View Vacancy - Operations Associate, Communications and Marketing - Trade and Investment

Main purpose of job:

The UK’s Department for International Trade (DIT) in North America seeks a collaborative, detail oriented Operations Associate for its Communications and Marketing Team.

Reporting to the team’s senior leadership, the Operations Associate will be responsible for services project management, operational direction and oversight of the team’s core strategic and project planning resources, tools, and products, regularly monitoring efficacy, proposing solutions and improvements, and ensuring quality in outcomes and excellent value for money.We target DIT’s US and Canadian audiences, which include exporters, consumers, influencers, economic policy makers, and external partners. We strive to contextualize the UK’s unique business offer in relevant terms for American and Canadian audiences and to encourage them to invest in the UK, buy British goods and services, and look to the UK for thought leadership and solutions

Roles and responsibilities / what will the jobholder be expected to achieve?:

• Project management, direction and operational oversight of the team’s core processes and planning resources and tools: email marketing, strategic planning grids, project initiation bids, budget management, regularly evaluating and advising team leadership on efficacy and strategies for improvement and maximizing return on investment for software, tools, and resources;
• Regular liaising with colleagues in Washington and Ottawa communications teams, particularly on strategic planning and media grids, to ensure teams are fully briefed and collaborative; spotting and proposing solutions and opportunities for working collaboratively or maximizing resources;
• Communicating and advising on appropriate services solutions to DIT North America sector and regional teams, recommending best marketing and communications services options based on their objectives and timelines;
• Within the department, under the oversight of the overall team budget holder, ongoing management department’s annual budget spend (approx. £180,000) and project documentation and bids, recommending solutions and economies throughout to ensure value for money;
• Procurement coordination with team leadership to identify, recruit, and procure outside partners, vendors and suppliers for collateral and services, regularly briefing team’s senior leadership on delivery timelines, issues, and proposing solutions to ensure best value for money and efficiency, and working within HMG procurement policies.
• In close partnership with the team’s senior graphic designer and copy writer, collaborative production, editing and distribution of internal newsletters and best-practice guides for DIT North America network;
• Production of quarterly reports on marketing and communications successes, outcomes, and deliveries, commissioning input and sythesizing information across the team;
• Design and maintenance of a live marketing and communications team status and delivery system, for easy access outside of the team;
• Ongoing supervision of team database of templates and kit for maximum efficiency and increasing self-service capability within the network for transactional marketing tasks.

Essential on arrival:  

• Excellent command of the English language, with strong attention to detail;
• A demonstrated ability to communicate clearly, accurately, and persuasively, particularly in a business or government environment;
• Ability to work independently, quickly grasp project requirements and commissions, and bring together different views, ideas and insights;
• Experience tracking project budgets and expenditures;
• Thrives in a fast-paced and collaborative environment; reliable, capable under pressure, and strong interpersonal skills;
• A proactive, self-starter with strong time management, multitasking and organisational skills;
• Collaborative and team-oriented to the core, with experience in working with a wide range of stakeholders (internal and external);
• Proactive communicator, flagging issues and giving updates at regular intervals to colleagues and decision makers;
• Minimum of 1-2 years relevant work experience in marketing, communications, project management, and/or event management.

Under US State Department requirements, the UK Government in the US may only employ, as non-diplomatic staff, persons who are US citizens, US Permanent Residents or A visa holders with EAD cards*. If you hold a visa other than an A visa you are not currently eligible to work at our office.  Please refer to our website for information on exceptions to this policy at www.gov.uk/government/world/usa.  All selected candidates are subject to background checks and will require a security clearance prior to starting work. 
*A visas are acceptable at the Embassy and Consulates. The UK Mission to the UN (UKMIS) accepts G visas, and British Defense Staff (BDS) outposts accept A or NATO visas.