British High Commission East Africa Trade Services Manager Jobs in Kenya

British High Commission East Africa Trade Services Manager Jobs in Kenya

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Job Category

Department for International Trade roles (DIT)

Job Subcategory

Department for International Trade (DIT)

Job Description (Roles and Responsibilities)

Main purpose of job:

The Department for International Trade (DIT) is the Trade Promotion and Negotiation organisation for the UK. We promote UK businesses overseas and attract foreign investment to our shores. We have 3,000 staff across the globe in over 100 countries.

Our aspiration is to address some of the challenges facing the UK, by helping British businesses to internationalise and grow overseas and as well as helping African businesses better engage with the UK and the world.

DITAfrica is one of the nine DIT global networks and is led by Emma Wade-Smith, HM Trade Commissioner (HMTC) for Africa.The Africa Region is exciting and energising and UK firms have a strong presence here, making the UK the the second largest investor on the continent.

With some of the strongest growing economies in the world and booming population growth there are numerous more opportunities for UK firms; from tech start-ups in the West to infrastructure in the East.

The Network’s role is to promote these opportunities and position the UK as the continent’s number one trading partner and investor.

This is a great opportunity to be part of an international team that contributes to the success of the UK's trade goals.

With excellent interpersonal skills and strong sense of initiative, the jobholder will work within DIT Africa in Nairobi and will report to the Head of the Africa Trade Services Unit (TSU), based in London.

The job holder will lead the team responsible for responding to East Africa related enquiries and support UK companies exporting and investing in the region through the delivery of trade services, which include market research, introduction to contacts in-market and organising trade missions and networking receptions.

They will be required to deliver within the team as much as possible, collaborating with colleagues across DIT Africa and other UK Departments in Africa, including the Foreign and Commonwealth Office (FCO) when necessary. They will also need to actively engage external stakeholders in the private sector.

Roles and responsibilities

Working with the Head of the TSU, the jobholder will take full responsibility for leading on all TSU work in East Africa and ensuring trade and investment enquiries are actioned and chargeable trade services across the region are delivered promptly. They will:

Trade Services Unit - 70%

Lead the regional team in providing prompt and fact-checked replies to trade enquiries;
Plan and oversee delivery of regional chargeable trade services to UK companies including market research, warmed-up contacts, introductions to local partners as well as events/activities such as networking receptions, market visits, trade mission, workshops etc.

The jobholder will be required to see to agreement of work plans with companies and delivery of the service to a high standard and within the specified timeframe.

They will also need to ensure the team keeps open lines of communication with the company throughout delivery of the service and ensure follow-up takes place after the service is delivered to review the effectiveness of the services received; and support the company expand further into Africa if needed.

Build strong and collaborative relationships with officers in the region and work with regional teams when required to deliver regional projects;

Promote the regional trade services offer to British companies with a view to increasing demand and building a healthy regional pipeline of clients and projects.

Lead the regional TSU team in uploading business interactions weekly onto Data Hub and shared spreadsheets.

Identify viable business opportunities for UK companies and communicate these to the Operations Team for uploading.

Core DIT - 30%

Support operational

requirements from DIT in respect of high-profile work such as VIP visit planning as well as a range of other events on the trade side: receptions, dinners, exhibitions and trade missions.

Lead on Kenya’s Agritech sector, promoting opportunities to British Companies with a view to increasing demand and building a healthy pipeline of activities.

Support the Head of Trade in Kenya and the Deputy Trade Commissioner for Africa.

Resources managed (staff and expenditure):

2 trade officers

Essential qualifications, skills and experience

Fluent written and spoken English

3+ years of relevant International trade experience

Relevant degree

Great team player, able to build collaborative working relationships across teams

Good client engagement skills

Strong IT skills in Word, Outlook, Excel, PowerPoint

Able to adapt to a quick changing and evolving business environment; working proactively and autonomously

Ability to work with people at all levels of seniority in an international environment and within a fast paced, results orientated organisation

Desirable qualifications, skills and experience

Line management experience

Experience working in a virtual team

Experience developing and managing a pipeline

Experience with the Agritec sector

Required competencies

Leading and Communicating, Collaborating and Partnering, Achieving Commercial Outcomes,

Managing a Quality Service

Application deadline
8 November 2019

Grade
B3 (L)

Type of Position
Fixed Term, Fixed term, with possibility of renewal

Duration of Post
24 months

Region
Africa

Country/Territory
Kenya

Location (City)
Nairobi

Type of Post
British High Commission

Starting monthly salary ()
KES 206,171.53

Start Date
1 January 2020

Other benefits and conditions of employment

Learning and development opportunities :

This role provides enormous learning opportunities to grow and develop given its leadership and cross-High Commission responsibilities.

You will have access to the full suite of DIT and FCO learning and development opportunities including the FCO’s Diplomatic Academy, training in the UK, and will be encouraged to join DIT’s trade profession.

We also provide regular in-house learning opportunities and are committed to supporting further academic opportunities. Our staff who demonstrate great leadership potential are encouraged to apply for the FCO’s pan-African Emerging Leadership Programme.

TSU training will be provided

Working patterns:

7:15 AM -4:00 PM – Monday to Thursday 7:45 AM -13:00PM – Friday

Flexible working can be considered for the right candidate, but please note the following: This role is very external facing, and you may be required to work a few evenings each month. You will be expected to travel and there will be occasional travel to the UK.

Leave:

Members of staff are entitled to paid annual leave, which is earned, from the day they commence employment. Entitlements are as follows:

Grades B3 (L) 30 days

In addition to annual leave, the BHC normally observes no fewer than 9 and no more than 14 Kenyan and British public and religious holidays in a year. These vary from year to year and are at the discretion of the High Commissioner. A list of holidays is published each year.

Additional information

Please complete the application form in full as the information provided is used during screening.

Please check your application carefully before you submit, as no changes can be made once submitted.

The British High Commission will never request any payment or fees to apply for a position.

Employees recruited locally by the British High Commission in Nairobi are subject to Terms and Conditions of Service according to local employment law in Kenya.

It is essential that the applicants already have the right to live and work in Kenya without the need to apply for a work permit

Employees who are not eligible to pay local income tax: e.g. certain third-country nationals and spouses/partners of UK diplomats will have their salaries abated by an equivalent amount.

Information about the Foreign and Commonwealth Office Competency Framework can be found on this link: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/civil-service-competency-framework Please note: Job grade AA=A1, AO=A2, EO=B3, HEO=C4, SEO=C5
Reference checking and security clearances will be conducted on successful candidates.

Please log into your profile on the application system on a regular basis to review the status of your application.

British High Commission East Africa Trade Services Manager Jobs in Kenya