Senior Trade Policy Adviser – Rules of Origin
The Department for Business and Trade brings together business expertise and world-class trade negotiators under the vision of making the UK the best place to start and grow a business – driving growth, increasing jobs, and raising wages and living standards.
We are recruiting for a Senior Policy Adviser in the Rules of Origin, Trade in Goods Team within the Trade Policy, Implementation and Negotiations Group (TPIN). TPIN is responsible for negotiating and implementing the UK’s trade agreements with partner countries from across the globe to support the growth of UK businesses internationally.The Group has over 700 people, expert in diverse technical areas of trade policy and negotiations, at the cutting edge of delivering the UK’s trade policy and negotiation objectives.
This is a fast paced and 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 rules of origin, 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 strategy for negotiations and other 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 specifically 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 and personal growth and will encourage you to develop your skills and trade knowledge.
This is a high-profile and stretching role in which you will support DBT to develop UK rules of origin policy, negotiate and implement the UK’s Free Trade Agreements (FTAs). You will be supported by your Grade 7 line manager, colleagues in our expert and specialised team as well as by country, analytical, legal and sector experts in the wider Department.
Key responsibilities include:- International FTA Negotiations and Implementation
- You will be expected to represent the Department in technical committees with partner countries that oversee the successful implementation of the UK’s FTAs.
- You will work closely with colleagues and the Negotiation Lead, as well as with other Government departments, to develop trade policy and UK positions that are consistent with the UK’s domestic and international priorities.
Significant Collaboration Across Government
- You will develop strong working relationships across Government to help ensure there is a clear understanding of departmental objectives and priorities, seeking to establish strong relationships and a united approach in the development of UK positions.
- You will help organise engagement with businesses and interested persons on matters relating to rules of origin, ensuring that they can input into policy making and are updated on the UK’s progress in ongoing negotiations and policy decisions.Cross-cutting responsibilities – You will influence wider Government workstreams on rules of origin, tracking areas of innovation where we have an interest and ensuring that any future policies promote the use of existing FTAs.
You will be expected to develop a deep understanding of negotiation and policy issues and be able to produce high-quality briefings and other materials for Ministers and senior officials. We will encourage you to be self-reflective and to regularly consider how you can develop and improve and how the Department can support you in this development.