthusiastic self-starter, have good business acumen and excellent stakeholder management and leadership skills. They will need to be confident in managing collaborative relationships with senior contacts in the UK and Peruvian business community. The post holder should have experience as a manager and believe in the development of their team members.

You will be working as part of a wider UK in Peru team that seeks to ensure that our policy, trade and development work is aligned in order to increase clean, low-carbon and sustainable growth in Peru, showcasing UK public and private sector expertise whilst maximising commercial opportunities for the UK and developmental gains for our partners.

The post holder will be responsible for supporting the management of an existing pipeline of commercial opportunities (accessible to UK companies) and researching and validating new opportunities as and when they arise. Their success in this position will primarily be measured on the value of exports you assist British companies to obtain and the ability to support their team to achieve this.

The candidate will be supported by DBT sector teams based in London, who will source British companies to respond to the commercial opportunities that arise.

The post holder will need strong interpersonal and organisational skills and a high level of professionalism and emotional intelligence that will allow them to pitch approaches appropriately. This position will see the successful candidate exposed to senior public stakeholders such as ministers and senior members of companies and private institutions and therefore strong communication and judgement skills and a high level of resilience and persistence are essential. 

In this role, the candidate will collaborate closely with other sections within the embassy to facilitate that broader institutional support, delivered through different funds, translates effectively into innovative opportunities for UK businesses. This means collaborating closely with the political, climate, nature and infrastructure teams to deliver on the British Government’s growth agenda.

The successful candidate will be responsible for delivering a number of high-profile events, both in Peru and the UK, sometimes remotely, that will be designed to showcase the best of British capabilities in mining and energy to our customers. This will require careful delegation to both external contractors and your team and colleagues across Peru and Latin America.

The position will suit an energetic, self-starter with knowledge and passion for the mining and energy sectors. It will require someone who has a positive and proactive attitude that thinks in terms of opportunities, not problems, and will be able to motivate and inspire their team to deliver challenging targets.

Roles and responsibilities

The successful candidate will integrate and support the whole DBT team through the following activities:

• Plan, negotiate and deliver on ambitious goals aligned with the network objectives of: Trade Support, Promotion and Market Access. Conduct a detailed management of the sector’s KPI’s, creating contingencies when necessary and regularly reporting status updates to senior management. Design a long-term strategy for the mining and energy sectors in Peru, delivering medium and short-term outcomes and communicating progress.
• Account manage UK companies, both investors and suppliers, within the Peruvian mining and energy sectors. Provide bespoke support through the creation and execution of well-planned interventions (meetings, introductions, events, marketing, partnerships, government engagement) resulting in UK businesses securing new business in Peru.
• Develop a network of public and private contacts and stakeholders within the mining and energy sector to identify new opportunities for UK businesses. The successful candidate must show proactivity and creativity in finding those new opportunities.
• Develop and manage an exports pipeline of projects and commercial opportunities in the mining and energy sectors. This will entail ongoing account management and tracking, as well as regular engagements with stakeholders, to follow-up on all potential opportunities and prospect new and emerging commercial opportunities for this pipeline. Work with colleagues across the region and in the UK moving quickly from identification of opportunities to achieving commercial wins.
• Ensure up to date understanding of the market conditions through research, horizon scanning and following trends within the mining and energy sector. With a focus on innovation, technology and sustainability, the successful candidate must be able to identify strengths and expertise from the UK supply chain and show flexibility to respond to new areas of opportunity.
• Produce content for events, missions and webinars, as well as lead the preparation of market research reports, internal briefings and visiting programmes.
• Work as one UK Government team in Peru and collaborate with colleagues from the British Embassy in Lima in multiple Embassy priorities such as promotion of dialogue and territorial development, human rights in mining, decarbonisation of the economy, promotion of renewable energy in the Amazon region, tackling illegal mining and serious organised crime, among others.
• Raise awareness in the UK of trade opportunities in Peru, including via joint work with other DBT teams and partners.

Leadership

• Line manage a Business Development Officer, carrying out an appraisal process regularly.  Support the team in developing their understanding of the mining and energy sectors, their own career progression, and in developing their leadership and commercial skills.
• Support the DBT Peru Country Director, the Deputy Director and Head of Infrastructure and the Regional Directors for Infrastructure and Energy in developing and implementing the UK’s strategies for Peru in these sectors.

Resources managed (staff and expenditure)

• 1x Business Development Officer (AO)

• University Degree in related field e.g. International Relations, Business or other related areas to the role, or 5 years relevant experience.
• Significant relevant experience in a business development and/or client relationship management role.
• Understanding of Peruvian business environment.
• Fluent written and spoken English and Spanish.
• Full proficiency with MS Office tools (Teams, PowerPoint, Excel, Word).
• Experience using project management or CRM tools to track progress against sales or commercial targets/KPIs.
• Knowledge of the mining and energy sectors in Peru and/or the UK.
• Excellent stakeholder management, engagement, and networking skills.
• Demonstrated experience working in trade support, promotion and/or market access.
• Legal status to live and work in Peru in your own right, from time of application.