Multilateral Green Trade Deputy Head

at  Department for Business and Trade

JOB SUMMARY

This is an exciting time to join the Department for Business and Trade (DBT). The newly created department oversees the domestic business environment, breaks down international barriers to trade and investment, and helps boost economic growth by ensuring the UK is a country where businesses can thrive.
We are recruiting for a Deputy Head in the Multilateral Trade and Environment team that sits in the Trade Policy, Implementation and Negotiations Group (TPIN). TPIN covers a range of activity, creating and advancing the UK’s trade policy ambitions through negotiations and international engagement.
The Trade and Environment Multilateral Policy (TEMP) team is responsible for developing UK policy on issues at the intersection between Government’s trade and environmental objectives, implementing them at home and abroad, and leading the UK’s international engagement in relevant multilateral fora, notably the World Trade Organization (WTO), G7, G20, etc.
This includes:
Ensuring that the UK’s trade policy supports the government’s commitment to reach net-zero emissions by 2050, whilst maximising the economic opportunities from the UK’s transition to a low carbon economy.
Ensuring environmental policy objectives are complementary to trade ambitions and commitments.
The relationship between trade policy and environment plays an increasingly critical role in the global economy. This role will be responsible primarily for work on trade in ‘environmental goods and services’ and other aspects of ‘environmentally sustainable trade,’ alongside cross-cutting work to deliver the UK’s objectives in key multilateral fora.
This includes developing DBT’s policy position across a range on complex policy issues and representing these positions with confidence and credibility in international fora such as the WTO’s Committee for Trade and Environment. Your work will require close collaboration with a wide range of government and external stakeholders and have a significant international-facing component. This role will also require analytical skills and understanding, and the ability to confidently build relationships and lead policy projects from scoping phase to completion and delivery.
There will be some flexibility in role requirements to suit candidate experience and to meet the business needs at the time of appointment.

JOB DESCRIPTION

Leading policy development and analysis on trade policy tools to support environmental outcomes and deliver UK insights and positions in multilateral fora. This will include working collaboratively across government to identify, prioritise and better understand the supply chains for key environmental goods, services and technologies, and presenting a vision for how trade policy interventions can be targeted to support objectives around green growth and the Governments core Missions. This also includes developing policy proposals for HMG strategies or for implementation in trade negotiations and/or domestic policy and driving these ideas towards fruition.
Representing the United Kingdom and influencing internationally. Developing and representing UK positions in international engagements – inc. multilateral fora – will be important. Likewise with industry, academics, think tanks, who other key stakeholders. The role-holder must be confident in understanding how to lobby for government proposals on an international stage, how to develop and deliver an engagement strategy, build coalitions of willing countries, and secure backing from political leaders.
Representing DBT in cross-government strategies and policies / influence HMG policy in line with DBT trade and business interests. Given the cross-cutting nature of green trade policy, building strong relationships with colleagues across government to support and influence HMG decision-making will be vital. The role-holder must be confident in managing and influencing senior-leaders, in coordinating amongst a large group of stakeholders to reach a consensus position and delivering at pace.
Building, maintaining and developing cohesive team across grades and across professions. Line management of 1-2 people is expected. This work is also inherently cross-disciplinary so working with analysts/lawyers – an ability to manage multiple diverse projects simultaneously will be crucial.
Being flexible, proactive and a role model on wider issues. The TEMP team covers a wide range of policy issues across both domestic and multilateral policy. A willingness to support other teams in intense periods will be welcome – as will an interest in role modelling (or even developing our team’s offer) on wider issues – e.g., wellbeing, inclusion, L&D, etc.

PERSONAL ATTRIBUTES & SKILLS

• We are looking for someone who can provide leadership and strategic oversight, driving a compelling vision across a range of complex policy areas and driving forwards policy development in an ambiguous and fast-changing environment. Additionally, the individual should be able to demonstrate strong leadership abilities including the ability to contribute to team management, wellbeing and building inclusive teams and environments.
• The individual should be comfortable with engaging in technical material including analytical data, economics, and legal materials.
• You should be open to exploring new and innovative ideas and approaches and should take a collaborative approach to delivering outcomes, often choosing to empower others to deliver.
• Our ideal candidate will be confident engaging with stakeholders, both externally with industry, academics, and international partners and internally within DBT, including at SCS level, and more widely across Government, generating commitment and shared purpose. This includes the ability to manage upwards and influencing stakeholders.

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)

Analytical
International Trade