Main purpose of job:

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 Infrastructure sector, and working to overcome market barriers in the Peruvian market that prevent British companies doing business in this specific sector. 
 
The UK is Peru’s chosen partner on infrastructure and is home to a strong, diverse range of companies working in the sector’s supply chain. DBT Peru is responsible for the implementation of two Government-to-Government agreements directly with the Peruvian government in delivering over £5.2bn of social infrastructure, sharing best practice and knowledge transfer. It is an important sector in Peru and your role will be to support UK companies to do business in Peru, with an emphasis on innovation and sustainability. Led by DBT Deputy Director and Head of Infrastructure, you will work with a wider infrastructure team to support the delivery on the DBT’s network objectives in line with the main pillars of:

• Trade Support – work with UK companies to develop opportunities and support their business in Peru.

• Promotion – showcase UK technology and innovation mainly for the Construction, Healthcare, Water and Sanitation, Transport and Mobility, Railways and Airports sectors at trade shows and new promotional forums.

• Market Access – identify and create action plans for the key market barriers facing UK companies when doing business in sub-sectors including but not limited to the above sectors.

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.

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 ministers to senior members of companies 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 sectors 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, environmental and economic diplomacy team.

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 infrastructure 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 a passion for the infrastructure sector. 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, with the Deputy Director and Head of Infrastructure a long-term strategy for the Infrastructure sector in Peru, communicate the plan and deliver medium and short term outcomes
  
• Account manage UK companies, suppliers and potential buyers within the Peruvian Infrastructure sector. This will entail ongoing account management and tracking, as well as regular engagements with stakeholders, to follow-up on all potential opportunities and delegate actions and contingencies to the team where necessary.
  
• Develop a network of contacts within the Infrastructure sector to identify new opportunities for UK businesses. The successful candidate must show proactivity and creativity in finding those new opportunities.
• Research and follow trends within the Infrastructure 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 for potential opportunities within the Peruvian Infrastructure sector.
  
• Prospecting new and emerging commercial opportunities in Peru in both public and private sectors.
  
• 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 regional leadership of the Infrastructure sectors well as teams from other sectors within DBT Peru with similar objectives.
• 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 and/or intern, carrying out an appraisal process regularly.  Supporting the team in developing their understanding of the Infrastructure sector, their own career progression, and in developing their leadership and commercial skills.
• Support the DBT Peru Deputy Director and Head of Infrastructure and Regional Director for Infrastructure in developing and implementing the UK’s strategies for Peru in this sector.

Essential on arrival: 

• 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 business development and/or client relationship management role.
• Fluent in English and Spanish
• Outstanding command of MS Office tools (PowerPoint, Excel, Word).
• Some knowledge of the infrastructure sectors either in Peru or the UK.

Language requirements: 

Language: Spanish and English

Level of language required: Fluent written and spoken (CEFR C1 essential; C2 in at least one of the languages preferable)