Senior Policy Advisor

We are looking to recruit a high performing individual to fill a vacancy in the Wider Europe team of the International Strategy and Trade Relations directorate (ISTR). The Department for Business and Trade is at the heart of delivering the UK's mission for growth, through supporting UK business and driving the government's international trade agenda. The ISTR directorate is a centre of country, regional and trade policy expertise in DBT. Our mission is to consolidate and grow the market access enjoyed by UK business, boost investment and advance the UK's wider trade policy objectives, through our bilateral relationships and our extensive network of concluded free trade agreements (FTAs). We are responsible for strengthening the UK's trade relationship with partners around the world by protecting and increasing access to markets. The Wider Europe team is a dedicated regional team within ISTR. We lead the Department's bilateral trade engagement in the region and work to improve the UK's trade relationship with those markets. In this role you will engage with foreign governments and businesses to resolve barriers to market and oversee our trade agreements or, where none exist, develop strategies to improve those relationships. The role within the Wider Europe team is primarily focused on Wider Europe South, and in this role you are likely to be a market lead on Israel and the Occupied Palestinian Territories. Within the scope of this demanding role, you will become a regional trade expert empowered to develop relationships with a variety of stakeholders and explore creative policy initiatives to support UK business interests. The role may require flexibility to cover other markets from time to time, as circumstances require, including on the Western Balkans. Your key responsibilities are expected to include:

• Establishing yourself as a regional market expert, identifying priorities and developing long term strategy.
• Overseeing the functioning of our trade agreements and the obligations we and our partners have taken under them. This includes driving the agenda of bilateral meetings and working on implementation requirements.
• Developing a network with business and across government, including our regional embassies to enhance our understanding of business interests and to support them in delivering in-market projects and solutions.
• Resolving market access barriers for UK business, by developing creative solutions and working with specialist teams within and external to DBT (including policy teams and regulators) to deliver change.