View Vacancy – Trade Policy Officer – British Embassy Washington

Main purpose of job:

On behalf of the Department for Business and Trade, the British Embassy in Washington, DC, is seeking a Trade Policy Officer to join its Trade, Economic Security and Agriculture Policy Team based within the Global Issues, Trade and Economic Group. The team is responsible for all bilateral and multilateral global and trade issues and works to promote the UK’s trade policy interests in the US, and to inform UK policy development. This team works closely with trade promotion and investment colleagues, and you will have a key role in working across teams and ensuring coherency with federal level trade policy.
 
The main aim of this role will be to lead the development and successful delivery of a UK-US strategy that seeks to deepen the UK’s trade and economic relationships, including at a state level in support of the Government’s mission to kick start growth in the UK. 
 
This includes supporting the US Trade Envoy and Ministerial visits to the region. You will work with the DC team and US Country Director and the trade policy and promotion teams based at British Consulates General across the US to deliver on this strategy and design bespoke state level opportunities and arrangements that improve the trade policy environment for HMG and British companies. 
 
You will also have responsibility for developing and delivering on a strategy by building a network of contacts in the Mid-Atlantic region and supporting the Consul General (CG) for the region. The CG is based in the Embassy.
 
Supporting engagement with business and coordinating business stakeholder briefings for the Ambassador and senior colleagues is another key priority. You will also be responsible for developing and delivering a strategy for engagement with businesses and business representative organisations for seniors across the Embassy.
 
The fast-moving nature of trade policy means that you will be willing and able to get to grips with new and emerging aspects of trade and regulatory policy quickly in order to be credible with subject matter experts and be able to support other members of the team. At times this will require being flexible and being able to support the key priorities of the day.

Roles and responsibilities:

Fundamentally, this role seeks to change the trade policy environment for the better on behalf of UK companies and to support the Government’s mission to kick start Growth. To deliver this objective you will:

• Provide strategic leadership on HMG’s state-level trade and growth strategies, in-line with the Government’s Growth mission, working with the FCDO, Department for Business and Trade, the Counsellor for Trade Policy and the US Country Director in the Embassy. The strategy includes identifying and leveraging opportunities for UK Growth, including through MOUs, Mutual Recognition Agreements, and development of a market access barriers strategy that seeks to remove barriers to trade for UK business (40% FTE).
• Support the senior trade policy advisors on federal level trade priorities and agriculture trade (25% FTE).
• Lead on strategic business engagement and coordinate business briefing for the Ambassador, Deputy Ambassador and Consul General (15% FTE).
• Provide support to the Consul General for the Mid-Atlantic (based in the Embassy) by developing stakeholder engagement strategies and delivery of visits, working with trade and commerce contacts working closely with the US Country Director and political team in the Embassy. Support engagement on the UK-Virginia MOU. (10% FTE).
• Lead coordination and preparations for UK Ministerial, US Trade Envoy and Senior Official visits in support of the UK’s trade policy and growth priorities (10% FTE).

Resources managed:

• Staff: not currently foreseen but there will likely be opportunities in future.
• Budget to cover project expenditure, hospitality and travel.
  

• A minimum of 4-5 years relevant commercial, government or legal experience is preferred. Fewer years of experience will be considered for candidates with advanced degrees or exceptional, relevant experience.
• Previous work experience in an international business or government relations environment. The successful candidate would ideally have detailed knowledge of some or all of the following: trade policy; stakeholder engagement; Congress and the Administration; and the US legislative/regulatory process.
• Proven ability to form professional relationships and build trust with a wide range of contacts.
• Must be a proven self-starter with the ability to work independently and as a part of a team.
• Excellent communication skills (both written and oral) and a proven track record of translating a wide range of data and political reporting into concise briefing is essential.
• Attention to detail, strong judgement, problem-solving abilities and service delivery.
• Legal status to live and work in the US in your own right, from time of application.

Please note: Under US State Department requirements, the UK Government in the US has restrictions on the type of visas our non-diplomatic staff may hold.  If you are not a US Citizen or a US Permanent Resident, or the dependent of a diplomat (with an EAD card), you may not be eligible for employment with the UK government.

We cannot accept student Visas (J1, F or M) nor other forms of work Visas (I, H, P).  If you hold a work visa it is best to check on your eligibility to work for a foreign government before applying for a position. The UK Government does not routinely sponsor work visas; the job advertisement will state clearly whether sponsorship is available.

You may refer to our website for additional information: https://www.gov.uk/guidance/living-in-the-usa. All selected candidates are subject to background checks and will require a security clearance prior to starting work.