Head of Trade and North America

The DCMS international team works with colleagues throughout DCMS and across Government to maximise international opportunities to grow and protect DCMS sectors in support of HMGs soft power and foreign, economic and security policy goals.

The team works across the DCMS sectors to coordinate DCMSs international and cross-government engagement; delivering programmes of international ministerial visits; driving forward DCMSs interests in trade and export policy; protecting heritage sites of international significance, and ensuring DCMS sectors are protected from state threat activity. We also hold the bilateral relationship with a number of priority countries, their embassies and DCMS sector representatives.

We anticipate that this role will be challenging and rewarding, with a chance to work closely with senior officials and ministers as well as sector representatives to champion and defend the interests of the UK globally.

We are part of the friendly and welcoming Media and International (MINT) Directorate of around 100 colleagues. The MINT directorate has an active staff engagement network and runs regular activities and events.

The postholder will be responsible for leading an exciting and faced-paced policy area that will see them negotiate across Whitehall. The successful candidate will develop, drive and implement DCMS's trade policy and strategy, working across the department's interests and closely with the Department for Business and Trade (DBT) to support trade negotiations and, more broadly, the implementation of the International Trade Strategy for DCMS. This will require frequent engagement with ministers, senior officials and lawyers to oversee the coordination of DCMS interests, such as audio-visual services and creative industries' mobility among others. Managing a team of 2 HEOs, this role will oversee input into trade mandates including for the World Trade Organisation, CPTPP and bilateral Free Trade Agreements.

Developing and implementing DCMSs approach to trade, they will have a role in developing DCMSs international trade negotiating strategy and positions with DBT and other Departments, and advising ministers. The post holder will work closely with the Media and Creative Industries teams (one of the UK's priority growth sectors) to feed domestic policy priorities into trade mandates and risk assessments.

The postholder will also oversee and steer DCMSs engagement with the US and Canada, including building a strong bilateral relationship with embassies, identifying opportunities to work together across DCMSs policy interests and supporting ministerial and official visits

The ideal candidate would have the following key skills and experience, please note that desirable skills will only be considered in the event of tied candidates.Essential requirements:

• Communicating and Influencing - the ability to articulate and robustly defend departmental positions against challenge. Ability to engage constructively with a range of partners and find consensus and resolve impasses.
• Delivering at pace - Ability to navigate a fast paced and changing environment, including confidently working to produce high-quality advice for ministers and senior officials. Building own and team resilience, effectively prioritising and deploying resources.
• Making effective decisions - Ability to develop and maintain detailed expertise in their brief to understand how short-term issues impact long term goals, accounting for and mitigating any possible negative or unintended consequences.
• Seeing the big picture - Ability to proactively solve problems, using a wide range of skills and approaches, to defend our sectors interests and reach workable solutions.
• Experience of working in a trade context and/or internationally.

Desirable skills:

• Knowledge of trade, particularly in relation to audio visual services
• Experience working and negotiating across Whitehall

We'll assess you against these behaviours during the selection process:

• Communicating and Influencing
• Delivering at Pace
• Making Effective Decisions
• Seeing the Big Picture