The British Embassy in Bishkek is part of a world-wide diplomatic network, representing British political, economic and consular interests overseas and is now looking for a new Prosperity Officer.

The successful candidate will join the British Embassy Bishkek’s Prosperity team, leading the Embassy’s work to promote and support trade and investment between the UK and Kyrgyzstan, monitoring key economic and business developments in Kyrgyzstan, and contribute to promoting bilateral the UK-Kyrgyz bilateral relationship.

Roles and responsibilities:

Trade and Investment promotion 

• Identify opportunities to promote and grow UK-Kyrgyzstan trade and investment, across a wide range of sectors, in particular: Extractives, Education, Financial and Professional Services, Energy and Digital/Creative;
• Building and maintaining relationships with British businesses that are considering entering, or already active in the Kyrgyz market, to provide support, advice and contacts as required;
• Lead engagement the Kyrgyz-UK Business Council and secretariat the British Business Group in Kyrgyzstan;
• Working closely with UK Department of Business and Trade (DBT) offices in UK and Istanbul, and developing proposals to access central DBT funding for Kyrgyzstan-focused trade promotion activities e.g. research, events, delegations, communications campaigns etc;
• Work with the British Embassy Bishkek Political and Communications Team to increase awareness of the British Embassy’s support for the public and private sector in Kyrgyzstan, to publicise bilateral commercial links, and to put across Embassy messaging for example about the importance of Rule of Law for building economic growth.

Economic and business reporting 

• Monitoring and interpreting key economic and business trends and policy developments;
• Producing both regular reports and ad-hoc economic briefings on important developments/topics to inform policy and programmes;
• Develop and maintain a strong network of contacts in the Kyrgyz government, media and business community, to support reporting and wider Embassy work.

Oversee BE Bishkek Prosperity and Trade Programming 

• Lead on developing proposals and overseeing bids to access central DBT funding for Kyrgyzstan-focused trade promotion activities e.g. research, events, delegations, communications campaigns etc;
• Manage successful bids, ensuring all budgets are spent appropriately in line with FCDO rules;
• Support the oversight and implementation of the UK’s Great Challenge Fund in Kyrgyzstan.

Promoting UK-Kyrgyz bilateral relations 

• Supporting both inward and outward visits;
• Oversee other UK bilateral programme funds in Kyrgyzstan, as required.

This job is partly suited to flexible working patterns; and the Embassy’s policy on working hours and working from home will allow the job-holder to take a flexible approach. The job will require occasional attendance at evening receptions and domestic and international travel which may require working outside normal working hours. In those cases, the job-holder may claim time off in lieu.

• Excellent verbal and written communication skills enabling effective communication and ability to adapt communication style to different situations in English and Russian (minimum C1 level for CEFR framework *);
• Minimum three years of work experience in a relevant field, including evidence of expertise with economic, trade and financial issues;
• Experience of programme or project management, including monitoring and evaluation, as well as budgeting mechanisms;
  Experience of preparing economic briefings/reports;
• Understanding of the Kyrgyz economy;
  Able to establish strong contact networks and deal effectively with senior level interlocutors
  Strong analytical and judgement skills;
  IT skills, including use of MS Word, Excel, PowerPoint and Outlook.
• A self-starter that can work well both individually and in a team;
• Ability and willingness to work effectively and flexibly;
• Willingness and desire for continual learning and development;