Senior Policy Advisors In Negotiations Coherence Team

We are seeking dynamic and motivated individuals to join our unique Negotiations Coherence team as Policy Advisers. Our team sits at the heart of the trade policy function in the Department for Business and Trade (DBT) and works to ensure that the UK achieves the best outcomes in trade negotiations – a key priority for the Secretary of State for Business and Trade.

We are looking to recruit three SEO's.

Two of the roles will sit in a new team to provide for more effective ways of working across the trade and business functions of the Department following the recent merger between the Department for International Trade and the business functions of the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy. In particular, these posts will play a key role in building a two-way understanding and ways of working between the Trade Policy, Implementation and Negotiations group and wider DBT teams on trade policy priorities.    

The other role will focus on continuous improvement of the UK’s trade negotiations. The post holder will lead on a variety of work streams and will need to engage extensively with colleagues working on trade negotiations to make sure best practice is effectively identified, recorded and followed throughout the negotiation lifecycle. They will also need to maintain an oversight and awareness of the UK’s trade negotiations programme, exploring emerging themes and developing solutions to complex policy and operational issues as they arise and work to ensure that best practice in other trade policy work is properly considered and reflected in best practice guidance.

DBT ways of working

• Build awareness and capability within the group to integrate all aspects of DBT’s work into trade policy development and delivery.
• Support and upskill other parts of the Department in trade policy and negotiations, to enable them to draw out the interactions with their work.
• Establish and maintain productive working relationships across the Department to understand the interactions of trade policy priorities with domestic priorities.  
• Horizon-scan for dependencies, risks, opportunities, and issues in these interactions, and deliver improvements or solutions where needed.
• Help to establish and run new bespoke governance structures by providing secretariat support, identifying agenda items, and providing briefing for senior officials.

Trade Negotiations Best Practice

• Play a key role in driving forward the team’s continuous improvement work, ensuring key lessons from previous trade negotiations are captured and implemented across DBT.
• Undertake project work on a range of areas, problem solving with policy teams on urgent issues and preparing reports and advice for senior decision making.
• Draft clear, well-written pieces of key guidance on key aspects of Free Trade Agreement delivery to support future trade negotiations, building and maintaining an FTA Toolkit based on your gathering of expertise.
• Develop effective relationships with a range of stakeholders and work thoughtfully with country and policy teams throughout the negotiation process to deliver good outcomes.
• Deliver an efficient, quality service in convening key meetings, including identifying issues to bring forward for discussion, identifying preparation and or pre-briefing for meetings and providing quality secretariat support as required.