JOB SUMMARY

The Department for Business and Trade (DBT) has responsibilities for overseeing the domestic business environment, breaking down international barriers to trade and investment, and helping boost economic growth by ensuring the UK is a country where businesses can thrive. Within this portfolio, the successful candidate will work in UK trade policy. Using trade policy to facilitate exports helps generate growth for businesses and the economy. The position we are recruiting for will focus on providing policy expertise to facilitate and increase trade.
We are recruiting for a Senior Policy Advisor to join the Trade in Goods Policy Team. This team is the policy hub for all international issues that relate to trade in goods. The role will be focussed on technical barriers to trade (TBT) – a non-tariff branch of goods trade policy that facilitates greater cooperation between countries on regulations, standards and testing to make it easier for businesses to export. Technical barriers to trade impacts goods across a wide range of sectors, and so the role will involve a mix of working on cross-cutting policy principles, and engaging on specialist areas.
This is a technical policy area, one with many international nuances and that can be complex to navigate. This will be a highly rewarding position for someone with an eye for detail who enjoys tackling complex policy issues. Therefore, experience in building technical expertise and an appetite for diving into difficult policy question is essential for this role.
The role will also involve building relationships with a wide range of stakeholders – from other countries’ Government officials, to UK Government Departments and non-technical teams internally. Pairing an ability to understand technical policy with the skill to convey this to others will be critical for success and will suit candidates who enjoy and are skilled in communicating, rapport building and influencing others.
The Trade in Goods team is vibrant, hard-working, and collaborative. There is ample opportunity for successful candidates to drive and shape the role. We pay particular attention to providing training and support to all colleagues so they can develop the skills and knowledge to enjoy and excel in this position.

JOB DESCRIPTION

The job holder will be assigned responsibility for leading on specific elements of technical barriers to trade policy. Specifically, this will involve:

• Building knowledge to become a deep policy expert in technical barriers to trade, understanding and utilising the international commitments countries have committed to.
• Implementing the UK’s international TBT commitments, via managing committees, inputting into international engagements and maintaining bilateral dialogues.
• Providing sound policy advice to other teams, using informed policy judgements to progress complex issues.
• Proactively engaging with stakeholders to convey our DBT position and influence others on trade policy issues.
• Building networks and working collaboratively across the trade policy network, forming teams to deliver on shared problems. Providing grip and cohesion on complicated issues.

Though other parts of the team travel regularly, international travel is not expected for this role. International engagements will likely be conducted virtually.

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)
• 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

Building on the role description above, the ideal candidate will have the following skills and experiences:

• Digesting lengthy technical information, being able to take information from a variety of sources to inform own position.
• Excellent communication skills – written and verbal – translating complex issues and using a range of communication styles to influence others.
• Using own judgement and critical thinking skills to resolve difficult issues, or find creative solutions to a problem.
• Building collaborative relationships, using networks to solve shared problems.
• Managing several workstreams simultaneously, taking effective prioritisation decisions based on broader awareness of own objectives.
• Being a self-starter who can work independently