Main purpose of job:

The Department for Business and Trade (DBT) is the Trade Promotion and Negotiation Organisation for the UK, and DBT Africa is one of nine (9) DBT global networks, led by His Majesty’s Trade Commissioner for Africa John Humphrey (HMTC).

Business events drive interactions and serve as a catalyst for deal origination, spotlighting and promoting not just UK DBT’s service offer but the ‘Best of Britain’ internationally. As a medium, it has become increasingly important for meeting and delivering on key strategic objectives for businesses and governments.

The post holder will be responsible for DBT Africa’s approach to event management, with a primary focus on external facing sector events. They will oversee the day to day running of the events unit, manage the Africa network’s forward look calendar and coordinate cross-functional teams and 3rd party agencies to support the preparation for and delivery of trade events. The post holder will ensure standards and high quality of execution to reflect the high quality of the UK business offer. They will work closely with other DBT colleagues on budgeting and personally negotiating with external providers and sponsors to ensure value for money.

Roles and responsibilities:

The role

The role will combine marketing, communications and events knowledge and experience with strong project management, leadership and people management skills. The role will report into the Head of Marketing and Communications based in Johannesburg.

You will be a key part of the DBT team, and you will work directly with Sector Directors, Private Offices of Ministers, Heads of Missions and DBT Events HQ to ensure DBT Africa’s business priorities are integrated into identified priority events.

The Events division is a very small unit with a large remit and responsibility. The successful candidate will need to be a dynamic leader with good communication skills, quick thinking, forward looking, flexible and resilient. The role requires travel within Africa and to the UK.

Your primary objectives will be:

• Lead DBT Africa’s Event team:  You will lead and manage our Events Unit consisting of one events supports officer based in Johannesburg in addition to the post holder, overseeing the workflow of the events team and support employees with key external facing events to help deliver best in class events – these range from trade shows, business roundtables, trade missions and DBT Africa’s inputs into specific wider HMG events such as the UK-African Investment Summit 2024.
• You will collaborate closely with HQ teams, including the Ministerial Visits and Trade Envoys teams to compile the forward look, communicate DBT Africa activities to HQ teams and ensure that the network is making the most of VIP level engagement.
• You will work closely with DBT Africa Sector Directors to jointly develop plans to deliver the events element of sector campaigns and achieve desired impact e.g., participant needs analysis to ensure event relevance and value.
• You will advise and guide teams and the wider network on factors that will impact event outcomes such as quality, effectiveness, budget, risks etc. You will be responsible for maintaining the DBT Africa forward look and using it as a tool to monitor, review and guide events activity across the Network to ensure that only planned events with clear, measurable outcomes take place.
• You will ensure standards and quality of execution as well as ensuring value for money by establishing and leading the evaluation of all events ensuring continuous improvement of the Network’s events and engagement.
•  You will negotiate participation packages on behalf of the trade teams, identify opportunities for event related revenue, sponsorship, partnerships, products, services, etc. to ensure maximum return on spend.

Resources managed (staff and expenditure):

1-2 staff members

• Postgraduate degree and/or undergraduate degree is essential.
• A minimum of 4yrs of professional experience, with at least 2 years of marketing experience organising diverse events in a B2B, G2B and/or G2G environment.
• Experience of working in organisations with a matrix management structure and/or in a dispersed network
• Excellent verbal and written communication skills
• Strategic thinker with proven track record of problem solving and innovative and creative initiatives.
• Experience negotiating and working directly with 3rd party agencies, suppliers, and vendors.
• High level of organizational and project management skills with the ability to manage multiple collaborators, stakeholders, and concurrent programs in a dynamic, fast-paced environment.
• Demonstrated success in increasing process efficiencies and optimizing resource.