Market Distorting Practices Market Access and Implementation Team Lead

at  Department for Business and Trade

JOB SUMMARY

The Department for Business and Trade (DBT) is the department for economic growth. We support businesses to invest, grow and export, creating jobs and opportunities across the country.
This role is based in the Market Distorting Practices and Economic Coercion Team, part of the Trade Defence directorate, within DBT’s Economic Security and Trade Relations (ESTR) Group. The Trade Defence directorate works to ensure the UK is defended from unfair trade, market distortions and emerging threats to protect our economic prosperity and security.
The Market Distorting Practices and Economic Coercion Team is recruiting for at least one stretching policy Grade 7 role. The Market Distorting Practice team is responsible for the underlying policy and international engagement on the UK’s trade approach with respect to harmful subsidies, unfair behaviour by state-owned enterprises and unfair competition. We work to ensure open and fair competition for UK businesses through trade channels such as multilateral fora, trade agreements, bilateral engagement and through helping to address bilateral market access issues on these areas.
This role will require the successful candidate to proactively lead on all trade agreement implementation, including any ongoing market distorting practice elements of the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for the Trans-Pacific Partnership General Review, as well as lead on relevant bilateral engagement (including on market access issues), and contribute to the development of market distorting practice policy. The role may require international engagement, particularly through relevant free trade agreement implementation committees.
This is an exciting area of policy. You will need to be proactive, dynamic, able to balance competing priorities and problem-solve. While you do not need specific knowledge of trade policy, you will need to become an expert quickly. You will also need to be able to express technical arguments in a manner that is easy for non-experts to understand. You will need to confidently collaborate with Government departments and businesses to identify UK interests, leverage support for policy positions, and help formulate UK policy for international engagement and responding to market distorting practices.
We are actively seeking applications from every part of the community. We are especially interested to hear from candidates from underrepresented backgrounds (including BAME, LGBTQ+ and those with hidden and unhidden disabilities) and our recruitment process is specifically crafted to be fair and accessible for all applicants.

JOB DESCRIPTION

The role will lead and manage a small sub-team responsible for implementation of the UK’s trade agreements and bilateral market access issues on subsidies, state-owned enterprises and competition.
They will be supported by their G6 line manager, colleagues in our expert and specialised team as well as by country, analytical, legal and sectoral experts in the wider Department.

Key responsibilities for this role include:

• Oversee planning and leadership for implementation of the relevant aspects of the UK’s trade agreements, including participation in relevant international meetings and leading policy and engagement for any ongoing market distorting practice elements of the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for the Trans-Pacific Partnership General Review.
• Policy development and case handling on bilateral market access issues related to subsidies, state-owned enterprises and competition.
• Where relevant, lead policy development and engagement related to market distorting practices in non-binding trade agreements.
• Lead responses to briefings and commissions across government for bilateral engagement on market distorting practices.
• Contribute and lead on development of elements of the wider market distorting practices trade policy, including adapting to emerging and new priorities of the government.
• Stakeholder engagement with relevant business and government holders, including engaging cross-Whitehall and with the Devolved Governments on market distorting practice matters.

You will need to be flexible and prepared to support work across the team, and wider Directorate, as required and to adapt to new priorities. We work in an emergent policy area and this role will suit a self-starter and leader who is comfortable with shifting priorities. We pride ourselves on investing in our peoples’ skills, knowledge and career development.

PERSONAL ATTRIBUTES & SKILLS

The ideal candidate should be proactive, enthusiastic and a team player. Whilst the successful candidate will have defined responsibilities they should be willing to work flexibly across the team, to support key work as necessary and adapt to new priorities.

NATIONALITY REQUIREMENTS

This job is broadly open to the following groups:

• UK nationals
• nationals of the Republic of Ireland
• nationals of Commonwealth countries who have the right to work in the UK
• nationals of the EU, Switzerland, Norway, Iceland or Liechtenstein and family members of those nationalities with settled or pre-settled status under the European Union Settlement Scheme (EUSS) (opens in a new window)
• nationals of the EU, Switzerland, Norway, Iceland or Liechtenstein and family members of those nationalities who have made a valid application for settled or pre-settled status under the European Union Settlement Scheme (EUSS)
• individuals with limited leave to remain or indefinite leave to remain who were eligible to apply for EUSS on or before 31 December 2020
• Turkish nationals, and certain family members of Turkish nationals, who have accrued the right to work in the Civil Service

Further information on nationality requirements (opens in a new window)

Key responsibilities for this role include:

• Oversee planning and leadership for implementation of the relevant aspects of the UK’s trade agreements, including participation in relevant international meetings and leading policy and engagement for any ongoing market distorting practice elements of the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for the Trans-Pacific Partnership General Review.
• Policy development and case handling on bilateral market access issues related to subsidies, state-owned enterprises and competition.
• Where relevant, lead policy development and engagement related to market distorting practices in non-binding trade agreements.
• Lead responses to briefings and commissions across government for bilateral engagement on market distorting practices.
• Contribute and lead on development of elements of the wider market distorting practices trade policy, including adapting to emerging and new priorities of the government.
• Stakeholder engagement with relevant business and government holders, including engaging cross-Whitehall and with the Devolved Governments on market distorting practice matters