View Vacancy - KL - Head of Education South East Asia and Regional Lead for APAC, C5 (L)

This is an opportunity to join the Department for International Trade (DIT)’s Malaysia team in the British High Commission as the Head of Education for SE Asia, and the regional lead for DIT’s Asia Pacific Infrastructure activity.  DIT supports UK based businesses to export globally, and encourages overseas investment in the UK.  

This role has two key elements:

1)    65%: lead on SE Asia Education Trade Campaign.  

2)    35%: APAC Regional Lead for Education

Building deep sector and supply chain expertise and strong relationships with companies, as well as with your regional colleagues, is a vital part of this role. You will also work with and keep in close contact with DIT’s UK-based Education Business Specialists and Sector Team, and with colleagues across the region.  The nature of education also means that there are links to other Trade Campaigns (such as Healthcare and Infrastructure) and to key areas of UK Government activity including the FCO Prosperity Fund and the Education is GREAT campaign so it will be important to ensure alignment and complementarity with these.

Roles and responsibilities: 

What the role holder is expected to deliver: 

SE Asia Regional Education Trade Campaign

Malaysia is the lead market for the SE Asia Education Trade Campaign and leads the strategy and reporting across the region.  The successful candidate will:

• Lead a team of Trade & Investment officers from the SE Asia Education Trade Campaign markets, and the development and implementation of the ASEAN Education Trade Campaign so that is delivers high value export wins for the UK. This will include setting direction, building capability and a one team approach, driving business planning,  monitoring performance, and supporting activity in other markets where needed.
• Manage the annual business planning process and make the case for resource for the SE Asia Education Trade Campaign by securing and analysing input from the SE Asia Education Trade Campaign markets and preparing and submitting a strongly evidenced and comprehensive business planning return.
• Identify new opportunities in the current SE Asia Education Trade Campaign Markets, and elsewhere in ASEAN.  Make the case during the business planning process for resources to support new areas of work identified through this process.
•  Monitor, and provide evidenced based reporting on, the performance of the SE Asia Trade Campaign to DIT.
• Build strong relationships with DIT, British Government and British Council colleagues in the region and beyond, and ensure that DIT’s work in this sector complements and is aligned with other regional education initiatives to achieve maximum benefit for the UK.
• Build expertise, personally and in the SE Asia Education Trade Campaign teams, of the education sector, including of the UK offer and of the key trends, opportunities and challenges in the SE Asia Education Trade Campaign markets.
• Identify tariff and non-tariff barriers to trade, which prevent UK education providers and suppliers of educational equipment and technology from accessing opportunities in the region and support colleagues to design and implement action plans to tackle those barriers.
• Advise UK businesses through presentations, one to one meetings, webinars etc. of the opportunities in the region and how best to access them to help secure high value export wins for the UK.

Asia Pacific Regional Lead for Education

DIT Asia Pacific (APAC) supports regional working to maximise the expertise within and impact of its workforce by creating networks to enable the sharing of best practice and new ideas, peer-to-peer support and advice, and multi-country campaigns and initiatives.  The successful candidate will:  

• Develop a new regional Education sector plan to create and coordinate a virtual network of colleagues to share best practice in winning education business and investment business in the APAC region.
• Act as ambassador for the network to the regional Learning & Development Committee
• Lead the organisation and delivery of an annual APAC education conference
• Offer mentoring to staff within the virtual network, empowering people to deliver
• Provide operational updates to the APAC Board and advice on sectoral resourcing for the region.
• Advise the APAC Board on sectoral resourcing for the region
• Ensure that the sectoral plans and processes are coordinated with related activity including the Education is GREAT campaign and the Prosperity Fund Skills programme.

How the role holder is expected to deliver

The role will require both deep expertise and excellent collaboration and networking skills across all of the areas of focus. The successful candidate will:

• Develop and maintain deep expertise on education and aligned sectors, covering everything from the technical detail of the companies we work with to the political and economic factors affecting the sector in SE Asia and APAC.
• Establish new relationships and cultivate and maintain existing ones. Deliver key account management of major investors in the region.
• Maintain a watching brief on all business environment issues across the region which could affect the sector, and take or support action where necessary.
• Work collaboratively with the wider FCO and DIT network, DIT HQ, and partners, to ensure that we deliver against HMG objectives and take advantage of opportunities.
• Work as part of the core leadership team for APAC, responding flexibly where needed to other demands on the wider DIT team, and role modelling good line management and leadership.

• Demonstrable relevant and appropriate experience, knowledge and/or qualifications in education and related areas including a proven record of engaging customers, stakeholders and partners;
• A successful track record with significant experience in international trade and investment or business development (including market research, analysing market data and business support);
• Experience of managing teams, as well as strong team work and collaboration skills, including confidence in suggesting new ideas and challenging senior stakeholders;
• Excellent communication and influencing skills and the ability to work collaboratively with business contacts and colleagues in Asian countries and the UK;
• A proactive, can-do approach, combined with high standards for delivery and meeting deadlines;
• Ability to work independently at pace, and to prioritise, managing an often heavy workload;
• Good judgement and political awareness;
• Excellent organisational, IT and administrative skills;