Main purpose of job:

Be part of the Department for Business and Trade’s (DBT) mission to drive more trade and investment between North America and the UK. With a mature, high spending consumer market and an open, liberal economy, world-class talent and a business-friendly regulatory environment, the UK is the leading destination for foreign investment in Europe, and the second highest investment destination in the world. The UK is also the world’s sixth largest exporter and the second largest services exporter. 

We employ over 150 people across North America, all united by our vision of a future where we champion open and fair global trading that drives growth, creates better jobs and higher wages, and improves living standards in the UK and around the world. We seek talented team members with the passion and drive to help us in our mission to build a global appetite for British goods and services; drive investment; negotiate trade deals and open up markets; improve international trading standards and fight unfair trading practices.    

This is a challenging and rewarding role based in New York supporting the Director of Trade with the leadership and management of the 25-person trade and investment team. The role supports the Director of Trade with identifying trade and investment opportunities across the consular district, leads on regional activities, and will work on a wide variety of policy and economic initiatives. You will apply your expertise to support the development of strategies that amplify our impact using key networks across the New York patch, seeking to influence trade policy. You will lead on senior level and Ministerial visits and support on management and coordination of the wider team.

The ideal candidate will be a clear and effective communicator, a team player able to work at pace with excellent attention to detail and a background in international business.

Roles and responsibilities:

• Build an understanding of and expertise in the trade and investment opportunity in each state, Congressional District, and city within the consular region (New York, Connecticut, Pennsylvania, New Jersey) to inform the overall regional strategy.
• Support the Director of Trade by collaborating with the team and other HMG and network colleagues to design and deliver impactful visit programmes and events for senior officials, Ministers and other high-level visitors. Ensure they understand the regional trade perspectives and how to position and establish the UK as the preferred trade and investment partner.
• Provide and approve all briefings for senior leadership ahead of visits, meetings, and events, and maintain the core trade and investment script for the NY region.
• Support the Director of Trade with recruitment, on-boarding, and team development to enhance trade promotion expertise within the consular region.
• Support the Director of Trade to establish ambitious trade objectives for the region. Oversee and analyse performance and team use of the CRM system, coordinating with central operations functions.
• Collaborate with marketing and communications colleagues to refine and deliver messages that showcase the strength of the UK-US trade and investment relationship, targeting influential audiences.
• Support the Director of Trade with state-level engagement on trade policy initiatives.

Resources managed:

• Support the Director of Trade with leadership of 25-person trade and investment team including line management of 3-4 Trade and Investment Officers.

• Substantial professional experience, gained within a business, government or economic development role.
• Proven competence in strategy development and business planning.
• Proven advisory and influencing skills at senior levels.
• Excellent stakeholder management abilities.
• Proven client engagement skills and the ability to representant the organisation to high profile executives.
• Excellent management and leadership skills with the ability to deliver results through others.
• An understanding of both the US and UK business environments.
• An understanding of international relations, UK Government policy.
• Ability to influence others and gain buy-in at the team, peer and executive level.
• Proven experience delivering creative and innovative solutions to business challenges.
• Excellent interpersonal, presentation and networking skills
• Highly effective verbal and written communication skills.
• The ability to attend official functions outside of office hours; and to undertake domestic and international air travel, including overnight stays (up to 20% of the time).
• Fluency in written and spoken English.
• Legal status to live and work in the US in your own right, from time of application.

Please note: Under US State Department requirements, the UK Government in the US has restrictions on the type of visas our non-diplomatic staff may hold.  If you are not a US Citizen or a US Permanent Resident, or the dependent of a diplomat (with an EAD card), you may not be eligible for employment with the UK government. We cannot accept student Visas (J1, F or M) nor other forms of work Visas (I, H, P).  If you hold a work visa it is best to check on your eligibility to work for a foreign government before applying for a position. The UK Government does not routinely sponsor work visas; the job advertisement will state clearly whether sponsorship is available. 

You may refer to our website for additional information: https://www.gov.uk/guidance/living-in-the-usa. All selected candidates are subject to background checks and will require a security clearance prior to starting work.