View Vacancy - Sector Director, Financial and Professional Services

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)
DIT

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, 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

 

About the Department for International Trade in North America

You will join the Department for International Trade which promotes exports to the North American continent of British goods and services, two way investment between the UK and North America, and mutual improved market access to help grow our bilateral trade. (See www.gov.uk/DIT for further information).

Within British Embassies, High Commissions and Consulates across North America, the Department for International Trade has 150+ members of staff spread across 14 locations, forming a dynamic team that focuses on various sectors including advanced engineering, technology, financial services, life sciences, food & drink, retail and energy & environment. The North America team works closely with our Headquarters teams in London, regional and local colleagues, representatives of the three Devolved Administrations of Scotland, Northern Ireland and Wales, with a key objective of driving transatlantic trade and foreign investment into the UK.  This is an exciting time to work for the Department for International Trade (DIT). Our mission is to promote British trade and investment across the world which is vital for the prosperity of the UK. DIT brings together export promotion, investment attraction and market access policy work to break down barriers to trade and investment 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.

 

Main Purpose of Role

This is a challenging and rewarding job. The jobholder needs to provide strong leadership of a high-performing sector team, good judgement in prioritising competing demands and keeping their teams focused on the delivery of the North America network’s strategy and objectives.  They will also need strong communication and influencing skills and commercial awareness in order to perform their client-facing role and be credible with senior stakeholders in business and government.

The Sector Director for Financial and Professional Services leads DIT’s work in a sector that is vital to the success of the UK economy in our most important market. The role is responsible for strategic planning, setting ambitious performance goals and implementing a diverse program of work that drives increase inward investment to the UK and grows UK exports to North America. The job holder is also responsible for aligning DIT’s work in North America with other UK Government Departments (HM Treasury, BEIS, FCDO) to ensure our teams in North America are doing all they can to maximise exports and investment, to address market access barriers and improve our trading relationship with the US and Canada.


Roles and responsibilities:

Leadership and  Management 

· Provides strategic leadership for the North America Financial and Professional Services team to deliver the UK Government’s priorities on trade and investment, drawing on a deep understanding of the sector, policy considerations, US-UK and Canada-UK business dynamics, direct client relationships, and oversight of the team’s resources and capacity.  

· Leads the team’s strategic delivery in consultation with Financial and Professional Services counterparts in DIT’s headquarters in the UK, wider UK Government Departments, Economic and Financial Services colleagues at the British Embassy in Washington DC and High Commission in Ottawa, and the North American Network’s senior leadership.

· Works with partners to help deliver the UK Government’s broader priorities in North America, including the UK-US Free Trade Agreement (FTA), the UK’s climate ambitions including our upcoming Presidency of COP26, and UK-US/UK-Canada collaboration to ‘build back better’ following the Coronavirus pandemic.

· Works with businesses to gather intelligence, supporting policy colleagues to address market access barriers, influencing businesses on commitments to net-zero, and collaborating to identify and build long-term strategic economic initiatives to underpin innovative economies of the future.

· Leads the annual business planning process for the Financial and Professional Services Team in order to set strategic priorities, identify event support, set team direction, and allocate resources, and to align with the priorities of their UK counterparts.

· Co-ordinates sector-related Learning & Development based on training needs of the Financial and Professional Services Team.

· Provides in-person support across North America, including other geographical regions in which they are not based, around major events, VIP visits, key account management or high value investment and export deals.

· Identifies new market opportunities in North America and the UK that will help drive increased export revenue for UK companies and new investment from the US and Canada.

· When applicable, advise the UK’s Ambassador to the US and High Commissioner to Canada and their respective teams on the key commercial opportunities in Financial and Professional Services.

· Manages sector budgets to within 1% of overall allocation.

· Works closely with relevant Regional Directors to provide regional leadership including in support of Consuls General , to develop and deliver regional trade and investment strategies, and to provide corporate leadership for the wider DIT team at their diplomatic post


Delivery

· Accountable for delivering the Financial and Professional Services Integrated Sector Plan in North America and for meeting export and inward investment targets. Maintains and regularly reviews progress against targets with team members regularly reviews investment and export pipelines.

