View Vacancy - JPN (Tokyo) - Trade Adviser, AO

The British Government is an inclusive and diversity-friendly employer.  We value difference, promote equality and challenge discrimination, enhancing our organisational capability. We welcome and encourage applications from people of all backgrounds. We do not discriminate on the basis of disability, race, colour, ethnicity, gender identity, religion, sexual orientation, age, veteran status or other category protected by law. We promote family-friendly flexible working opportunities, where operational and security needs allow.
Department for International Trade roles (DIT)
Department for International Trade (DIT)

Main Purpose of Job:

This is an exciting time to join the Department for International Trade (DIT). Our aim is to promote British exports across the world, which is vital for the prosperity of the UK. The UK-Japan Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement (CEPA), in force since 1 January 2021, provides a strong basis for UK companies to export their products and services more easily with reduced tariffs to Japan.  DIT brings together policy and promotion to support British business and break down barriers to trade in markets across the world to help businesses succeed. This is a great opportunity to be part of an international team that contributes to the success of the UK's trade goals as part of the Indo-Pacific Tilt.

You will work in the DIT Food & Drink trade team at the British Embassy Tokyo. Food & Drink is one of the priority sectors for the UK. The UK has many categories that are not yet widely known in Japan but are the UK Unique Selling Points to offer to the Japanese market. UK is made up of four nations – Scotland, Northern Ireland, Wales and England, which each have their own key priorities in the Food & Drink sector. The successful candidate will work closely with the three Devolved Administrations to promote the UK plc together.  

The work is varied, and no two days are the same. You will provide support for UK food and drink exporters through undertaking market research, organising trade promotional activities, such as the UK Pavilion at Foodex, or addressing challenges facing UK exporters to enter the Japanese market. The successful candidate will work with a wide-range of stakeholders both in the UK and Japan from the food and drink sector, industry associations, government and many UK-Japan multipliers to identify opportunities and cultivate successful commercial partnerships.

What will the Jobholder be Expected to Achieve:

Trade Development Support

  • Undertaking market research for UK companies to identify their opportunities with the Japanese market and to provide advice on exporting to Japan. 
  • Gathering market intelligence and developing a network of useful contacts in the Japanese Food & Drink industry to identify business opportunities for UK companies in Japan and for Japanese companies in the UK. 
  • Tackling market access issues that impact negatively on UK Food & Drink companies trying to enter the Japanese market.  

Events Organisational Support

  • Delivering promotional events (trade fairs, campaigns, webinars etc) together with the Senior Food & Drink Team Lead.  
  • Liaising with 3rd party partners to outsource tasks to be delivered by others.  

Media & Marketing Support

  • Delivering our key messages through media by closely working with Media, Communication and Marketing Section in the British Embassy Tokyo.
  • Updating latest digital marketing knowledge to share with team members and implement for events.

Administration Team support

  • Regular administration tasks, for example database entry, meeting arrangement, procurement, payments, digital events IT, etc.
  • A minimum of 3+ years of experience working for a Japanese organisation
  • Excellent communication and interpersonal skills. Including written English-language communication skills.
  • Flexibility and mind set to challenge new approach and be positive to the change
  • Excellent networking skills and understanding of Japanese business culture.
  • Strong IT skills using Microsoft Word, Excel, PowerPoint, Office, etc to deliver works digitally

Language Requirements:

  • Level of language required: Japanese - JLPT level 1 or equivalent
  • Level of language required: English - IELTS band 7 or TOEIC 875 points or above or equivalent, with experience of working in an English-speaking environment.
  • Good understanding of Market research
  • Social media marketing
Seeing the Big Picture, Changing and Improving, Managing a Quality Service, Delivering at Pace, Communicating and Influencing, Working Together
8 December 2022
Administrative Officer (AO)
Full-time, Permanent
37.5
Asia Pacific
Japan
Tokyo
British Embassy
1
JPY
JPY 361,591
1 February 2023
  • 1 month salary bonus equivalents payable in June and December
    (Note: Salary may be reduced due to tax status)
  • Commuting allowance of up to JPY35,000 per month (paid on an actual cost basis)
  • 25 days paid annual leave (calculated pro rata)
  • Health Insurance and Employee pension (kenko hoken/kosei nenkin)
  • Employment Insurance (koyou hoken).

Learning and Development Opportunities (and any specific training courses to be completed):

  • FCDO on-line learning courses
  • Embassy learning and development fund available for bids for non-job specific training

The British Embassy offers comprehensive learning and development opportunities that will be fully available to the jobholder. We regularly run both work area specific training, as well as more general skills development in project management, finance, and leadership. Each year the job holder will be encouraged to use five development days to pursue job related and personal development goals.

All staff are required to take a role in the embassy’s crisis preparation and response. Full training will be provided for this, and regular opportunities will be available to test and develop your skills. 

Working Patterns:

Full time and office based. 37.5 hours per week. The British Embassy, Tokyo supports and promotes flexible working as a crucial part of our inclusive offering. This particular role allows for flexibility in start and end times, working compressed hours and working remotely for one day a week, subject to agreement with management.

Please note that the deadline for applications is 23:55 on the day mentioned in the above field “Application deadline”.

We advise you to allow enough time to complete and submit your full application, since only applications completed and submitted before the deadline will be considered.

Please be aware that the deadline for submitting applications is considered to be the time zone for the country where the vacancy has arisen.

Please be aware that you will only be able to apply to vacancies for Country Based Staff roles with the British Government through this official tal.net site (operated by Oleeo). Jobs may be advertised on third party websites, however our adverts will always link back to the official tal.net site. If you complete and send an application through any other site, we will not receive it.

This opportunity is closed to applications.