View Vacancy - CGZ - Regional Manager – Foreign Direct Investment, South China, C4(L)

Main purpose of job:

Based in the office of the British Consulate General Office in Guangzhou, the job holder will be Invest Northern Ireland’s key representative in South China/Greater Bay Area reporting to the Regional Director of South China, Hong Kong and Macau and will drive investment activities and support trade activities for Northern Ireland in the region.  The sector focus will primarily be on technology companies, from post revenue start-ups up to the large Chinese MNCs. However, the post-holder will also lead on FDI for any reactive opportunities that arise in other sectors as well as support trade activities in the South China region. This includes identifying and working strategically with senior business and government stakeholders in China as well as other external organisations and industry bodies to help develop relationships, build collaboration and enhance Northern Ireland’s reputation.

The post-holder will develop a pro-active strategy and co-ordinate activities such as marketing events and conferences, represent Invest Northern Ireland at business conferences and speak at events as needed, submit monthly returns and activity reports summarising information for the Regional Director of South China, Hong Kong and Macau, prepare reports for Northern Ireland companies (market research, location reports or product reports) and provide advice to them. The post holder will also be required to monitor expenditure and deliver activities within a pre-allocated budget. The post holder will work closely with the wider Invest Northern Ireland teams based in its Belfast headquarters, Asia Pacific and other locations.

The post-holder is expected to undertake travel on a very regular basis to Shenzhen and other cities within China, and when required, travel to the UK and other countries.

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

• Proactively identify relevant investment prospects for Northern Ireland companies through market intelligence, connections and research and promote the Northern Ireland capability to key decision makers;
• Support the Regional Director in Hong Kong to build Northern Ireland’s reputation for technology and innovation alongside local and regional colleagues and develop a programme of activity to enhance the perception of Northern Ireland as a place to invest and do business with.
• Develop strong C-level relationships with targeted companies, government, stakeholders and influencers in the region and enable Northern Ireland companies and Invest NI sector specialists to engage with them.
• From time to time and in collaboration with the wider APAC team, support Northern Ireland companies interested in the region by providing information they require to make informed business decisions by handling market research and assessment enquiries, conducting visits and setting up appointments and writing appropriate reports; where required, provide support on trade activities across the region.
• Support the Regional Director in Hong Kong, including deputising at internal and external meetings, providing support to manage in-market support for company visits, trade missions, events and exhibitions where required.
• Engage effectively with colleagues and stakeholders based in Northern Ireland to provide market and sector briefings and to ensure that activity in the market aligns with corporate plans;
• Meet regularly with UK DIT team and Irish representatives, and where appropriate work on joint planning and delivery of events;
• Tap into the network of NI ex-pats living/working in region and work with NI Connections to lever economic returns to Northern Ireland;
• Manage relevant information sources and maintain accurate recording of customer and stakeholder information on Invest NI’s CRM and management systems.
• Develop a market strategy for the region to promote Northern Ireland capability which contributes to the overall goals of the Asia Pacific territory;

 Resources managed (staff and expenditure):

The post-holder is not required to manage staff. The post-holder will be required to manage and deliver specific events within a pre-allocated budget.

The post-holder will be required to liaise actively and regularly with the Asia Pacific and other Invest Northern Ireland offices. The post-holder will be expected to make decisions delegated to him/her by the team management, and act within Invest Northern Ireland policies and guidelines.

• Educated to degree level ideally in a business or related function.
• Proficient in the use of Microsoft Office (Word/Excel/PowerPoint)
• Minimum 7 years’ experience in private or public sector organisation, of which 2 of the last three years were in a sales environment
• Minimum of 2 years’ experience within a wider technology sector environment in China
• Excellent communication, interpersonal & organisational skills
• Experience in analysing information and preparation of reports
• Fluent in Mandarin – speaking and reading
• Fluent in English – speaking and reading