View Vacancy - SRR - Senior Trade Adviser, Education and Training (HEO)

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Department for International Trade roles (DIT)
DIT

The British Embassy Riyadh has a vacancy for a Senior Trade Advisor for the Education and Training sector under the Department for International Trade (DIT). This is for a fixed-term contract of two (2) years, with a possibility of extension.

The Department for International Trade (DIT) is the British Government’s trade and investment development organisation. Its aim is to enhance the competitiveness of companies in the UK through overseas trade and investments; and attract a continuing high-level of quality foreign direct investment into the UK. We work with UK-based businesses to ensure their success in international markets and encourage overseas companies to bring their high-quality investment to the UK.

DIT has a network of three trade teams in Saudi Arabia (in Riyadh, Jeddah, and Al Khobar) that work closely together to deliver services to our customers. The main purpose of the role is to support UK companies that are seeking to develop their business through trade with Saudi Arabia.

This is an important and varied role and the opportunity comes at an interesting time as the UK/Saudi bilateral trading relationship develops at speed, with education forming a key priority within this.

The jobholder’s main role is to promote business opportunities in Saudi Arabia to the UK education sector, and to support UK education providers that are seeking to develop their business through trade with Saudi Arabia. You will understand KSA market trends and ambitions to identify valuable Export Opportunities, and secure high value Export Wins in pursuit of DIT KSA targets and corporate objectives. You will build and maintain a network of relationships with senior stakeholders in the government and private sectors, both in the UK and Saudi Arabia, and draw upon these to achieve commercial objectives. You will also develop programmes of trade promotion activities to further identify export opportunities for UK providers, including official programmes, trade missions, events, trade shows, and inward/ outward visits. Additionally, you will work closely with the Prime Minister’s Special Representative to Saudi Arabia for Education, supporting visits and utilising senior engagements to further commercial wins.

The Education and Training sector encompasses a wide range of sub-sectors that include: Schools, Technical and Vocational Education and Training (TVET); Higher Education (HE); Special Educational Needs and Disabilities (SEND); Educational Technologies (EdTech); Curriculum Development; and more. The Senior Trade Advisor leads the sector team and works on the development and implementation of a high value strategy; and leads on generating UK commercial wins in priority sectors across the Kingdom. However, the jobholder should also be flexible in responding to changes to sector priorities based on operational requirements as guided by the DIT KSA Director.

 

Duties and responsibilities:

The jobholder will lead the design, management, and implementation of the strategy and activities to secure business wins for UK companies within the Education sector across the Kingdom by:

  • Leading on the identification and promotion of high value education export opportunities in Saudi Arabia and promote these to the UK Education sector.
  • Developing a country-wide strategy and pipeline for delivering sector activity against agreed export targets.
  • Leading on a programme of trade promotion activity, including, but not limited to, official programmes, trade missions, events, trade shows, and inward/outward visits.
  • Developing a wide range of contacts across the Saudi government and private sectors within the Education sector, build and maintain these relationships, and draw upon them to understand commercial opportunities in the Education sector and translate these into solid Export Wins for UK providers.
  • Strategic relationship management of UK Education providers active in/ pursuing opportunities in Saudi Arabia.
  • Collaborative working across DIT KSA, and with DIT Sector Teams in the UK, Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office (FCDO) Prosperity teams, the British Council, fostering a One Team approach.
  • Working closely with the Prime Minister’s Special Representative to Saudi Arabia for Education, building a strong working relationship, providing regular updates and briefing, and supporting visits to Saudi Arabia and attendance at major events.
  • Producing high-quality and in-depth sector briefing and other market contributions.
  • Staying informed of key trends and trajectory of the Education element of Vision 2030 goals.
  • Providing market analysis and guidance on doing business in Saudi Arabia. Briefing both individual visitors and groups of UK companies on the characteristics of the Saudi market, and support UK companies in pursuing export opportunities.
  • Contributing to VIP visits, both to Saudi Arabia and to the UK.

The jobholder will also manage one (1) Trade Advisor.

The above list is not exhaustive and the jobholder will be required to be flexible and take on other ad hoc tasks as required, including participating in the Embassy’s emergency planning and any other response to a crisis affecting UK citizens. 

