View Vacancy - TW - Senior Economic Officer, Economic and Prosperity Section B3(L)
Main purpose of job:
The British Office Taipei promotes the UK’s interests and values in Taiwan and is looking to recruit a highly motivated and pro-active Senior Economic Officer.
The successful applicant will work within the Economic and Prosperity Section to provide analysis of the Taiwanese economy, UK-Taiwan bilateral trade and key economic issues and policies impacting on the UK’s economic interests in Taiwan. This is not a purely analytical role and the job holder will be responsible supporting discussions on market access and trade policy issues including those related to WTO business. Project management and stakeholder management skills will be important as will the ability to strategize on how to achieve long term goals and not just short term tasks.
The UK-Taiwan trade relationship has been growing strongly in recent years, with bilateral trade reaching £7.1bn in 2019. There are growing opportunities in a range of sectors including renewable energy, financial services, pharmaceuticals and food and drink.
Roles and responsibilities:
Provide macro-economic analysis and thematic research to UK stakeholders on a range of issues including investment, monetary policy, geopolitical trade issues and sectoral economic analysis e.g. Taiwan’s fiscal policy in response to Covid-19, reshoring of Taiwanese capital, inpact of US-China trade tensions on Taiwan. You will lead on drafting key reports for a UK Government audience including regular economy updates, trade and investment reports, and responses to economic questionnaires issued by UK government departments.
Support the annual UK-Taiwan trade talks, working closely with Economic and Prosperity Section and DIT Sector leads. This will include providing background briefing of UK business’ operation in Taiwan, helping plan agenda and logistics, and assist consultations with UK business on priority issues (including running an annual survey in conjunction with the British Chamber of Commerce).
Develop strong relationships with the Taiwanese authorities and other key stakeholders, identifying important partners including both those who work on trade issues and those who lead on economic research of particular interest to British business, for example Taiwan’s Central Bank, Directorate General of Budget, Accounting and Statistics, and think tanks.
Design and implement a range of economic and trade policy projects including those related to regular UK Taiwan market access discussions, finance, government procurement, WTO policy, intellectual property rights, sanitary and phytosanitary measures as well as to promote the UK as a trade and investment partner for Taiwan. This could include, for example, fostering collaboration between UK-Taiwan agriculture authorities, supervising think tanks to carry out research projects on topics such as green finance.
Support work to promote UK-Taiwan trade post-EU Exit, including engaging with UK business and a wider Taiwanese audience to raise awareness of new measures or regulations, opportunities for increased trade and to promote the UK’s economic and innovation strengths. This could include using media platforms including social media.
A solid understanding of economic issues and trade policy, paired with project management experience, will be essential for this role and a related academic qualification and previous policy experience would be a distinct advantage.
The British Office is a welcoming and fun place to work. Located in bright modern offices with fabulous views over the city, colleagues are able to work flexibly and enjoy a healthy work/life balance. The British Office has a strong commitment to learning and development.
- Degree level qualification
- Expertise in economic issue
- Ability to analyse and assess different forms of information, evidence and data
- Excellent written and verbal communication skills, with the ability to draft high quality written material in both English and Mandarin.
- Project management experience, including ability to achieve well defined goals at pace and budget management
- Strong interpersonal skills
- Good IT skills including Microsoft Office
- Level of language required: Fluency in both English and Mandarin.
- Qualification related to economics and/or international trade
- Previous policy experience
The British Office offers a competitive remuneration package with a gross salary of NT$72,133 per month x 13.5, benefits, leave entitlement and training package. The British Office Taipei has a strong commitment to developing staff and supports staff who wish to pro-actively develop their talents and abilities. With a dedicated Learning and Development Committee and opportunities to undertake training including self-study, in-house online training programmes as well as classroom-based training; the British Office is a great place to work for those committed to self-development.
Learning and development opportunities (and any specific training courses to be completed):
Jobholder is entitled to access all learning and development opportunities available for B3 (L) which includes FCO Diplomatic Academy as well as competence-based training at post.
- Opportunity to expand professional skills/knowledge in customer services, including vulnerable customers
- Opportunities to participate in the APAC Regional Resilience Network (provision of cover at other posts)
- Mandatory consular training, including Essential Consular Workshop
- Access to Post-led and regional training funding and opportunities
- Opportunity to join APAC Rapid Deployment Team
- Opportunities to specialise in thematic areas, join working groups and become regional lead/champion.
Employment offers are subject to successful clearance of pre-employment checks. Staff recruited locally by the British Office are subject to Terms and Conditions of Service according to local Taiwan employment law. Candidates must have the correct permit to work in Taiwan in order to apply.
No accommodation or relocation expenses are payable in connection with this position. You must have or be able to obtain correct permit to work or work authorisation in Taiwan in order to apply. Any costs related to obtaining or renewing permits and visas are the responsibility of the successful applicant.
Your application must be submitted before 23:55 on the day mentioned in the above field “Application deadline”
Applications must include a current CV.
Incomplete application forms will not be taken into consideration, so please ensure you provide the information requested. We regret to advise that we will only be contacting short-listed candidates. Applicants called for an interview will be assessed on the core competencies listed above.
Advertised start date is provisional and subject to completion of reference and security checks.
Kindly check your application centre or email regularly for any update on the status of your application.
This opportunity is closed to applications.
