View Vacancy - Trade & Investment Adviser (FRA22.276)

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Department for International Trade roles (DIT)
DIT

The British Embassy in Paris is part of a world-wide network, representing British political, economic, commercial, development and consular interests overseas and is now looking for a Senior Trade & Investment Adviser (Agriculture, Food & Drink) to join the Department for International Trade (DIT) team. 

This is a commercial campaign support role to drive DIT activity and deliver outcomes against our prioritised goals for market access, inward investment and exports – as set out in the DIT France Country Business Plan and the DIT Europe Regional Trade Plan. The focus of the role is on the Agriculture and Food & Drink industries – major priorities for the UK in terms of employment, contribution to GDP and export sales. The individual recruited would support the Head of the cluster team but would have responsibility for their own portfolio of opportunities, events and activities and clients.  

Roles and responsibilities:

The Department for International Trade (DIT) promotes British trade and investment around the world; helps to build an appetite for British goods and services globally; and works to encourage foreign investment into the UK. DIT also brings together policy, promotion and financial expertise to break down barriers to trade & investment and to help businesses to succeed. The DIT team in France is based in Paris, Lyon and Bordeaux. The team works with both French investors and British companies doing business in France across the main business sectors of the economy. For more information about DIT please follow the link.

We are looking for an individual with commercial experience in the Agriculture or Food & Drink areas or relevant transferable commercial experience from e.g. the retail, consumer goods or similar areas to support DIT France trade and investment goals. The successful candidate will work closely with DIT’s network and contacts in the UK; with other Government Departments in the UK; and other British Embassy colleagues in France, including the Policy team covering Agrifood. They will support the delivery of high potential British exports into the French market, prioritising key events like the SIAL international trade exhibition; plus major French national Agrifood roundtables and other trade fairs and commercial gatherings.

A core element of the role will be to manage the pipelines of French and UK contacts; and to identify and communicate high value opportunities in France to British businesses in areas aligned to UK industry capabilities and strengths in the Agriculture, Food & Drink sectors. The successful candidate will deliver practical support and guidance to businesses, identifying market opportunities; be the main point of contact for UK commercial enquiries, managing the enquiries pipeline and sharing this with external delivery partners; as well as being responsible for ensuring targeted in-market introductions. Where there are issues or challenges impacting business development, the candidate will work closely with the cluster lead and market access colleagues to ensure these are reported and that action is taken to mitigate them.

They will also work proactively to develop relationships with a network of French stakeholders (e.g. clusters of excellence and expertise, trade associations, industry federations). Central to the role, will be the ability to be well organised and prioritise enquiries; and to facilitate Franco-British businesses collaborations on major opportunities. Identifying and supporting high value French investment into the UK will be another important focus of the role. The role will involve supporting the planning, coordination and delivery of physical and virtual programmes, activities and events to engage business and local contacts and to build strong and mutually-beneficial relationships; and also dedicated one-to-one relationship management of business accounts.

As with all DIT positions, there will be a focus on working collaboratively with colleagues across the Embassy team notably though bilateral outreach and the events programme.

The work will be varied and demanding and the successful candidate will need to be a flexible, committed self-starter, able to juggle priorities and to work on demanding timelines.

  • Previous commercial experience and a good track record in any of the sectors listed in the job advert;
  • Proficient in English and French (both written and spoken, minimum of C1 level according to the CEFR framework);
  • Extremely well organised;
  • Some experience in project management;
  • Excellent communication and interpersonal skills to work well with English and French stakeholders, commercial clients, external contacts, and a wide and diverse Embassy team;
  • Ability to mobilize and coordinate networks;
  • Strong customer focus (concern for quality and drive for continuous improvement in the service provided);
  • Ability to work under demanding timelines and juggle competing priorities effectively;
  • Strong team player who is able to act on own initiative, work independently;
  • Drive and enthusiasm combined with the ability to deliver, working as part of a team;
  • Great IT skills (especially Word, PowerPoint and Excel).
  • Experience of working in an international environment, representing their organisation in an international context, ideally a multilateral context
Making Effective Decisions, Managing a Quality Service, Delivering at Pace, Communicating and Influencing, Working Together
15 August 2022
Administrative Officer (AO)
Full-time, Fixed term, with possibility of renewal
35
Europe, Eastern Europe & Central Asia
France
Lyon, Paris
British Embassy
1
EUR
3350 Gross
28 September 2022

This is a full-time and fixed-term position of 18 months, with possibility of renewal. The selected candidate can be based either in Paris or Lyon.   

All appointments are subject to professional background check satisfactory security clearance. The successful applicant will be required to provide a copy of his/her passport or national identity card for all nationalities held, an up-to-date criminal record (casier judiciaire) for recent countries of residence (which can be obtained online at https://www.cjn.justice.gouv.fr/cjn/b3/eje20 ), two written proofs of address (utility invoices and/or bank statements) and two references.

Staff recruited locally by the British Embassy in France are subject to Terms and Conditions of Service according to local French employment law and FCDO guidance for Country Based Staff. The posts we offer are not an entry point into the UK’s Diplomatic Service.

Visa/work permit requirements: Candidates must currently hold the independent right to live and work in France and be prepared to ensure that right remains throughout the scope of the contract.

Please note that it is your responsibility to ensure you meet the legal requirements to live and work in this country.

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 Diplomatic Missions 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.

Languages: *Please note for more information on the Common European Framework of Reference for Languages: Learning, Teaching, Assessment  levels  please click on the following link CEFR. Please bear in mind in case you are invited for an interview your language skill is going to be assessed.

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.