Belfast, Birmingham, Cardiff, Darlington, Edinburgh, London, Salford
This is an exciting time to join the Department for Business and Trade (DBT). We are 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 Labour, Anti-Corruption, Climate Change and Environment (LACE) Team, part of the Trans-Pacific Negotiations and Policy (TNAP) directorate, within DBT’s Trade Policy, Implementation and Negotiations (TPIN) Group. The TNAP directorate works to develop and deliver UK trade policy in relation to labour and anti-corruption, climate change and environment as well as negotiate the UK’s ongoing FTA program and accession to CPTPP.
We are seeking an enthusiastic and diligent policy lead in the LACE Team for this fast-paced, high-profile area. The role will be in the Multilateral Green Trade sub-team, which is responsible for the underlying policy and international engagement of the UK’s approach to trade and environment internationally.
We develop and deliver the UK’s multilateral trade policy in support of green economic growth and the UK's environmental commitments including net zero. We work primarily through the WTO with its vital role in the rules based international system, but also through the G20 and G7 and other international organisations.
This is an exciting area of policy. You will have a strong policy background and will need to be proactive, dynamic, able to balance competing priorities, and problem-solve. You will need to have a good knowledge of international trade and understand the key issues and dynamics of the global green transition in a trade context. 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 to identify UK interests, leverage support for policy positions, and help formulate UK strategy and positions for international engagement.
We are actively seeking applications from every part of the community. We are especially interested to hear from candidates from underrepresented backgrounds and our recruitment process is crafted to be fair and accessible for all applicants.
Our team is vibrant, hardworking and collaborative. We pay special attention to providing training and support needed to allow individuals to excel. We recognise the importance of professional personal growth and will encourage you to develop your skills and trade knowledge.
This position is a high-profile and stretching role for an SEO supporting DBT’s multilateral policy work. They will be supported in doing this by their G7 line manager, colleagues in our expert and specialised team as well as by analytical, legal and sectoral experts in the wider Department.
Key accountabilities include:
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.
The team puts a premium on learning and development and would encourage the successful candidate to be self-reflective and to regularly consider how they can develop and improve. The team helps each other in doing this and encourages innovation.
The below is a list of characteristics which may be helpful in this role. These will not be assessed throughout the recruitment process, but are laid out to help candidates understand more about the role.
The ideal candidate will have the policy skills to quickly get into the detail of multilateral trade policy issues as well the challenges and opportunities posed by climate change for the UK economy, the global transition to net zero and the international trading system.
To succeed in this role, you will be comfortable driving work forward proactively and autonomously with limited supervision. To lead policy development in this complex, interconnected area, you will have a meticulous attention to detail and be able to situate your work in the broader international context. You will have strong research skills and will be able to compile, interpret and present evidence to build policy options and make recommendations for decision, drawing on experts, academics and Whitehall colleagues as appropriate. You have experience of working with a wider range of stakeholders with diverse views to coordinate decision making on policy options whilst often working at pace to tight deadlines.
You will need strong interpersonal and communication skills and be able to persuade and influence others to create collaborative solutions, sometimes in the face of sustained opposition. You are a strong team player, who is flexible proactive and can work across organisational boundaries.
In pursuing your objectives, you will be enthusiastic about developing yourself and others around you. You will prioritise effectively to meet competing needs and support colleagues at critical times. You will be flexible and ready to take on new challenges as the team’s goals evolve.
Essential Criteria
The below criteria are essential and will be assessed at application stage.
This role would generally suit someone who:
Desirable Criteria
The below criteria are desirable only. These will not be assessed throughout the recruitment process, but will be used in the event of tied scores between candidates:
We'll assess you against these behaviours during the selection process:
Alongside your salary of £41,156, Department for Business and Trade contributes £11,922 towards you being a member of the Civil Service Defined Benefit Pension scheme. Find out what benefits a Civil Service Pension provides.
We recognise the challenges that people with (multiple) protected characteristics may experience on the job market and in their career progression. We are fully committed to being an inclusive employer and ensuring equal opportunities. We are keen to make our workforce as diverse as possible, and we hope to attract applications from underrepresented groups, including ethnic minorities, people with a disability, and people with gender diverse identities.
Please refer to the attached candidate pack for further information on our benefits.
The Civil Service welcomes applications from people who have recently left prison or have an unspent conviction. Read more about prison leaver recruitment (opens in new window).
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Our recruitment process is underpinned by the principle of appointment on the basis of fair and open competition and appointment on merit, as outlined in the Civil Service Commissioners’ Recruitment Principles.
If you feel your application has not been treated in accordance with these principles and you wish to make a complaint, you should in the first instance contact DBT by email: Resourcing@businessandtrade.gov.uk.
If you are not satisfied with the response you receive, you can contact the Civil Service Commission, which regulates all Civil Service recruitment.
For further information on bringing a complaint to the Civil Service Commission please visit their web pages: Click here to visit Civil Service Commission/Complaints.
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