· Leads on key account management of existing and potential high value investors and trade partners, at CEO/Board level from North America for the Financial and Professional Services sector.

· Proactively works with Strategic Communications and Marketing teams to initiate, develop and implement sector plans including digital campaigns, PR and collateral development.

· Ensures effective frameworks are in place and responsibilities agreed with other senior leaders across the network including Consuls-General, Deputy Trade Commissioners, Regional Directors etc., and that business intelligence is used to inform business planning and pipeline development.

· Oversight and delivery of large-scale activities and events when needed.

· Liaises with key contacts across trade organisations, English regions and Devolved Administrations (Scotland, Wales, Northern Ireland), and major event producers to align interests and delivery objectives.

Essential on arrival:

· An undergraduate degree ideally in a related field.

· At least 10  years professional experience, gained within a client-facing role in business development or economic development, ideally in Financial or Professional Services

· At least 5 years leadership experience, ideally in Financial or Professional Services.

· Proven competence in leading strategy development and business planning

· Proven advisory and influencing skills at senior levels –able to express ideas and messages clearly and concisely, both orally and in written communication.

· An understanding of international relations and UK Government policy. Ability to build, manage and foster a highly-productive, team-oriented, agile culture.

· Ability to influence others and gain buy-in at the team, peer and executive level.

· An excellent network of industry contacts in the ^ sector and the ability to develop new networks, including demonstrating the ability to develop strategic relationships with senior industry figures.

· Proven experience delivering creative and innovative solutions to business challenges.

· Excellent interpersonal, presentation and networking skills.


Must have the legal right to work in Canada.


Desirable Skills:

· An in depth knowledge of the US and the Canadian economies.

14 November 2021
Grade 7 (G7)
Full-time, Permanent
40
Americas, Caribbean & Overseas Territories
Canada
Calgary, Montreal, Ottawa, Toronto, Vancouver
British Embassy
1
$112,000
20 December 2021

Learning and development opportunities 

We actively encourage learning & development and will develop a specific plan in collaboration with the successful candidate.

The successful candidate will already have strong leadership, interpersonal, communication and analytical skills and will be encouraged to develop these further.  The candidate will have access to a range of in-house and e-learning Learning opportunities, with the potential for overseas training. From time to time there will be requirements to assist other teams within the Department, working with other members of the team to build overall experience through delivery of training and awareness session.

Courses and other opportunities to be completed in the first year include

· FCDO and DIT induction.

· Familiarisation visit to DIT HQ in London and a regional organisation.

· Shadowing a DIT operation in a North American post.

· Trade Policy training.


Opportunities also exist for senior leader mentorship.

The role can be based at any of the UK’s diplomatic missions in the United States or Canada, but there is an expectation that the job holder will work from New York every 3-4 weeks, where the largest part of their team and the majority of their clients are based.

State Department rules dictate that UK Government employees must live within 80 miles or a 2 hour commute (whichever is longer) of the diplomatic mission to which they are attached.


The UK Government operating in the US offers a substantial benefits package including generous leave, a choice of medical insurance, 401(k) matching up to 7%, extensive learning opportunities and a great work/life balance.
Employees who are not liable to pay local income tax on their Mission salary, eg some non-local national staff and some spouses or partners of UK diplomatic staff, will have their salaries abated by an equivalent amount.
Internal candidates must inform their supervisor before they apply to a different position.
Only successful candidates will be contacted. Please no phone calls. Due to the high volume of resumes we receive, we cannot guarantee consideration of your application if the submission instructions are not properly followed.
The British Embassy is committed to a policy of equal opportunities and to creating a diverse working environment, free from discrimination, where everyone is included and treated fairly, based on merit alone. We are an equal opportunity employer, making all employment decisions without regard to race, gender, religion, national origin, citizenship, disability, age, sexual orientation, political affiliation or any other criterion protected by law.

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.