Senior Trade & Investment Adviser

 United Kingdom Foreign and Commonwealth Office (FCO)

Senior Trade & Investment Adviser - Advanced Engineering Supply Chain - C4

Job Category  

Department for International Trade roles (DIT)

Job Subcategory  

DIT

Job Description (Roles and Responsibilities)  

 

Main purpose of job: 

Background: This role is an exciting opportunity to work in the advanced engineering economy, worth over £1 trillion to the UK economy and soon to be matched in India.  Including industries and technologies from automotive to robotics, manufacturing to autonomous intelligence.  Advanced Engineering Supply Chain (AESC) sector which covers Automotive, Electric Vehicles, Advanced Manufacturing, Mining, Maritime and their supply chains represents a massive and challenging area to operate in but one with plenty of opportunity for India and UK collaboration.  You will be one of the senior members of staff in the Department for International Trade (DIT) India, with an objective of working alongside the sector lead to identify opportunities for UK business and wider collaborative opportunities for the UK in AESC sector in India whilst actively developing and leading policy discussions between both Governments. 

You will be a Senior Trade Officer in the AESC team of the Department for International trade (DIT) based in New Delhi. The AESC team has members located in other offices including Bangalore ,Chennai, Pune,  Mumbai and Kolkata. You will be responsible for leading and effectively delivering events and activities based in Delhi/Northern India for the AESC sector. You will be responsible for establishing and maintaining relations with the companies, trade associations, multipliers and relevant departments of the Government of India based in North India. You will also be expected to work closely with and support your colleagues in the wider Advanced Engineering cluster by  representing them with stakeholders and in delivering events.  

You will bring with you, or demonstrate how you would quickly acquire, an in-depth knowledge of the automotive and advanced manufacturing sectors, both in the UK and India.  You will support a strategy based on this knowledge to turn the long-term potential and direction of travel of the sector into a pipeline of opportunities for UK business.  To do so, you will identify and build relationships within the sector and build a pipeline of validated projects for UK business, particularly large or high-value deals which would require UK government support or involvement to win.  You will then work with DIT’s Headquarters team in the UK and in other markets to bring UK companies to India and support them to win business, delivering towards the UK government’s commercial targets. 

Your role will be high profile and with responsibility.  You will be the voice of the UK government and industry in the sector, and wider; you will be expected to gain access to the most senior levels within Indian industry and government if necessary using the Deputy Trade Commissioner, Deputy High Commissioners and other senior staff throughout India.  You will be a self-starter who can demonstrate a long-term objective; plan and manage a delivery model; identify, grow and make effective use of stakeholders.   You will work with colleagues within DIT in India and elsewhere, with other UK government colleagues, Indian government(s), business and other multipliers (trade associations, etc.). 

The team in DIT focuses on: 

• Supporting UK AESC exports to India across sectors; providing advice and assistance to UK companies looking to invest and operate in India; identifying commercial technology partnership opportunities, both in the UK and India.
• Key responsibilities will include supporting current and future scoping of export opportunities for UK business, including public tenders, at every stage from facilitating introductions of organisations through to the winning of contracts.
• The role will also require collaborating across India and UK R&D establishments to identify the next generation of technology opportunities and how to commercialise these.
• Mapping Indian industry and matching gaps in the supply chain to UK capability.
• Identifying trade policy and market access issues and leading on discussions to overcome these. 

As a part of this role, the job holder will:

• Build and manage senior level relationships with companies, government departments, trade associations and multipliers in the UK and Northern India;
• Identify high-value export opportunities for the UK companies, support UK companies to get access to these opportunities and win significant contracts in India;
• Assist UK companies to increase exports to and invest in India, find new partners and safeguard investments; and identify new opportunities in areas including R&D collaboration, materials development, future manufacturing;
• Work with trade policy and market access colleagues to overcome trade barriers being faced by UK companies;
• Support overseas direct investments from UK companies in India;
• Support UK business delegations visiting India and Indian business delegations visiting the UK by organising various events and meetings;
• Support senior managers, including Deputy Trade Commissioner, Deputy High Commissioners in India, and provide them high-quality briefing and advice with an aim to strengthen relationships with senior local contacts;
• Lead and effectively deliver events and activities based in Delhi/Northern India for the AESC; 
• Work in close coordination with various stakeholders such as the wider DIT and UK network in India, DIT teams in HQ, International Trade Advisers, senior-decision makers of AESC companies in the UK and India, and various departments of Government of India at the State and Central levels to deliver DIT sector campaign and wider HMG objectives;

