View Vacancy - BK - Business Environment Advisor, HEO

The British Government is an inclusive and diversity-friendly employer.  We value difference, promote equality and challenge discrimination, enhancing our organisational capability. We welcome and encourage applications from people of all backgrounds. We do not discriminate on the basis of disability, race, colour, ethnicity, gender identity, religion, sexual orientation, age, veteran status or other category protected by law. We promote family-friendly flexible working opportunities, where operational and security needs allow. The FCDO operates an agile workforce and to facilitate this, you may be required to undertake other duties from time to time, as we may reasonably require.
Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office (Policy & Political roles)
Economic and Prosperity

Main purpose of job:

The British Embassy Bangkok is a large diplomatic mission of around 150 staff delivering a dynamic and rapidly expanding programme of activity in support of the UK’s objectives including on economic and sustainable development, trade, security, open societies, consular services and law enforcement.

In 2024, the UK and Thailand signed a Strategic Partnership enhancing cooperation across key areas such as trade and investment; climate, energy and sustainable development; and science and technology. This is complemented by the UK-Thailand Enhanced Trade Partnership, developed in cooperation with business, to tackle market access barriers, support investment and promote trade.

To support its national mission on economic growth, the UK Government launched two major strategies in June 2025:

  1. The Modern Industrial Strategy, which aims to attract investment into eight growth-driving sectors in the UK, including clean energy industries, digital and technologies, and professional and business services and;
  2. the UK Trade Strategy which outlines levers to promote UK exports, including a Digital Trade Agreement with Thailand to facilitate trade, and utilising the UK’s Clean Energy Superpower mission to promote regulatory alignment.

This role offers an exciting opportunity to contribute to British Embassy Bangkok’s delivery of the UK-Thailand Strategic Partnership and directly champions the ambitions of both the UK’s Modern Industrial Strategy and Trade Strategy. The jobholder will identify specific opportunities to improve the Thai business environment, enabling reforms in areas that support UK companies to export to and operate in Thailand, and design and deliver high-impact projects to support these.

The jobholder will work closely with the British Embassy’s Economic and Sustainable Development team and the Department for Business and Trade. We are looking for a proactive team player with strong analytical abilities alongside excellent project management skills, who can work flexibly to pursue emerging priorities.

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

Project manager

  • Identify specific opportunities to improve the Thai business environment (in priority areas for UK companies such as digitalisation,  decarbonisation and professional and business services). Work with regional colleagues to identify areas where UK commercial priorities map onto future areas of opportunity in the Thai market, and coordinate cross-embassy on ‘market shaping’ campaigns.
  • Identify relevant programmes and sources of non-ODA funding. Design and develop project proposals to support market access and policy reforms. Oversee the end-to-end delivery of projects. This includes managing contracts with delivery partners, ensuring value for money, the correct administration of finances, reporting to seniors at the Embassy and in the UK, and effective monitoring and evaluation (relevant training will be provided).
  • Work alongside delivery partners to ensure key milestones are met, risks are mitigated, and the project benefits are realised.

Policy Advisor

  • Strengthen relationships engaging with relevant senior stakeholders in the Royal Thai Government and private sector to share best practice on regulations and policy to promote the ease of doing business in Thailand, particularly in the area of your ‘market shaping’ campaign.
  • Build and maintain a network of contacts in the UK (government, regulators, academia, and private sector).  Leverage this network to inform programme delivery, share insights and identify opportunities for collaboration).
  • Provide analysis to senior members of the embassy on the effect of any policy and operational changes, based on a wide range of complex and sometimes incomplete information. Lead on relevant inward and outward visits, brief senior members of the Embassy to deliver speeches and/or engage with business and other actors on growth priorities for the UK.
  • Work closely with policy leads on energy and digitalisation, and DBT sector leads to incorporate UK business asks and insights into planned activity.

Other 

In times of peak operation demand, work flexibly within the Section and within the Embassy. 

All staff will be expected to make a corporate contribution to the smooth running of the British Embassy, either through a committee membership or another voluntary role.

Resources managed (staff and expenditure):

This role will include managing programme funds and may include line management (TBC)

 

 


 

  • Degree and 3+ years work experience in a relevant field, such as International Relations, Economics, Business, or Trade.
  • A good understanding of Thailand economic, business and political environment, and familiarity with the UK. 
  • Experience of project management and relevant skills.
  • Proven record of ability to build a diverse network of contacts in government, think tanks, academia, and the private sector with experience of managing senior level relationships.
  • Self-motivation and the ability to work under light supervision.
  • Team player with ability to work across teams and adapt to changing priorities.
  • Excellent organisational skills and ability to prioritise own workload.
  • Knowledge of Microsoft Office, including word, excel and Teams.  

Language requirements:

Language: English (essential) and Thai (desirable)

Level of language required:

  • English: Excellent command of spoken and written English, equivalent to IELTS 7 or above.
  • Thai: Desirable
  • 3+ years of experience working for an organisation in a relevant field, for example, working for/with national or regional government, international organisation or industry.
  • Knowledge of financial / budget management principles or previous financial management experience.
  • Good understanding of Thailand’s market access landscape.
Communicating and Influencing, Delivering at Pace, Seeing the Big Picture, Working Together
16 November 2025
Higher Executive Officer (HEO)
Full-time, Permanent
36
Asia Pacific
Thailand
Bangkok
British Embassy
1
THB
108,455
monthly
26 January 2026

The British Embassy offers a competitive remuneration package, including salary (will be abated for those not liable to tax), benefits, a leave entitlement, health insurance and comprehensive development programme based upon business need and individual staff requirements.

