Senior Trade Policy Adviser

**Details**:
**Reference number**:

- 253019**Salary**:

- £31,443 - £36,624- National: £31,443 - £33,097; London: £35,008 -£36,624**Job grade**:

- Higher Executive Officer**Contract type**:

- Permanent**Business area**:

- DIT - Trading Systems: Bilateral Trade Relations**Type of role**:

- International Trade
- Policy**Working pattern**:

- Flexible working, Full-time, Job share, Part-time**Number of jobs available**:

- 1Contents

Location

About the job

**Benefits**:
Things you need to know

Location
- Darlington, LondonAbout the job

**Job summary**:
The Department for International Trade (DIT) is responsible for promoting and shaping British trade interests across the world.

This vacancy is an HEO role in the Asia-Pacific Team, Bilateral Trade Relations Directorate (BTR). BTR sits in Trade Policy Group (TPG) and leads on designing and progressing country specific trade policy outside formal FTA negotiations. BTR’s work covers the implementation of existing FTAs and the development of bilateral trade policy with countries with which we are not yet negotiating FTAs. There is a huge amount of trade policy that can be creatively achieved outside FTAs.

In this role you will support your team lead on specific trade policy portfolios, working directly with our partner countries (and Posts) on deepening trade relationships and building co-operation in order to secure market access wins and other benefits for UK business.

**Asia-Pacific Team**

Asia Pacific (APAC) region is one of the fastest and most assured routes to growth for UK businesses, and attracts significant Ministerial interest. It sits at the heart of the Indo-Pacific Tilt and the Integrated Review 2021. Annual UK-APAC trade surpassed the £100 billion threshold for the first time in 2018.

You will play a key role in the busy and friendly Asia Pacific team. We are focused on building strong bilateral trade relationships to progress our trade policy objectives and identify opportunities to remove barriers to trade. We work closely with other government departments and overseas posts to enhance our engagement across APAC by developing dialogues and other mechanisms (eg Ministerial JETCOs and Enhanced Trade Partnerships (ETPs) to get tangible results for UK business with partner countries. We also implement FTAs that have entered into force in the region.

The Asia Pacific team prides itself on being a well-run, happy and expert team, with a strong focus on delivery but also wellbeing. We have active initiatives to promote diversity & inclusion, resilience and wellbeing, learning & development and reward & recognition, and focus on building our individual and collective expertise in trade policy and wider Civil Service skills, competencies & behaviours. Early starts are a necessity to engage with the APAC region. We encourage applicants from a diverse range of backgrounds.

In accordance with current DIT policy, it is anticipated that you will be in the office 2-3 days a week. International travel is an integral part of the role (dependent on Covid-19 restrictions), with potential for 1-2 overseas visits each year.

**Job description**:
The portfolio for this role will primarily focus on the bilateral trade relationship with Singapore - one of our most important trading relationships in APAC and of key interest to ministers and Number 10. The UK-Singapore relationship is also the driver of many trade policy initiatives including an innovative Digital Economy Agreement and potential future negotiations on Investment and the Green Economy.

Contribute to the planning, negotiation, and delivery of ambitious future trading arrangements, building on work delivered to date between DIT and our counterpart trade ministries. This requires extensive coordination and consensus-building across Whitehall and supporting on engagement with different elements of partner governments.

Drive and deliver official engagement and develop productive relationships with relevant agencies, including Departments in the Singaporean government, and embassies or other representatives in London.

Support the delivery of policy content for regular trade policy dialogues, including working groups, deploying HMG ministers and officials to further our objectives. This will include developing agendas and negotiating strategies.

Influence relevant stakeholders to leverage the UK’s comparative advantage and unblock market access barriers to trade in line with the DIT objective of “opening markets, building a trade framework with new and existing partners that is free and fair”, and with HMG’s tilt to the Indo-Pacific. This will require understanding complex barriers and developing ambitious plans to address them.

Key accountabilities for the role:
Regional strategy: developing and articulating priorities and objectives. This includes collaboration with the overseas network and regularly reviewing our approach to regional trade policy.

Policy analysis: identifyi