To be successful:

• You will have an in depth understanding of the AESC sector (AESC sector covers Automotive, Electric Vehicles, Advanced Manufacturing, Mining, Maritime and their supply chains) both in India and the UK, and a strong network on the ground, and use your good analytical skills to apply this to identifying significant market opportunities for UK business and then supporting them to turn these in to contracts;
• You will need to be strategically aware to identify emerging opportunities in your sector, and to what is happening in the UK in your sectors and to emerging investment opportunities;
• You will have strong interpersonal skills and be capable of setting the direction for yourself and those around you and of gaining their trust and respect - and doing so while working within a virtual team located across India;
• You will have experience of developing productive relationships with senior decision makers in UK and Indian businesses and with stakeholders and partners, and of using these to deliver your objectives; and
• You will need to be collaborative and flexible, and able to manage yourself and the demands on you.
• You will have good project management skills to deliver campaigns; and excellent English written and verbal communication skills. You will be expected to produce written work in to a high standard.

Language requirements:  

Language: English Essential, and knowledge of spoken Hindi 

Level of language required: Fluent and Good written English

Essential qualifications, skills and experience  

Essential on arrival: Qualifications - Graduate/Post Graduate from reputed University. Candidates without the required educational qualification but with exceptional practical experience will be considered with: 

• Minimum 3-5 years of solid work experience in relevant business setting;
• Excellent written and verbal communication skills with an ability to develop a network and manage the relationship with senior decision makers in government and industry;
• Strong analytical skills to identify relevant opportunities for UK firms in India, and the ability to turn them into contracts for UK businesses;
• Excellent team working skills, with strong ability to build cooperative working relationships across our own network, and outside of the British High Commission network with a wide range of organisations;
• IT competent.  highly competent in standard MS Office tools, such as Word, Outlook, PowerPoint and Excel and skilled at using digital and social media to gather information efficiently;
• Basic understanding of budget management.
• Knowledge of Infrastructure sector in the UK and India, major players and factors influencing UK exports and Outward Direct Investment(ODI); 

Desirable:

• Knowledge of UK business environment or experience of working/living in the UK;
• Graduate/postgraduate qualification in Business Administration, management, economics or commerce;
• 2-3 years of experience of working in client facing roles in a reputed organisation or foreign embassy/consulate in a trade or investment promotion role;
• Skilled at sharing information in a practical way with key contacts within and outside the organisation;
• Project management and market research skills;
• Marketing and presentation skills;
• Experience of working in trade promotion
• Experience of working in a virtual team.

Required competencies  

Seeing the Big Picture, Collaborating and Partnering, Achieving Commercial Outcomes, Managing a Quality Service

Application deadline  

3 February 2021

Grade  

C4 (L)

Type of Position  

Permanent

Working hours per week  

40

Region  

South Asia & Afghanistan

Country/Territory  

India

Location (City)  

New Delhi

Type of Post  

British High Commission

Number of vacancies  

1

Starting monthly salary (INR)  

INR 110,484 per month plus 12% provident fund and 6% Special Allowance/Superannuation Fund

Start Date  

1 April 2021

Other benefits and conditions of employment  

SALARY PACKAGE:

BHC candidates, the Local BHC Terms & Conditions will apply.

For other than BHC candidates, Basic Salary will be INR 110,484 per month plus 12% provident fund and 6% Special Allowance/Superannuation Fund. 

Additionally the BHC offers a great benefits package that includes annual domiciliary medical cover, plus a Group Hospitalisation Scheme with INR 500,000 floater cover for your immediate family.

No relocation or any other related costs or assistance will be provided. Notional tax will be deducted if you are not liable to pay local tax.

Please note - 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 BHC is recognised as a good employer, with a robust, fair and transparent performance management & appraisal system linked to increments and staff bonuses. We have a 5-day working week, plus annual leave, public holidays, maternity leave provision, special leave, paid sick leave provision; ample development opportunities, travel opportunities, a good organisational culture, and excellent work/life balance. 

Around half of our work forces are women.  We treat people with respect and equality and have a policy of zero tolerance for any form of discrimination, bullying, or harassment. 

This is a good opportunity to be part of a strong, diverse team, working in the biggest network that FCDO has anywhere across the globe.  We are aiming to make it the best.

For more information and online application click here