View Vacancy - SIN - Regional Senior Officer, Trade and Investment, South East Asia, Australia and New Zealand, Invest Northern Ireland, B3(L)
The job will be to work for Invest Northern Ireland (“Invest NI” or the “Organisation”) in South East Asia and in Australia and New Zealand. The job will be based in the Singapore Invest NI offices which in turn is located in the British High Commission in Singapore and will report jointly to Invest NI’s Regional Trade and Investment Directors of South East Asia and of Australia & New Zealand. The post-holder will work with the Regional Managers in assisting in the export of goods and services by Northern Ireland businesses to the regions of South East Asia and Australia & New Zealand, respectively. The post-holder will also work with the Regional Directors in relation to the inward investment to Northern Ireland by businesses and governments from South East Asia and Australia & New Zealand.
The post-holder will be responsible for delivering events, attending conferences/exhibitions, arranging meetings for clients, and managing logistics plans (including trade missions, VIP visits, senior official visits from Northern Ireland) and working in partnerships with other stakeholders to raise Northern Ireland’s profile for commercial, education and tourism purposes.
The post-holder will be required to develop positive working relationships with the Department of International Trade (in South East Asia, Australia and New Zealand), Northern Ireland officials and other business and trade organisations and chambers of commerce, work with others to gather market intelligence and insights, and communicate them to relevant stakeholders. The post-holder will work with the Regional Managers and the wider team on promotional initiatives including social media campaigns.
The post-holder will undertake market research for Northern Ireland companies, meet with them, prepare meeting schedules, assist them in formulating a strategy to export to South East Asia, Australia and New Zealand market and help them to resolve issues.
The post-holder will also assist with expense processing, procurement / purchasing work and work with the Asia Pacific Regional Operations Manager based in Shanghai on internal procedures and payment related matters, as well as managing the travel arrangements for the Regional Managers based in Singapore and Sydney.
The post-holder is expected to undertake travel on a regular basis, within South East Asia, Australia and New Zealand, or to the UK and also to other countries. The post–holder will also support the wider Asia Pacific team as required by the team management.
- Lead on administrative tasks and support to the Invest NI Regional Directors in Singapore and Sydney, which will primarily but not exclusively include budget, expenses, procurement, events coordination and travel arrangements with the Invest Northern Ireland APAC operations manager in Shanghai;
- Assist with the delivery of an in-market strategy for specific business sectors to promote Northern Ireland capability which contributes to the overall goals of the organisation in the Asia Pacific territory;
- Undertake market research, prepare sector briefings and assist Northern Ireland companies to increase export sales and help to secure investment wins for Northern Ireland;
- Where appropriate, prepare presentation collaterals through consultation and collaboration with, and under the direction of, the Regional Directors;
- Lead on the delivery of (but not content) key marketing messages through social media;
- Identify and contact potential new business contacts across the Invest NI strategic and non-strategic sectors;
- Support inward and outward business events through logistics and programme arrangement;
- Liaise with other Invest NI offices; and with United Kingdom’s Department for International Trade offices;
- Liaise with UK international partners and with strategic international partners in Asia Pacific;
- Lead on enquiries from Northern Ireland companies and assist with stakeholder management when the Regional Directors are unavailable;
- Manage relevant information sources and maintain accurate records of customer and stakeholder information on Invest NI’s CRM and management systems. Prepare reports (including activity / performance / market reports) accurately and in a timely fashion for management and clients;
- Work effectively and in partnership with wider teams based in Asia Pacific, Northern Ireland and other locations.
The post-holder is not required to manage staff. The post-holder will be required to manage and deliver specific events within a pre-allocated budget.
The post-holder will be required to liaise actively and regularly with the Asia Pacific and other Invest NI offices. The post-holder will be expected to make decisions delegated to him/her by the team management, and act within Invest NI policies and guidelines.
- Educated to degree level ideally in a business or related function
- Over 3 years' working experience in a private or public sector organisation
- Experience in undertaking market research, analysing market data, preparing reports, presenting information to clients and helping clients to achieve positive commercial outcomes
- A sound commercial knowledge of South East Asia and Australia & New Zealand and the business opportunities across sectors
- Good networking skills, experience in building and maintaining effective working relationships across all levels of businesses
- Attention to detail, excellent organisational, IT and administrative skills
- Ability to work at pace and independently as part of a remote team
- Proficient in the use of Microsoft Office (Outlook/Word/Excel/PowerPoint)
- Strong PowerPoint and Excel skills;
- Knowledge of the UK and in particular Northern Ireland’s key sectors and business drivers.
Induction training will be provided at Invest NI’s Head office in Belfast, Northern Ireland and locally in Singapore (or in Sydney, Australia). The post-holder will be able to access learning and development opportunities afforded by the British High Commission in Singapore and by Invest NI.
Time and financial support will be offered to the successful candidate to take advantage of professional learning and development opportunities inside and outside the British High Commission and Invest NI. There will also be numerous opportunities for on the job learning, as well as to engage in wider British High Commission and Invest NI objectives.
No accommodation or relocation expenses are payable in connection with this position. This is a locally engaged position subject to local laws and terms. Employment offers are subject to successful clearance of pre-employment checks.
Should the successful candidate require a permit to work in Singapore, the British High Commission will apply and sponsor the appropriate pass on their behalf.
All applications must be received before 11:55PM (Singapore Time) on 07 October 2018.
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.
Only short-listed applicants will be contacted regarding the next phase of the selection process. To those applicants not short-listed, we extend our appreciation for considering the British Government as a potential employer.
This opportunity is closed to applications.
