View Vacancy - Life Sciences Regional Manager – Latin American and the Caribbean

Main Purpose of Job

The Department for International Trade (DIT) is the UK government ministry that helps foster UK Exports and Inward Investment. DIT officers at overseas posts liaise with the UK headquarters and other departments across the British Government to generate revenue to the British economy.

This position is a maternity leave cover providing an opportunity to lead our work across a key sector of UK excellence.  This role will lead the DIT Life Sciences High Value Campaign across Latin America, highlighting the UK’s global leadership on issues such as pharmaceuticals, biotech, R&D, clinical and manufacturing capabilities, medical equipment, and medical devices. This role will support UK companies to win business in the region, to increase the flow of investment between the region and the UK, and to work on market access and trade policy issues to improve the trading environment for the sector.

This is an ideal position for someone with leadership qualities, the ability to develop and deliver a strategy across a number of teams, locations and countries, working collaboratively to build a sense of team cohesion and delivering outcomes through others. The job will be challenging and will require the successful candidate to take responsibility for delivering both quickly and to a high quality standard.

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

You will be responsible for managing an existing pipeline of commercial opportunities and researching and validating new opportunities as and when they arise. Your success in this position will primarily be measured on the value of commercial partnerships you assist British companies to achieve.

As regional manager for the sector, you will provide expert support and advise to our life science sector managers in the countries that form part of this campaign, including assisting them achieving objectives related to market access & trade policy in the Life Sciences Sector, by building a trade framework with strategic partners to open markets, ensuring continuity of existing arrangements, developing bilateral improvement on non-trade barriers, and ultimately looking to improve on trade arrangements/agreements that currently exist. You will hold regular meetings with each of the country leads and will be expected to undertake eventual travel to the UK and/or each of the markets as necessary.

As a self-disciplined and motivational leader,you will also lead the team in Brazil effectively, empowering them to deliver, including through regular communication and feedback, completing all stages of appraisals on time and in line with Network guidance. You will too forecast and review a local and regional budget needed to deliver the campaign activities.

You will work closely with the Life Sciences Organization and Healthcare UK LATAC leads based in London, who will source British companies to respond to the commercial opportunities that arise.

You will be responsible for delivering a number of high profile events, both in LATAC and the UK that will be designed to showcase the best of British of innovation to our customers. This will require careful delegation to both external contractors and your team based throughout the region.

You will work with the healthcare investment team to identify life science investment opportunities for Brazilan companies in the UK and for UK companies in LATAC.

Finally,  the position will suit an energetic, motivated selfstarter with a passion for the life sciences sector. It will require a positive and proactive attitude that thinks in terms of opportunities, not problems, and will be able to motivate and inspire their team to deliver challenging targets.

Resources managed (staff and expenditure):

Direct line management: 1 Business development manager and 1 intern

Indirect management to the 6 trade officers of the High Value Campaign team (Cuba, Mexico, Colombia, Peru)

At least 3 years experience of working in the life sciences market;