View Vacancy - Personal Assistant to the HM Deputy Trade Commissioner – DIT (27/19 NR)

The Department for International Trade (DIT) Africa is one of nine international regions and is led by Emma Wade-Smith, Her Majesty’s Trade Commissioner. The Department’s role is to increase prosperity in the UK and overseas through increasing trade and investment. The Trade Commissioner’s role is to lead the pan-African trade and investment team to increase the value of the commercial relationship between Africa and the UK.

The Africa Region is exciting and energising and UK firms have a strong presence here, making the UK the second largest foreign investor on the continent. With some of the fastest growing economies in the world and booming population growth there are numerous more opportunities for UK firms; from tech start-ups in the West to infrastructure in the East and everything in between. The DIT Network’s role is to promote these opportunities to UK businesses and position the UK as the African continent’s largest G7 investor and a key trading partner.

Main purpose of job:

We are looking for;

A personal assistant to the Deputy Trade Commissioner, to work within DIT Africa in Nairobi and efficiently manage the Deputy Trade Commissioner’s schedule and activities

Carry out administrative tasks and provide support to  the Africa Trade Services Unit, which provides trade services to UK companies exporting to and investing in Africa

Roles and responsibilities

Assistance to the Deputy Trade Commissioner-50%

i)               Efficiently manage the Deputy Trade Commissioner’s time by organising the diary and daily papers, and prioritising and responding to invitations and requests for meetings.

ii)              Deal with routine enquiries; ensure that all correspondence (letters, emails, faxes, etc) is dealt with correctly and efficiently.

iii)            Plan and support the DIT Africa team’s planning and implementing of the Deputy Trade Commissioner’s travel, including flights, visas, hotels, programme and papers.

iv)            Complete all expenses and other ad-hoc tasks for the Deputy Trade Commissioner accurately and efficiently. 

v)              Commission and collate briefing as required for the Deputy Trade Commissioner events / meetings.

vi)            Act as the Deputy Trade Commissioner’s Information Management Officer, ensuring that information is recorded and stored correctly. 

vii)           Manage the DIT drivers’ schedules for maximum benefit to the Deputy Trade Commissioner and Nairobi trade team.

viii)          Provide similar support to seniors in Kenya as requested.

Trade services-30%

        i.         Providing prompt and fact-checked replies to trade enquiries allocated by the TSU East Africa Manager;

       ii.          Delivering chargeable trade services to UK companies including, market research, warmed-up contacts, introductions to local partners, delivering and attending events/activities such as networking receptions, market visits, trade mission, workshops etc.

     iii.         Uploading business interactions weekly onto DataHub.

     iv.         Identifying viable business opportunities for UK companies and communicating this to the team at the hub for   uploading.

       v.         Working with officers in the region when required to work on regional projects

     vi.         Following up with UK companies post chargeable services for review of effectiveness of the services received.

The successful candidate will work as a flexible and adaptable member of the DIT Africa Network in order to work on varying tasks from both the Hub and across the Network.  

-        Minimum 3 years work experience in a similar administrative role

-        Excellent organisational and planning skills

-        Excellent interpersonal skills

-        Excellent oral and written communications skills in English

-        Self-starter

-        Excellent IT skills