The UK’s Department for Business and Trade is seeking a dynamic Director of Trade based in the British Embassy Washington. This position offers the chance to create lasting partnerships that will define the future of trade relations between the UK and the mid-Atlantic region. Main purpose of job: The primary purpose of the role is to drive the UK’s trade and investment relationship across the Mid-Atlantic Region (DC, Virginia, Maryland, West Virginia, Delaware). You will develop a strategy to shape and deepen the UK’s trade policy priorities in the region, including at State level. You will work closely with senior management at the Embassy, acting as the senior point of contact and advisor to the British Ambassador on regional trade and investment opportunities. You will also work very closely with the trade policy team in the British Embassy, Washington to ensure trade and investment teams across the US leverage their business relationships and expertise to support delivery against our State Level Strategy work. The Strategy includes signing Memoranda of Understanding with individual States to drive exports and investments, improving UK company access to State procurement opportunities, removing market access barriers and promoting opportunities around mutual agreements on professional qualifications. Leadership: You will be an inspiring leader to your local team of 10 and ensure they have the skills and tools needed to understand the UK’s offer to US investors and spot opportunities to ‘sell’ what the UK has to offer. Your team will manage a range of high-profile key accounts of the largest US investors into the UK and you will support them to build strong pipelines of new investment and export projects to deliver in the future. You will also lead your team so that their work on trade and investment delivers against the opportunities unlocked by your trade policy work, with a particularly focus on sectors named in the State level MOUs. You will take your people leadership and management seriously and recognise that good management is part of our corporate culture. You will manage the regional budget in line with DBT’s financial requirements. Through all your work you will promote a diverse and inclusive working environment, ensuring the team is motivated, professional, collaborative, and focused on delivering client excellence. Stakeholder management: You will bring and develop an extensive network of relationships across policy makers, think tanks, and influencers across all the States in the region. You will be the Embassy’s key point of contact for the business community in the region with a strong network across business organisations including chambers of commerce, trade associations and senior business leaders. You will role model outstanding key account management for your team, supporting them to discover and develop new relationships with key business investors and influencers. You will contribute to broader British Embassy and UK initiatives in support of prosperity, innovation and economic growth by ensuring your team maximizes the Embassy’s wider political, cultural and promotional activity for your business, investment and trade policy stakeholders. About the Department for Business and Trade: The Department for Business and Trade (DBT) is the UK’s department for economic growth. We support businesses to invest, grow and export, creating jobs and opportunities across the UK. We employ over 150 people across North America, all united by our mission: we are redrawing the UK’s rules to ensure businesses thrive and markets are competitive, securing investment into the UK, advising and supporting British businesses to grow and export, opening up new markets globally and promoting free trade, economic security, and resilient supply chains. See www.gov.uk/dbt for further information. |