View Vacancy - SIN - Trade Policy and Economic Officer, EO
Main purpose of job:
This is a fantastic role which works on some of the UK’s key priorities in Singapore. We are looking for an enthusiastic and motivated policy officer to work with the Economic and Trade Policy team.
The post holder will work with the Senior Trade Policy Advisor, Senior Economic Advisor and Senior Financial Policy Advisor (under recruitment), supporting them in delivery of their priorities and assuming ownership of certain aspects of both portfolios under their guidance. The post holder will also have the opportunity to work across the British High Commission (BHC) in Singapore.
In this role, you will support the Senior Trade Policy Advisor Officer with drafting of critical briefings and responses to HQ commissions and support him/her with ministerial and senior visit programmes. Under the guidance of the Senior Trade Policy officer, you will also support him/her with two key UK bilateral trade policy priorities: the UK-Singapore Free Trade Agreement (FTA), Digital Economy Agreement (DEA) implementation and his/her tasks related to the UK’s CPTPP accession negotiations. In performing this, you will work closely with DIT HQ colleagues.
You will support the Senior Economic Officer and the Senior Financial Policy Officer with regular monitoring of Singapore’s economy, including through GDP reports and responding to HQ/senior commissions and ad-hoc projects involving desk-based research. In performing these tasks, you will work closely with FCDO and HMT HQ colleagues.
You will also lead on commissions and requests from BEIS HQ and will liaise with colleagues across the BHC for inputs.
This role sits in the Economics & Trade Policy Team. In addition to being a part of the BHC team, the post holder will also be a member of the Southeast Asia Economic and Trade Policy Networks. You will join an existing team of 16 economic, trade policy and intellectual property advisers based in diplomatic missions throughout the region, providing the opportunity to contribute to economic, financial and trade policy work for the wider region.
Roles and responsibilities/what will the jobholder be expected to achieve:
Trade Policy Support - work with and support the Senior Trade Policy Advisor to:
- Draft briefings and responses to commissions/requests for advice on trade policy matters;
- Deliver set-piece events and engagement such as the biennual UK-Singapore Economic and Business Partnership, Ministerial/senior official-level visits and engagement;
- Provide advice on key trade policy objectives such as the implementation of the UK-Singapore FTA and DEA and UK’s ongoing accession to CPTPP and as well as other UK’s trade policy priorities;
- Organise events with key business and political stakeholders.
Economic and Financial Policy Support - work with and support the Senior Economic Officer and the Senior Financial Policy Officer to:
- Monitor Singapore’s economy, including GDP, inflation and budget announcements
- Respond to HQ/senior commissions and ad-hoc projects involving desk-based research
- Deliver future economic and financial dialogues
Business/Industrial strategy support
- Lead on BEIS HQ commissions/requests for advice liaising with other teams in the BHC where necessary.
Essential on Arrival:
- Bachelors degree
- 2+ years experience of working in an international organisation/government setting or UK/Singapore business
- Experience of working in a trade, financial oreconomic policy environment
- Good policy skills (drafting policy papers, lobbying stakeholders)
VISA/Passport Requirements:
We welcome applications from candidates in countries from which travel to Singapore is feasible under the prevailing Covid-related border restrictions. Singapore will only allow entry for those fully vaccinated with a vaccine approved under the WHO EUL. Successful overseas applicants are responsible for all costs associated with relocating to Singapore.
Desirable:
- Experience of working with Singapore government departments
We offer a competitive package, which includes basic salary of SGD 4,738 per month and a generous annual wage supplement (as part of total guaranteed remuneration) of an additional 2 months’ salary paid out in December each year, Central Provident Fund (CPF) payment in lieu for non-Permanent Resident foreign nationals, 23-days annual leave entitlement and a health insurance plan. The basic salary is non-negotiable.
We have a generous leave offer including: 23 days annual leave, increasing to 25 after 5 years' service, with the option to carry over up to 10 days into the subsequent leave year; 13 public holidays; generous maternity and paternity leave; and childcare leave. We encourage volunteerism and offer up to 3 days paid volunteer leave.
We offer medical insurance to support staff with the high costs of healthcare in Singapore and periodic reimbursement for the cost of eye tests and replacement eye wear.
Learning and development opportunities:
We offer time and financial support for the successful candidate to take advantage of professional learning and development opportunities inside and outside of the organisation.
The BHC has an active Learning & Development Committee which works hard to provide a comprehensive L&D offer. There is a wide range of options available for personal development including training courses, coaching and mentoring, job-shadowing, presentations and learning sets. Staff have access to a wide variety of online resources through the International Academy and Civil Service Learning. Staff are strongly encouraged to take advantage of all available opportunities.
All new hires undertake a workplace induction and there are a number of mandatory e-learning courses that must be completed in order to pass probation.
Working Patterns:
Normal working hours are 37.5 per week: 8.30am to 5.00pm from Monday to Friday.
BHC Singapore supports and promotes flexible working as a crucial part of our inclusive offering.
Please note that the High Commission is currently operating on the basis that all staff will work from the office for a minimum of 60% of their time. The post holder may also be required to work flexibly to staff in-person events and visits out of hours, subject to operational requirements. Flexible working hours and time off in lieu arrangements apply in these circumstances
Due to the nature of visits work, there will be occasional calls for working outside of the normal hours. Time off in lieu can be taken to account for this.
Other Information:
In addition to the duties which this job normally entails, you may from time to time be required to undertake additional or other duties as necessary to meet the needs of the High Commission, including playing a part in the corporate life of the mission and supporting any crisis response.
No accommodation or relocation expenses are payable in connection with this position. You must have or be able to obtain a local work permit which we will sponsor.
Staff recruited locally by the British High Commission are subject to terms and conditions of service according to local Singapore employment law.
Employment offers are subject to successful clearance of pre-employment checks. Only short-listed applications will be called for personal interviews.
The British High Commission is an equal opportunities employer and does not discriminate on grounds of ethnic origin, race, religious beliefs, age, disability, gender or sexual orientation. Our values of Collaboration, Opportunity, Respect and Excellence (CORE) are our guiding principles. We aspire to live our values consistently in order to make the British High Commission a great place to work where staff feel valued, supported and inspired to be their best.
Staff recruited locally by the British High Commission are subject to terms and conditions of service according to local Singapore employment law. Applicants should be aware that Singapore government has mandated that from 1 January 2022 only employees who are fully vaccinated can return to the workplace and from 14 February 2022, workers will need to have taken a booster dose to maintain their fully vaccinated status beyond 270 days from the last dose in their primary vaccination series.
Please note that all successful candidates will be expected to serve a minimum of 6 months in their new role before being eligible to apply for further positions within the British High Commission.
Please note that the deadline for applications is 23:55 on the day mentioned in the above field “Application deadline."
Please be aware that the deadline for submitting applications is considered to be the time zone for the country where the vacancy has arisen.
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.
All applicants are required to mandatorily fill the online application form completely including the employment and educational details, experience, professional skills and behaviour based questions. We will be thoroughly reviewing the applications and incomplete form in any respect may not be considered while shortlisting for the next stage.
For inclusivity and diversity, please remove the following personal information when uploading your CV: name, address, email address, age, date of birth, gender, and nationality.
The start date mentioned in the job advert is a tentative start date and the successful candidate will be required to undergo security vetting procedures. Any offer of employment will be subject to the candidate achieving suitable clearances.
This opportunity is closed to applications.
