View Vacancy - Business Develop. Executive - Technology and Adv. Engineering (TAE) (DEU536)

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.
Other British Government Departments (Partners across Government, including UK Visas)
SDI (Scottish Development International)

The British Embassy in Berlin is part of a world-wide network, representing British political, economic and consular interests overseas. An exciting opportunity has arisen for a Business Develop. Executive - Technology and Adv. Engineering (TAE) to join the SDI - Scottish Development International Team.

In October 2016, Scotland’s First Minister announced that SDI’s resources in Europe would ‘double the number of SDI staff working across Europe’. This position has been identified as one of the additional staff roles which are being created across Europe. Each post is being recruited for a fixed-term appointment of 2 years.

Our purpose is to increase and widen the on-the-ground support available to Scottish companies who have the ambition, capacity and capability to export their products and/or services into Europe / Germany. Additionally to support Scotland’s foreign direct investment activities and identify new opportunities from the region.

 

Main Duties and Responsibilities

 Trade (main focus) and Foreign Direct Investment:

  • Explore better ways to engage Scottish companies in Germany / Berlin and wider markets to achieve greater international revenues and exports in addition to sustaining economic growth for Scotland (focus on the Berlin region);
  • Explore (cross-sector-) opportunities, e.g. Technology in Life Sciences, Food and Drink, Energy etc;
  • Develop a deep understanding of routes to market, business environment and regulatory framework to support trade development activities.Provision of trade advice and guidance to individual Scottish companies wishing to access Berlin / Germany as a trade market and ultimately to increase international revenues from exports;
  • Consider/explore any potential trade and inward investment opportunities in Poland;
  • Identify opportunities to support Scottish companies;
  • Explore (subsector) markets to understand key influencers (private and public sector) including trade organisations who can support engagement into key commercial opportunities;
  • Look for innovative approaches to engage in these markets and identify accelerators, intermediaries, associations and networks that will support Scottish companies’ individual international growth plans and strategy;
  • Identify events, conferences and organisations who could be contribute and support a trade mission of Scottish Tech companies looking to do business in Berlin / Germany;
  • Work in partnership with colleagues in SDI, in Scotland and in field, to support successful delivery of the events;
  • Contribute proactively to market intelligence and strategy for the above sectors, and build collaborative relationships with both internal and external stakeholders, including Scottish Government colleagues who will be establishing themselves within our ‘Hub’ office in Berlin;
  • Identify and attend sector specific trade shows, exhibitions and conferences in the region, reporting opportunities, trends and findings to sector teams and companies as appropriate.

Other:

  • Support and leverage visits into the region by Scottish Ministers and senior colleagues to ‘open doors’ and strengthen (business-) relationships at the very highest levels with existing investors, new prospects, customers, associations and stakeholders;
  • Act as an ambassador of the Scottish economy.
  • Fluent English and German (both written and spoken, minimum of C2 level for CEFR framework*), Polish would be an asset
  • A relevant degree level qualification (or equivalent level of experience)
  • Previous relevant experience in international trade and knowledge of the Digital and Technology Sector globally
  • Understanding the Technology and Digital market in Germany and Scotland e.g. Creative, Digital, ICT, FinTech, Start-up scene, Financial and Business Services or IOT; a specific focus shall be on Photonics
  • Understanding of setting up and doing business in Germany
  • Ability to provide business and trade development support to international companies on a 1to1 basis
  • Experience in two of the following areas: Photonics, Creative, Digital, ICT, Financial and Business Services or IOT or Economic Development
  • Proven customer relationship management skills, with ability to demonstrate a high level of confidence and credibility in dealing with senior business contacts
  • Proven ability to manage a portfolio of projects with significant impact/complexity and/or track record of delivering results/success in a consultative sales environment
  • Business Development Experience
  • Knowledge/understanding of the drivers for foreign direct investment and trade/exports
  • Dynamic self-starter, with a high level of initiative, resilience, project and personal management skills
  • Ability to develop strong networks across a variety of internal and external partners and stakeholders
  • Excellent interpersonal, communication and influencing skills
  • Demonstrate a strong sense of teamwork and ability to work collaboratively and successfully across virtual teams to achieve common objectives
  • IT literate and comfortable using MS Office platform and DynamicsCRM
  • Previous experience of working within an international trade and investment promotion related role
22 November 2017
Executive Officer (EO)
Full-time, Flexible working, Fixed term, with possibility of renewal
37.5
Europe, Eastern Europe & Central Asia
Germany
Berlin
British Embassy
1
1 January 2018

This is a full-time position of five working days 37.5 hours per week, for an initial contract period of two years, which may be extended by mutual agreement.

The jobholder should expect proactively to spend a significant amount of time out of the office in direct customer and client facing activity. The jobholder will report to a Düsseldorf (Germany) based SDI Regional Manager. Travel to Düsseldorf as well as to Scotland and Poland for training and sector development activities is expected on a regular basis. Attendance at business events outside of core working hours. Overtime will be compensated by TOIL

The British Embassy in Berlin has a strong ethos of Learning and Development, including our Learning and Development Week. In addition, there will be many opportunities to attend external seminars and events on relevant issues. This is in addition to the induction programme offered to all Embassy staff.

The successful applicant will be encouraged to be actively involved in the corporate life of the Embassy, contributing to the wider objectives of the British Government’s Germany network and supporting the Embassy’s positive working environment.

 

The successful candidate will be subject to professional background check and security clearance.

All applicants should have the right to live and work in Germany. The successful candidate must have pre-existing work authorization for Germany in order to apply. The British Embassy does not sponsor for work permits.

Staff recruited locally by the British Embassy in Germany are subject to Terms and Conditions of Service according to local German employment law.

* Please note Common European Framework of Reference for Languages: Learning, Teaching, Assessment  indicates Level C2 as Mastery or proficiency Level which comprehends that a person can understand with ease virtually everything heard or read; can summarize information from different spoken and written sources, reconstructing arguments and accounts in a coherent presentation; can express themselves spontaneously, very fluently and precisely, differentiating finer shades of meaning even in the most complex situations. For more information please click on the following link CEFR. Please bear in mind in case you are invited for an interview your languages skills are going to be assessed.

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 advised that the British Embassy will not be able to meet the travel costs incurred when travelling to the interview, nor the costs connected with relocation if offered a job.

 

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.