View Vacancy - DIT Deputy Country Director (DEU19.563)

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Department for International Trade roles (DIT)
Department for International Trade (DIT)

The British Embassy in Berlin is part of a world-wide network, representing British political, economic and consular interests overseas and is now looking for a Deputy Country Director to be part of the Department for International Trade (DIT) Team. This is an exciting operational and delivery role that offers significant scope for a candidate who can inspire, motivate and build positive relationships with a high performing team across both Germany and the wider European DIT network.

Europe is the UK’s biggest trade partner. It is a market of around 500 million consumers, geographically accessible to the UK market and culturally attuned to working with UK business. The 43 markets in DIT’s European region are aligned to UK industrial, research and technological strengths and we share deep equities in the supply chains that stretch across the continent. Trade with European markets is key to UK prosperity. The UK and Germany are long-standing trade and investment partners with bilateral trade accounting for more than £130bn in 2018. The UK remains the number one investment destination in Europe and of the total £573bn invested in the UK by the EU, Germany accounts for £63bn. In turn, the UK has invested FDI stock of £23bn in Germany. Together UK and German companies employ over 1m people across both countries.

The Deputy Director will be responsible for the successful operations of DIT Germany, with its teams in Düsseldorf, Munich and Berlin (ranked by size). The role will require flexibility in approach, creativity, showing initiative and resilience to respond to an evolving environment. The role holder will be responsible for:

  • DIT Germany’s budgets, performance management and learning and development activities;
  • Any project management priorities. For this the jobholder will work as a member of the DIT Germany Senior Management Team under the supervision of the Deputy Trade Commissioner for Europe & DIT Director Germany (who is also based in Berlin), and in support of HM Consuls-General in Düsseldorf and Munich and their DIT Germany operations;
  • Lead projects and activities on behalf of the Chief Operating Officer, DIT Europe, subject to skills and experience. All staff are expected to contribute to the wider objectives of the British Government’s Germany network and to support the Embassy’s positive working environment.


Main Duties and Responsabilities

DIT Germany:

  • To act as a proactive member of DIT Germany’s Senior Management Team (SMT) and as such as the focal point for all DIT-internal operational matters across its three locations, and to provide appropriate guidance to SMT colleagues;  
  • To provide operational guidance and structure to the DIT Germany team across its three locations, in line with DIT Europe’s Regional Trade Plan, DIT’s performance framework and other priorities as required;
  • Line management of the DIT Germany Berlin office, covering two Energy sub-sectors as well as Germany’s procurement function; line management of two colleagues in Dusseldorf who lead on cross sectoral export growth activity; 
  • To maintain and improve budgetary processes, ensuring funding from various sources is monitored and spent responsibly, ensuring value for money;
  • Leadership and coordination of DIT Germany’s project management, including the conducting of Country Trade Plan reviews, business planning exercises, and performance monitoring and management, ensuring highest value-add to the UK economy; 
  • To report back to DIT Europe Region as required on all of the above;
  • To oversee DIT Germany’s Learning & Development Committee and support staff development initiatives and goals;  
  • Contribute as a member of the Senior Management Team (SMT) to regular meetings and teleconferences/VTCs with staff.



DIT Europe Region:  

  • To work with the Chief Operating Officer DIT Europe (also based in Berlin), taking ownership of one or more discrete areas of work in support of DIT Europe. This will be driven by operational needs, trying to take into account personal skills and experience.
  • Good knowledge of the German and UK business environments and relationship;
  • Sound numerical acumen for financial and performance management and other analysis as required;
  • Commercial acumen, and experience of budget management;
  • Excellent IT skills, in particular MS Excel and PowerPoint;
  • Staff management skills;
  • Excellent interpersonal and networking skills;
  • Ability to work under pressure and meet deadlines;
  • Experience of trade, investment and/or policy development Tech (data, AI, digital, CAV) and/or Clean Growth (renewable energy, future mobility, green finance;
  • Fluent English and German, both written and spoken. To at least C2 level.

  • Previous experience of working in a similar field/general management role;
  • Familiarity with/experience of public sector organisational delivery;
  • Project Management experience;
  • Understanding of the potential ramifications of the UK’s exit from the European Union and strategies to address this;
  • Knowledge of Oracle information management systems.

24 November 2019
Higher Executive Officer (HEO)
Full-time, Fixed term, with possibility of renewal
37.5
Europe, Eastern Europe & Central Asia
Germany
Berlin
British Embassy
1
EUR
€76.980 gross per annum rising to approx €86.472 gross per annum after a qualifying period in addition to performance related pay. (Salary is not negotiable)
3 February 2020

This is a full-time position of five working days 37.5 hours net (excluding unpaid breaks) per week, for an initial contract period of two years.

Staff recruited locally by the British Embassy in Germany are subject to Terms and Conditions of Service according to local German employment law.

The British Embassy in Berlin has a strong ethos of Learning and Development, including our Learning and Development Week. In addition, there will be many opportunities to attend external seminars and events on relevant issues. This is in addition to the induction programme offered to all Embassy staff.

The successful applicant will be encouraged to be actively involved in the corporate life of the Embassy, contributing to the wider objectives of the British Government’s Germany network and supporting the Embassy’s positive working environment.

Visa/passport requirements: Must currently hold the independent right to live and work in Germany and be prepared to ensure that right remains throughout the scope of the contract.

The successful candidate will be subject to professional background check and security clearance.

All applicants should have the right to live and work in Germany. The successful candidate must have pre-existing work authorization for Germany in order to apply. The British Embassy does not sponsor for work permits.

Staff recruited locally by the British Embassy in Germany are subject to Terms and Conditions of Service according to local German employment law.

* Please note Common European Framework of Reference for Languages: Learning, Teaching, Assessment  indicates Level C2 as Mastery or proficiency Level which comprehends that a person can understand with ease virtually everything heard or read; can summarize information from different spoken and written sources, reconstructing arguments and accounts in a coherent presentation; can express themselves spontaneously, very fluently and precisely, differentiating finer shades of meaning even in the most complex situations. For more information please click on the following link CEFR. Please bear in mind in case you are invited for an interview your languages skills are going to be assessed.

Please note that the deadline for applications is 23:55 on the day mentioned in the above field “Application deadline”. 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 be aware that the deadline for submitting applications is considered to be the time zone for the country where the vacancy has arisen.

Please be advised that the British Embassy will not be able to meet the travel costs incurred when travelling to the interview, nor the costs connected with relocation if offered a job.

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.