View Vacancy - SRR - Trade Advisor, Technology B3(L)

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Department for International Trade roles (DIT)
Trade Promotion

The British Embassy in Riyadh has a vacancy for a Trade Advisor - Technology sector, under the Department for International Trade (DIT) for a fixed-term contract of two (2) years. 

The Department for International Trade (DIT) is the British Government’s trade and investment development organisation. We work with UK-based businesses to ensure their success in international markets and encourage overseas companies to bring their high-quality investment to the UK. DIT has a network of three trade teams in Saudi Arabia (in Riyadh, Jeddah, and Al Khobar) that work closely to deliver services to our customers. 

This is an interesting and varied role and comes at an interesting time as the relationship develops between the UK and Saudi Arabia. The jobholder’s main role is to assist the Senior Trade Advisor in promoting business opportunities in the technology sector and specialist sub-sectors, including artificial intelligence (AI), data analytics, cloud computing, data centres, smart cities, intelligent sensors, etc. to the UK business community. You will be expected to understand KSA market trends and ambitions to identify valuable business Opportunities and secure high value Export Wins in pursuit of Saudi Arabia targets and corporate objectives for DIT.

The Trade Advisor will support the Senior Trade Advisor in the Technology sector but will also be expected to initiate new leads and business opportunities, manage SRM relationships with UK and local businesses, and maintaining activity plans. The jobholder will need to be flexible and may be required to shift focus and respond to changes to sector priorities based on operational requirements as guided by the DIT KSA Director.

Duties and responsibilities:

  • Support Sector Lead in the delivery of set targets for the sector.
  • Help deliver specific activities or events, including, webinars, trade missions, inward and outward visit programmes, and providing market analysis and guidance on doing business in Saudi Arabia.
  • Develop and maintain Strategic Relationship Management (SRM) across specific areas within technology to understand their objectives and inform DIT’s approach to the sectors.
  • Develop and manage a wide range of relationships including with the Saudi Ministry of Communications and Information Technology, Communications and Information Technology Commission, the technology division within the Ministry of Investment, and other KSA public/ private stakeholders to identify wider KSA opportunities and needs, which match UK capability and translate these into solid Export Wins for UK providers.

The above list is not exhaustive and the jobholder will be required to be flexible and take on other ad hoc tasks as required, including participating in the Embassy’s emergency planning and any response to a crisis.


Key competencies required:

  • Leading and Communicating - Showing pride and passion for public service, leading from the front and communicating with clarity, conviction, integrity and enthusiasm. Encouraging open communication and providing clear direction on what needs to be achieved and how to get there through visible leadership. Managing and engaging with people in a straightforward, truthful and candid way, and upholding the reputation of the organisation.
  • Engaging Internationally - Engaging our staff, contacts, and international partners to help deliver UK Government objectives whilst living the organisation’s values and serving the UK public. Understanding UK Government aims in the wider UK and international context and developing productive relationships with those external contacts and partners to help deliver UK objectives. Being aware of cultural sensitivities in your area of responsibility whilst valuing and modelling professional excellence and expertise.
  • Collaborating and Partnering - Being a team player who creates and maintains positive, professional, and trusting working relationships with a wide range of people within and outside the organisation to help get business done. Working collaboratively, sharing information appropriately, and building supportive, responsive relationships with colleagues and stakeholders, whilst having the confidence to challenge assumptions. Being approachable, delivering business objectives through creating an inclusive environment, encouraging collaboration, building effective partnerships including relationships with Ministers and welcoming challenge however uncomfortable.
  • Achieving Commercial Outcomes - Having a commercial, financial, and sustainable mind-set to ensure all activities and services are delivering added value and working to stimulate economic growth. Identifying economic, market, and customer issues and using these to promote innovative business models, commercial partnerships and agreements to deliver greatest value; and ensuring tight commercial controls of finances, resources and contracts to meet strategic priorities.
  • Managing a Quality Service - Valuing and modelling professional excellence and expertise to deliver service objectives and striving to improve the quality of service, taking account of diverse customer needs and requirements. Effectively planning, organising, and managing time and activities to deliver a high quality, secure, reliable and efficient service, applying programme and project and risk management approaches to support service delivery.
  • Delivering at Pace - Focusing on delivering timely performance with energy and taking responsibility and accountability for quality outcomes. Working to agreed goals and activities and dealing with challenges in a responsive and constructive way.
  • A confident communicator with excellent interpersonal skills and ability to influence and network confidently with both government and private sector contacts, and collaborate effectively across Embassy teams.
  • Demonstrate excellent ability to communicate fluently, effectively, and persuasively in written and spoken English. 
  • Ability to work independently and to take the initiative as well as being able to manage and work well with others in a team.
  • High-level organisational and coordination skills, including the ability to prioritise, meet deadlines/ targets, proactively identify and resolve potential problems in a fast-paced environment.
  • Resourcefulness in solving problems and demonstrates good judgement.
  • Strong IT computer skills and in using MS Office applications (Outlook, Word, Excel, PowerPoint, Teams).
  • Previous experience (at least one year) of working in the Technology/ Smart Cities Sector in KSA and/or the UK.
  • Previous commercial experience and working in a target driven environment.
  • Arabic language skills (for possible liaising with other stakeholders).
  • Project management experience.
  • Good presentation skills.
21 June 2021
Executive Officer (EO)
Full-time, Fixed term, with possibility of renewal
35
Middle East & North Africa
Saudi Arabia
Riyadh
British Embassy
1
SAR
11,097.26
1 August 2021

Eligibility:

The position is available to Saudi nationals and to current holders of valid Saudi residence permits or transferable iqama. The successful candidate will be required to transfer their sponsorship to the British Embassy.


Working hours and remuneration:

The Embassy aims to offer an attractive working environment and remuneration package for this role.

Salary details:

  • Base Salary including Eid bonus - SAR 8,557.81
  • Housing Allowance - SAR 2,139.45 (subject to eligibility)*
  • Travel Allowance - SAR 400 (subject to eligibility)*

*Allowances are not payable to staff who receive official provision for such expenditure in some other form.

No accommodation and relocation expenses are payable in connection with this position.

Normal working hours for the Embassy are 08.00 to 15.00 Sunday to Thursday. This position is full-time, based on 35 hours per week.

The jobholder will be required to be flexible in their approach to hours worked as these will be dictated by operational needs and may involve working outside of normal office hours (evenings/ weekends). 


The successful candidate will be subject to a 90-day probationary period.

How to apply:

Interested candidates must attach 1) an updated Curriculum Vitae (CV) and 2) a covering letter to their online application form. Your application must also include examples of when you have demonstrated the required competencies in the Competency Based Questions section of the online application form.

Applications that do not include these information will not be considered.

Closing date for applications is at 23:55 (KSA local time) on 21 June 2021.

Applications received after the stated deadline will not be considered.


Due to the large number of applications we receive, only those shortlisted for the next step of the recruitment process will be contacted.

The start date mentioned in the advert is an assumed 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, medical clearance and reference checks.


The British Embassy Riyadh is an equal opportunities employer, dedicated to inclusivity, a diverse workforce and valuing difference. Staff recruited locally by the British Embassy is subject to Terms and Conditions of service according to local Saudi Arabia employment law.

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.