View Vacancy - Market Access and Trade Policy Officer (10/23 ADD)

Main purpose of job:

You will work within the Department of Business and Trade (DBT) and an integral part of the British Embassy economic team in Addis in the pursuit of the objectives set out in DBT’s Trade Plan for Africa and the Country Plan for Ethiopia. As Market Access and Trade Policy Officer, you will lead the team’s work to identify market access barriers, analysing and prioritising these issues and then developing and executing influencing strategies in order to remove them. You will also work on campaigns to support the improvement of Ethiopia’s broader business environment, working to create more conducive conditions in which trade and investment can flourish.

Context:

We are the department for economic growth. We support UK businesses to invest, grow and export, creating jobs and opportunities across the country. We promote UK businesses overseas and attract foreign investment to our shores. We have 3,000 staff across the globe in over 100 countries. Our aspiration is to address some of the challenges facing the UK, by helping British businesses to internationalise and grow overseas and as well as helping African businesses better engage with the UK and the world.

DBT Africa is one of the nine DBT global networks and is led by John Humphrey, HM Trade Commissioner (HMTC) for Africa. The Africa Region is exciting and energising and UK firms have a strong presence here, making the UK one of the largest investors in the continent. With some of the strongest growing economies in the world and booming population growth there are numerous more opportunities for UK firms; from tech start-ups in the West to infrastructure in the East. The Network’s role is to promote these opportunities and position the UK as the continent’s number one trading partner and investor.

DBT in Ethiopia is based at the British Embassy in Addis Ababa. We are a core part of the wider economic-focused Prosperity Team comprising DBT, the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office (FCDO), all working to alleviate poverty, improve economic development, and enhance investment and trade between the UK and Ethiopia.

Roles and responsibilities: 

• Market access analysis and prioritisation: you will be responsible for identifying and prioritising policy and regulatory trade barriers (cross-cutting and sector specific) that are/likely to impact UK-Ethiopia business investment and international trade growth, including monitoring and analysing changes in the Ethiopian investment law. 
• Policy analysis and horizon scanning: you will engage in assessment of the impact of changes in the macroeconomic, microeconomic and fiscal policy on trade and investment in Ethiopia. You may be required to work collaboratively with multilateral organisations and Ethiopian Government Agencies ( WB / AfDB / IFC / Trade Mark East Africa / EIC). You will also monitor and analyse changes in Ethiopian investment law.
• Policy risk communication: you will develop briefings for UK Government officials, existing and incoming business stakeholders, cross-embassy teams, as well as updating the information on the Departments internal monitoring systems. In doing so, you will ensure that issues are clearly prioritised and incorporated into UK government trade and investment strategy. 
• Support business development projects: you will work with commercial leads within the team to provide solutions to specific market access issues impacting the UK’s priority sectors in Ethiopia. This will involve understanding the UK’s priority sectors, liaising with companies who are looking to enter into the Ethiopian markets and developing solutions in order to improve the ease of investment in these sectors.

The role will require strong interpersonal and organisational skills, with the ability to influence and build relationships; the confidence to negotiate between senior internal and external government stakeholders will be of particular benefit. It will require close teamwork, supporting UK Embassy prosperity strategy.  

The jobholder will be a confident self-starter, a team player with excellent communication skills, and the ability to network with a wide range of contacts at senior levels in government, international agencies and the private sector. In addition, they will be expected to provide high quality analysis and advice on sector-specific developments

• Degree in business, economics, management, finance or related field
• At least 3 years’ experience in investment or government services and/or supporting private sector companies/organisations in doing business
• Current knowledge of Ethiopia’s economy, government and business environment
• Great communication and presentation skills
• Excellent drafting skills
• Fluency in the language of business and investment

Language requirements: 

Language:  English (essential) and Amharic (desirable)

Level of language required:  Fluent