Head, External Affairs and Planning for a Free

1 week ago

Darlington, Darlington, United Kingdom Department of International Trade Full time

This is an exciting role leading on external affairs and planning for one of the UK's Free Trade Agreement negotiations.

Your role - and that of your team of six - will be instrumental for getting good outcomes in the negotiations.

From continuing to refine the importance of very technical asks from the UK business community, to working with the business community of our negotiating partner, and supporting and leading on engagement with a number of interest groups.


Your role is also critical for the project management of the agreement - both how it interacts with the Government's overall programme of negotiations, right down to the minutiae of organising the running the individual negotiation sessions.


Your role will be critical in ensuring the FTA programme continues to enjoy high levels of public, stakeholder and Parliamentary support, as well delivering a seamless handover to colleagues after the signature of the FTA.


You will be part of a wider directorate covering several other FTA negotiations as well as policy coherence and programme management functions across the FTA programme overall.


  • For this role, the Department will not consider sponsoring a visa or issuing a Certificate of Sponsorship. Please note we are unable to offer advice on any Visa and Immigration cases._

Job description

  • As one of two Grade 6's in the team, you will cover a broad range of leadership responsibilities and deputise for the Chief Negotiator where necessary with stakeholders.
  • This is a significant leadership role and will oversee the work of a team of six staff, including two Grade 7s. This role involves being an active member of the directorate senior management team. You will be expected to play a leadership role across the directorate, as well as within the team.
  • You will be responsible for delivering an ambitious programme of stakeholder engagement, ranging from civil society to agriculture and business communities. You will work closely with colleagues overseas at post to engage with overseas stakeholders.
  • You will be required to understand and distil complex technical information into actionable evidence for negotiators, as well as explain the outcomes of the FTA negotiations for the public as well as for a very technical set of stakeholders.
  • You will need to work closely with colleagues in policy teams, engagement teams, analysts and communications division to prepare communications materials for public and business audiences. You will also help to ensure businessfacing staff have the information they need to speak confidently about the FTA.
  • Your PMO team will play a critical role in making the negotiations happen from the the minutiae of venue logistics and organising the negotiation sessions, right through to driving the delivery of technical legal processes such as the legal scrub of the agreement before signature.
  • You will oversee a briefing hub to respond to Parliamentary questions, correspondence and media enquiries. At times, this will involve large volumes of requests and very tight deadlines.
Please be aware that this role can only be worked from within the UK and not overseas.


Informal hybrid working arrangements will be available as agreed with the vacancy manager and in line with the requirements of the role.


Most DIT employees will be working a hybrid pattern, spending 2-3 days a week (pro rata) in an office, on average.

If your office location is London, you will be eligible to receive London weighting.

Person specification

Desirable Criteria


Previous experience working on Free Trade Agreements or trade policy would be desirable as would experience of stakeholder engagement and PMO roles.


Personal Attributes & Skills

  • Resilient to manage themselves and their team through the rigours of FTA negotiations
  • A strong track record of delivery, including in difficult context or circumstances
  • A strong networker who can build relationships quickly
  • Experienced leader and manager, with a strong track record of pastoral care and supporting individual development
  • Comfortable with uncertainty and change, as negotiations ebb and flow
  • Comfortable with interacting with analysts and negotiators on very technical issues and with that technical information be able to draw together a story for the negotiation that connects with the general public
  • Prepared to travel abroad when required

Behaviours
We'll assess you against these behaviours during the selection process:

  • Leadership
  • Seeing the Big Picture
  • Changing and Improving
  • Communicating and Influencing

Benefits

  • Learning and development tailored to your role
  • An environment with flexible working options
  • A culture encouraging inclusion and diversity
  • A Civil Service pensionwith an average employer contribution of 27%

Things you need to know

Selection process details
This vacancy is using Success Profiles, and will assess your Behaviours, Strengths and Experience.

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