Job Category
Other British Government Departments (Partners across Government, including UK Visas)
Job Subcategory
Department for International Trade (DIT)
Job Description (Roles and Responsibilities)
Main purpose of job:
To lead on trade promotion work for the critical sectors of oil & gas and renewable energy in Kenya. This will involve planning and delivering multi-year campaigns in these two sectors, with regular engagement with the Kenyan Government as well as British, Kenyan and international business in order to build connections and make deals happen.
To manage the regional renewables campaign, working with other posts in East Africa and beyond, leading the delivery of that campaign’s objectives and guiding others towards getting deals done.
To manage the work of non-campaign sectors, including our Trade Services work as well as officers involved in agricultural technology, digital/tech, and healthcare. To oversee delivery of our charged services through the Trade Services function, ensuring revenue and quality objectives are met, and lead others in seizing opportunities in non ‘campaign’ sectors.
To manage 2 officers in the DIT Kenya team.
Roles and responsibilities / what will the jobholder be expected to achieve?:
The Role:
This is a great opportunity to work in an exciting and challenging environment on a high profile agenda within the Department for International Trade, part of the British High Commission in Nairobi.
The renewable energy and oil & gas sectors are top priorities for UK trade interests in the region, and there are many major opportunities in Kenya to pursue. The role focuses on supporting British companies seeking commercial success, and also on identifying major future opportunities as well as quick wins. It requires the tenacity to support British companies achieve success in Kenya, as well as the ability to assess the sector and provide advice on where the strategic opportunities lie. There will be specific commercial targets to meet in terms of value of exports supported when deals close. There will also be a need to look long-term, assessing trends and opportunities early on. There will be a need to consider and support investment from the UK as well as exports. (40%)
The regional renewables campaign lead requires driving a virtual team made up of renewables leads in Ethiopia (particularly important), Uganda and Tanzania. This means managing the campaign in terms of events and finances, overall thrust and approach, and maintaining oversight of metrics and milestones. Driving a virtual team can be a challenge: this will take strong interpersonal skills, project management abilities, and the ability to pick up technical detail quickly. (30%)
Trade Services and non-campaign sectors are important to DIT because trade services help us generate revenue for our other activities. The officer will oversee the regional trade development manager’s work, monitoring progress and providing guidance and energy to achieve revenue and quality objectives. Non-campaign sectors are areas where there is potential in the present or future to achieve success, which will also benefit Kenya’s development aspirations. The officer will ensure that these objectives are being met, guiding the officers in the team to achieve this. (20%)
Management of two dynamic and experienced officers is also an important part of the role. (10%)
The officer will be a confident self-starter, a team player with excellent communication skills, and the ability to network with a wide range of contacts at senior levels in Government and the private sector. They will be credible when talking to business and adept at picking up effective ways of working within UK Government. This will include working through the various teams at the High Commission, including the High Commissioner and his Deputy, as well as the Trade Envoy and UK Ministers. Integrating with the DIT Africa region is a must: we are a regionalised and networked organisation, delivering to an ambitious Africa Trade Plan as well as through the High Commission and this needs to be carefully balanced.
They will be responsible for delivering to a challenging set of objectives reflecting support to successful UK commercial outcomes in the sectors of responsibility, as well as for guiding a dynamic and diverse virtual team aiming to achieve commercial goals in renewables in the region.
The team also contributes to Her Majesty’s Government’s work on the Prosperity agenda; as part of ‘One Government,’ we need to work very closely with our Foreign Office and Development colleagues to balance various UK interests in this area, and take full advantage of the opportunities of a cross-Government approach. As the senior trade promotion lead at DIT Kenya, this will be a particularly important part of the role.
The Prosperity/Economic Development part of the High Commission is likely to receive a significant personnel boost in the coming year, building on recent changes such as the addition of a Trade Policy capability. As a result of these changes, this could mean future changes to the job specification.
The Department for International Trade:
The Department for International Trade (formerly referred to as UK Trade & Investment, or UKTI) is the British Government Department responsible for promoting British trade across the world and ensuring the UK takes advantage of the huge opportunities open to us.
We are responsible for
Developing, coordinating and delivering a new trade and investment policy to promote UK business across the globe;
Developing and negotiating free trade agreements and market access deals with non-EU countries;
Negotiating plurilateral trade deals;
Providing operational support for exports and facilitating inward and outward investment.
The DIT team in Kenya is charged with trade development between the UK and Kenya, in particular UK exports and outward investment to Kenya. We are also responsible for UK Export Finance, the UK Government’s export credit agency.
Resources managed (staff and expenditure):
DIT Renewables campaign sector budget
2x B3 staff
Essential qualifications, skills and experience
A proven track record of fostering business relationships or a demonstrated understanding of commercial enterprise;
Ability to speak credibly with senior representatives of public and private sector organisations;
Ability to prioritise, effectively manage and execute multiple tasks to a high standard, both through individual and team delivery
Ability to excel in a collaborative team environment
Professional skills in MS Office, Excel, and Outlook;
Excellent interpersonal skills;
Willingness to work under time pressure;
Ability to work autonomously to deliver a wide range of responsibilities;
Desirable qualifications, skills and experience
A strong and proven understanding of/expertise in the oil & gas and renewables sectors in Kenya;
Management experience;
Experience of working in the private sector in Kenya;
Required competencies
Making Effective Decisions, Leading and Communicating, Collaborating and Partnering, Delivering at Pace