Learning and development opportunities:

The British Embassy Bangkok encourages all staff to develop their capabilities, through both formal training (courses) and informal (job-shadowing, coaching, on-the-job training etc.). The majority of our formal L&D opportunities are drawn from FCDO resources. All staff are encouraged to share their skills and experience with colleagues, through informal training (‘lunch & learn’) or coaching/mentoring. All staff are eligible for 5 L&D days a year.

Working patterns:

This is a full time role - 36 hours/week, Monday to Friday. 

We are currently operating a hybrid working pattern with at least 60% of the time being spent in the office.

The Embassy has a smarter working policy and is committed to offering flexible working patterns balanced with the operational requirements of the role. In crisis/emergency situations you may need to work as required to support the Embassy response, sometimes on a shift pattern, which may result in unsociable hours and/or weekend working.  

As an inclusive employer we are happy to discuss alternative working patterns at interview or at the point of any job offer.

Other Information:

Employment offers are subject to successful clearance of pre-employment and security checks. Staff who are locally recruited by the British Embassy are subject to Terms and Conditions of Service according to local employment law.

No accommodation or relocation expenses are payable in connection with this position. All candidates must be legally able to work and reside in the country of the vacancy with the correct visa/work permit status or demonstrate eligibility to obtain the relevant permit. Any costs related to obtaining or renewing permits and visas are the responsibility of the successful applicant.

Employees who are not liable to pay local income tax on their Mission salary may have their salaries reduced by the equivalent local income tax amount.

The FCDO also operates an agile workforce. To facilitate this, you may be required to undertake other duties from time to time as we may reasonably require.

Please note that your application must be submitted before 23:55 on the day mentioned in the above field “Application deadline”.   

Please be aware that the deadline for submitting applications is considered to be the time zone for the country where the vacancy has arisen. 

We advise you to allow enough time to complete and submit your full application since only applications completed and submitted before the deadline will be considered.

Please ensure that your application is authentically written based on your own experiences. If AI tools are used, their usage must only be limited to specific tasks such as ensuring formatting consistency and keyword relevance. The core content, personal narratives, and responses to behaviour and skill-based questions must genuinely reflect your professional journey, experiences, and achievements. We place great importance on originality and individual effort throughout the application process. Any form of plagiarism will result in immediate disqualification.

Note: All applicants are required to mandatorily fill the online application form completely including the employment and educational details, experience, professional skills and behaviour based questions. We will be thoroughly reviewing the applications and incomplete form in any respect may not be considered while shortlisting for the next stage. 

Only shortlisted candidates for interview will be contacted. Interviewees will be assessed on the core behaviours/qualifications listed above. Unsuccessful candidates will be notified via the system in due time. Appointable candidates who were unsuccessful may be placed on a ‘reserve list’. If during the reserve period of 6 months the same or a largely similar role becomes available, that role may be offered to the second or subsequent candidate.

To ensure a successful application, it is important that you explain how you demonstrate these behaviours, including through your experience. You are strongly advised to read the Success Profiles: Civil Service behaviours which provides detailed guidance on how the behaviours are defined.

Applicants are encouraged to use the STAR (Situation, Task, Action, Result) format to prepare specific examples of when they have demonstrated these behaviours in their application. Using the STAR format to provide evidence of your skills and experience in your application and at interview helps to give a structure. You briefly describe the situation in which you showed the behaviour, and then explain your task in addressing the situation, what action you took and the result of this.

For inclusivity and diversity, please remove the following personal information when uploading your CV: name, address, email address, age, date of birth, gender, and nationality.

The start date mentioned in the job advert is a tentative 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.

Please note that it is likely that any non-Thai national who is successful in securing a role within the Embassy will need to leave the country and re-enter with a specific type of visa if currently living in Thailand or will need to apply for a visa before travelling here if currently based outside of Thailand. Whilst the Embassy can support you with this process, the costs involved will need to be met by the candidate.
  
Employment offers are subject to successful clearance of pre-employment and security checks. Staff who are recruited by the British Embassy are subject to Terms and Conditions of Service according to local employment law.  

The British Government is an inclusive and diversity-friendly employer.  We value difference, promote equality and challenge discrimination, enhancing our organisational capability. We welcome and encourage applications from people of all backgrounds. We do not discriminate on the basis of disability, race, colour, ethnicity, gender, religion, sexual orientation, age, veteran status or other category protected by law. We promote family-friendly flexible working opportunities, where operational and security needs allow.
      
The British Embassy offers a competitive compensation package including a guaranteed 13th month pay, 20 days paid annual leave (calculated on a pro-rata basis if you join after 1 January), extensive medical insurance and access to a guaranteed 5 days of learning opportunities a year.  

The British Embassy Bangkok promotes the following values:

  • Collaboration          

We support each other and are inclusive

We work closely with others to deliver

  • Empowerment        

We are innovative and adaptive
We achieve a healthy work-life balance, taking advantage of hybrid working

  • Expertise

We build on and champion our diverse skills and expertise
We draw on data, technology and evidence

  • Respect

We build trust and value differences
We invite and appreciate other perspectives

  • Impact

We take a strategic approach
We prioritise and are all clear on expectations

To those applicants not short-listed, we extend our appreciation for considering the British Government as a potential employer. 

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.