Trade Officer on Future Opportunities at British High Commission

Grade: B3 (L)
Type of Position: Fixed Term, Full-time
Job Category: Foreign and Commonwealth Office (Department for International Trade roles)
Job Subcategory: Department for International Trade (DIT)

Job Description

• Nigeria is the largest economy in Africa, the continents largest oil producer and population coupled with long-established cultural and commercial links with the UK. It has huge long-term economic potential with vast natural resources and a young and growing population. As a result Nigeria offers a wide array of business opportunities, especially in the oil and ags sector but also increasingly in areas such as  renewable energy, infrastructure and agriculture. Current trade figures are good but we want to do better.  
• As part of the British Government’s commitment to increasing UK exports worldwide to £1 trillion by 2020, the UK’s trade team in Nigeria, with offices in both Lagos and Abuja, is developing a trade strategy to identify and better tap into this vast potential and increase tradebetween the UK and West Africa. The Nigeria team is also shifting to a regional approach, working with trade colleagues in Ghana, Guinea, Cameroon, Cote d’Ivoire and Senegal to maximise the trading relationship with the UK across West Africa.
• We are looking for a highly organised person with a strong attention to detail, ability to take the initiative, work accurately within deadlines and with limited supervision, and be a strong team member who works collaboratively.

Your Key Responsibilities

• You will be Working with the Future Opportunities team leader, based in Lagos, and another Futures Officer in Accra, Ghana to understand the business sectors in Nigeria with the greatest potential for British companies to succeed in, outside of oil and gas.
• Develop a comprehensive research strategy covering Nigeria, to seek out potential big high value opportunities in the multi million pound range, to help enable UK companies to achieve maximum opportunity of winning contracts; 
• develop a coherent and compelling evidence base to demonstrate the multi-million pound scale of these opportunities in Nigeria  
• Work with UK companies to help position them for business success, to demonstrate the value and potential in new sectors; Work with colleagues in East and Southern Africa to identify synergies and linkages between current and future business opportunities across Sub-Saharan Africa.
• Work with the West Africa Trade Director, Head of Trade for Nigeria and the High Commissioner to plan and undertake visits to States across Nigeria in a carefully co-ordinated fashion, where the best potential opportunities have been identified.

Roles and Responsibilities

• Support the Future Opportunities team leader in Lagos to build a coherent plan to develop potential opportunities  into actual business success for UK companies;
• Represent the Nigeria trade team in Abuja as the only team member operating there, including contributing to delivery of the team’s business targets and ensuring opportunities and interactions in Abuja are communicated and shared with the team in a timely manner.
• Build relationships with Nigerian Government Departments, agencies, companies and other organisations, to support the trade team’s ability to help British companies position themselves appropriately to land business deals.
• Develop a coherent and targeted travel plan for the High Commissioner and Trade Director to pursue business matters and build further insight into opportunities across Nigeria, providing timely reports to the trade team of such meetings and activity.Work closely with colleagues across the UK Government platform in Nigeria to share information and co-ordinate trade-relevant visits and activity;
• Attend some out of hours events, such as receptions, to build relationships with relevant Nigerian contacts. 

Essential Qualifications and Experience 

• You must have a strong oral and written English communication skills;
• 2+ years of relevant experience especially in large, complex environments,especially with a sales background;
• Excellent IT skills with ability in MS Office suite applications e.g. Outlook, Excel, Word and PowerPoint;
• Research background;
• Ability to effectively work under tight deadlines;
• Resourcefulness in solving problems;
• Good interpersonal skills and comfortable dealing with high level officials;
• Flexible;
• Strong organisational skills and keen attention to detail;
• Superior professionalism and judgment;
• Strong work ethic.

Desirable qualifications and experience:

• Prior experience of working with the UK Government

Required competencies:

• Leading and Communicating, Collaborating and Partnering, Achieving Commercial Outcomes, Managing a Quality Service

Remuneration
Starting monthly salary: N493,126.

Other benefits and conditions of employment:

• There will be travel requirements and opportunities both within Abuja and Nigeria.

Start Date  
3rd January, 2017.

End Date  
31st December, 2018.