Job Opportunity for Trade Policy Adviser at British High Commission in India in New Delhi

Job Category  Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office (Policy & Political roles)
Job Subcategory  Economic and Prosperity

Job Description (Roles and Responsibilities) 

Note: All applicants are required to mandatorily fill the complete online application form including the employment and educational details, experience segment and the behaviour-based questions. We will be thoroughly reviewing the application forms only for all the required details. Forms that are incomplete in any respect will not be considered while shortlisting for the next stage.

Main purpose of job:

To support the British High Commission’s Trade Policy team on policy and administration related tasks. You will be a crucial part of friendly and growing team at a critical time for the UK and India’s trading relationship.

The Trade Policy Team leads on the UK-India bilateral trade relationship, providing analysis, direction and reporting, as well as engaging with key stakeholders in business, the UK government and the Government of India. The job holder will need to be flexible in responding to changes in scope and priorities of the trade policy team.

Roles and responsibilities / what will the jobholder be expected to achieve?:

Reporting & Analysis (30%):

• Produce high-quality quarterly Trade Performance Report, the team’s flagship analysis of trade and trade policy developments in India. The Report is a key document that is shared at a cross-HMG level to inform advice and action across the trade policy network at Post and HQ in the UK and to inform senior UK government engagement in India.
• Produce the weekly Trade News Summary, the team’s flagship flash-alert capturing the latest news updates on Indian trade and trade policy. This a key product that is shared with our UK-India negotiations teams at Post and HQ in the UK to provide real-time information.
• Support the senior members of the team and colleagues in HQ on their strategic policy-making by providing analysis for policy papers, when requested, ad-hoc reporting/alerts on policy updates and readouts of external seminars/conferences in relevant areas of UK interest.

Trade Statistics (30%):

• Be the point of contact in the team for trade statistics analysis and reporting. This will include producing timely monthly, quarterly and annual updates analysing the India’s foreign trade performance and UK-India bilateral trade performance, as and when data is released by the respective official sources.
• Maintain, on a common platform, up-to-date information on key UK-India trade statistics. This database will include trends and comparative analysis on bilateral trade and investment statistics from official India, UK and international sources.
• Lead on maintaining the trade policy team’s top lines on bilateral trade performance, which will involve updating and communicating across the network on a timely basis. This document feeds into briefings for Ministers and HQ in the UK and for external messaging.

Stakeholder Management (20%):

• Support engagement with key internal and external stakeholders. Working with all members of the trade policy team, contribute to a database based on a comprehensive stakeholder mapping.
• Be responsible for maintaining the trade policy team’s internal stakeholder reporting distribution lists as well as ensure the core internal database containing all trade policy reporting products is updated.

Events & Visits (20%):

• Provide organisational assistance for UK-India bilateral forums on trade-related areas like the Joint Economic and Trade Committee, among others and provide inputs for briefings for Ministers and senior officials, particularly with respect to UK-India bilateral trade & investment statistics.
• Provide support to ongoing Free Trade Agreement negotiations between the UK and India.
• Lead the organisation of the bi-annual trade policy seminar, a flagship panel discussion for internal Post and HQ network, bringing together key trade experts in India on topics of particular relevance to UK priorities in India and international trade.
• Support with the organisation of bilateral visits of senior officials from the UK to India and vice versa. It will also mean liaising with the relevant Government of India departments, where appropriate. Jobholder will also work with colleagues and/or lead the organisation of internal events such as team receptions, among others.

Resources managed (staff and expenditure):

Nil

Language requirements:

Language: English

Level of language required:  Fluent in English; Strong written and verbal English communication skills required. 

Learning and development opportunities (and any specific training courses to be completed):

The Foreign Commonwealth and Development Office offers training and development opportunities to its staff. The current role requires constant learning as the context and priorities evolve fast. We expect the candidate to be open to learning new skills.

Essential qualifications, skills and experience 

Essential on arrival:

Qualifications: Graduate Degree in Economics

Experience:

• Candidate should have 1-3 years of relevant work experience
• Strong understanding of economics required in particular international trade
• Prior experience in writing reports combined with experience in working with Indian and international databases/statistics
• Exceptional written and oral communication skills
• Strong analytical and communication skills with ability to absorb and relay information efficiently
• Strong interpersonal skills with a good track record as a team player
• Excellent ability to deliver on tight deadlines and turn around requests efficiently
• Candidate should be proactive, a self-starter and have the ability to adapt to changes

Desirable qualifications, skills and experience 

Desirable:

• Qualifications: Master’s Degree in Economics

Experience:

• Experience in interacting with a variety of stakeholders and working in a multi-cultural environment
• Some experience in programme management would be a plus
• Prior experience in providing organisation support to policy teams preferable
• Experience in working with Indian and international trade statistics databases

Required behaviours

Managing a Quality Service, Delivering at Pace, Communicating and Influencing, Working Together

Application deadline: 25 October 2023