 

Key behaviours required:

  • Managing a Quality Service - Deliver service objectives with professional excellence, expertise and efficiency, taking account of diverse customer needs.
  • Communicating and Influencing - Communicate purpose and direction with clarity, integrity and enthusiasm. Respect the needs, responses and opinions of others.
  • Working Together - Forming effective partnerships and relationships with people both internally and externally, from a range of diverse backgrounds; sharing information, resources, and support.
  • Delivering at Pace - Taking responsibility for delivering timely and quality results with focus and drive.
  • Commercial experience, knowledge of trade and investment concepts, ideally in Saudi and/or the UK.
  • Proven experience of working pro-actively, independently, and towards performance targets within a team setting, contributing to the overall goals of the section; ability to lead teams and set direction
  • Team player capable of collaborating effectively across local and international teams.
  • Ability to work at pace and deliver on ambitions in a fast-paced and changing environment.
  • Strong customer focus and ability to deliver quality service.
  • Excellent interpersonal skills and able to communicate, influence and network confidently with industry leaders, senior government officials, and senior business people; able to build a network of contacts and maintain effective working relationships.
  • Strong drafting skills, able to produce concise briefings and details background documents.
  • Proven record of organisational ability. Able to multi-task, organise and prioritise workload, and meet deadlines and changing priorities whilst maintaining close attention to detail and without compromising the quality of the work.
  • Ability to plan strategically, assimilate information from a range of sources, and to see the bigger picture to spot opportunities
  • Resourcefulness in solving problems and demonstrates good judgement.
  • Strong customer focus and ability to deliver quality service
  • Able to build capability in others and support team development.
  • Excellent communication skills (both written and oral) in English. Ability to express ideas and messages clearly and concisely.
  • Strong IT computer skills and in using MS Office applications (Outlook, Word, Excel, PowerPoint, Teams).
  • Previous experience in the education sector.
  • Arabic language skills, both written and spoken.
  • Project management skills.
  • Strong public speaking and presentation skills.
Managing a Quality Service, Delivering at Pace, Communicating and Influencing, Working Together
4 July 2022
Higher Executive Officer (HEO)
Full-time, Fixed term, with possibility of renewal
35
Middle East & North Africa
Saudi Arabia
Riyadh
British Embassy
1
SAR
17,763.04
1 September 2022

Eligibility:

The position is available to Saudi Nationals and to current holders of valid Saudi residence permits or transferable iqamas. The successful candidate will be required to transfer their sponsorship to the British Embassy. 

 

Working hours and remuneration:

The Embassy aims to offer an attractive working environment and remuneration package for this role.

Salary details:

  • Base Salary including Eid bonus - SAR 13,890.44
  • Housing Allowance - SAR 3,472.61 (subject to eligibility)*
  • Travel Allowance - SAR 400 (subject to eligibility)*
  • Total - SAR 17,763.04

*Allowances are not payable to staff who receive official provision for such expenditure in some other form.

No accommodation and relocation expenses are payable in connection with this position.

This position is full-time, based on 35 hours per week. Normal working hours for the Embassy are from 08:00 to 15:00 from Sunday to Thursday, with core working hours from 10:00-15:00. Core working hours is the period of the day that employees are required to be at work. The working day outside of the core hours is a flexible period, which allows employees to choose when they work, subject to operational needs.  Flexible working arrangements may be considered based on operational requirements and agreement with the line manager, and in line with FCDO and Embassy policies.

The jobholder will be required to be flexible in their approach to hours worked as these will be dictated by operational needs and may involve working out of hours, especially during visits and events.

The successful candidate will be subject to a 90-day probationary period.

How to apply:

Interested candidates must attach 1) an updated Curriculum Vitae (CV) and 2) a covering letter stating how you meet the requirements of the role.

Your application must also include examples of when you have demonstrated the required behaviours in the Behaviours Questions section of the online application form.

Applications that do not include these information will not be considered.

The closing date for applications is at 23:55 KSA local time on 04 July 2022.

Applications received after the stated deadline will not be considered.

Due to the large number of applications we receive, only those shortlisted for the next step in the recruitment process will be contacted.

The start date mentioned in the advert is an assumed 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, medical clearance and reference checks. 

 

The British Embassy Riyadh is an equal opportunities employer, dedicated to inclusivity, a diverse workforce and valuing difference. Staff recruited locally by the British Embassy is subject to Terms and Conditions of Service according to local Saudi Arabia employment law.

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.