View Vacancy - Senior Trade Adviser, Healthcare and Education

The Department of International Trade at the British Embassy in Cairo is looking for a Senior Trade Adviser that will lead the Healthcare and Education sector, who are highly motivated and enthusiastic self-starters, with excellent commercial awareness and creativity, in order to help UK companies capitalise on the opportunities Egypt offers for trade and investment.

Priority sectors may change but and each Senior Trade Adviser can expect to lead on two specific sectors, collaborating closely with the Country Director, Deputy Country Director and the Senior Trade Policy Adviser.

Main Purpose of the Job:

This is an exciting time to join the Department for International Trade (DIT). Our aim is to promote British trade and investment across the world, which is vital for the prosperity of the UK. DIT brings together policy, promotion and financial expertise to break down barriers to trade and investment in markets across the world to help businesses succeed.

The jobholder will deliver the trade promotion elements of the DIT Country Plan for Egypt, and DIT Regional Trade Plan for Africa. Using leadership and commercial expertise, you will design and implement a strategy to promote trade with and investment into Egypt, resulting in increased exports of UK goods and services to Egypt, and expanded UK business investment in Egypt.

Main Duties and Responsibilities:

1. Maintain a high and up-to-date level of expertise on the Egyptian market, building relationships with key buyers and the Egyptian Government, and drawing on a wide range of data and evidence.

2. Using this expertise, and the deep evidence base that you will help develop, identify priority sectors in Egypt where UK companies can add and derive most value. Check and challenge assumptions around these sectors on a regular basis.

3. Lead on designing and delivering a targeted strategy to increase British exports to, and investment in, Egypt – focusing on a set number of priority sectors (tbc). You will do this by: 

• Working with DIT sector leads to understand HMG priorities and expertise within set specific sectors;
• identifying and generating trade and investment opportunities;
• providing British companies with professional advice and high-quality market analysis;
• facilitating introductions and providing other support required for those companies to enter the Egyptian market and win contracts, such as organisation of business missions, PR and media campaigns to increase the demand for UK goods and services in Egypt;
• promoting the financing products offered by UK Export Finance, the British government’s Export Credit Agency, to support British companies win contracts;
• working closely with the Senior Trade Policy Adviser to identify issues faced by British companies active in Egypt in the sectors you are responsible for and develop and implement clear strategies to resolve them.

4. Develop a targeted stakeholder engagement plan for your priority sectors. This will include creating and maintain your own strong network of business and public sector leaders, but also recommending and drawing on stakeholder engagement from other British Government colleagues (e.g. British Ambassador, Country Director, DIT Africa Senior Leadership Team).

5. Collaborate closely with other UK government departments both in Egypt and in the UK, including but not limited to the Defence, Development and Political Teams in the Embassy, as well as the British Council. Provide advice and guidance to those colleagues on trade, investment and trade policy issues, ensuring that delivery of commercial opportunities is complementary to the UK’s wider policy objectives in Egypt.

6. Contribute fully and flexibly to DIT corporate objectives and the work of DIT Africa:

• Report contact with UK companies and monitor/record follow up activity though DIT systems, working with the DIT Country Director and Deputy Country Director to ensure targets are met.
• Ensure all export opportunities are captured and advertised to British businesses.
• Support the work of the DIT team, including through ad-hoc translation and interpreting, maintaining trade statistics, assisting British (and, where relevant, Egyptian) companies with visa enquiries, budget management, business planning finances and inputting management information.
• Lead on responses to DIT parliamentary questions, Ministerial correspondence and public enquiries.
• Promote and share successful campaign approaches;
• Encourage collaboration with other DIT teams in relevant markets across Africa.

Key Competencies:

• Collaborating and Partnering - People skilled in this area are team players who create and maintain positive, professional and trusting working relationships with a wide range of people within and outside the Civil Service to help get business done.
• Achieving Commercial Outcomes - Being effective in this area is about maintaining an economic, long-term focus in all activities. It’s about having a commercial, financial and sustainable mind-set to ensure all activities and services are delivering added value and working to stimulate economic growth.
• Managing a Quality Service - Effectiveness in this area is about being organised to deliver service objectives and striving to improve the quality of service, taking account of diverse customer needs and requirements.
• Leading and Communicating - Effectiveness in this area is about leading from the front and communicating with clarity, conviction and enthusiasm. It’s about supporting principles of fairness of opportunity for all and a dedication to a diverse range of citizens.

• Sector expertise or experience in Healthcare and Education;
• Graduate with a university degree in a relevant subject (e.g. business, economics, international relations, etc.)
• 4 years recent experience in trade / commercial sectors;
• Strong oral and written English communication skills;
• Ability to work well under pressure and to tight deadlines;
• Resourcefulness in solving problems;
• Strong interpersonal skills and comfortable dealing with senior officials and business people;
• Flexible, adaptable and resilient;
• Strong organizational skills and keen attention to detail;
• Superior professionalism and judgment;
• High IT proficiency (Microsoft platform).