An exciting role is available at the Department for International Trade leading strategic engagement and advocacy across government, business, civil society and the media. This is an opportunity for an experienced communications or public affairs professional to join a high performing team.
Job Description
The Department is offering the right candidate a chance to make their mark and help continue to build the best external affairs function in government. The successful candidate will play a leading role in the Department’s priority campaigns, including promoting free trade, creating a culture of exporting and attracting inward investment at a significant point in the nation’s history.
Partnership and advocacy with our stakeholders is core to developing and delivering our policies and building trust in our work. DIT stakeholders include influential business organisations, sector specific bodies, exporters and investors, Parliamentarians and City Mayors, think tanks, academics and NGOs and a range of regional and international opinion-formers. We work across the UK and internationally through our networks and overseas posts.
The role provides professional external affairs advice working confidently with a broad range of people within the Department and across and beyond Whitehall. The team leader will understand the Department’s business objectives and define external affairs priorities to meet them. They will build relationships, influence and collaborate with stakeholders to further communications objectives and lead a team that builds advocacy for our vision, policy direction and promotional campaigns.
Key Accountabilities
- Create and lead integrated advocacy and engagement campaigns to support the Department’s reputation and business objectives;
- Build effective and proactive relationships with influential opinion formers and business leaders to achieve collaboration and common purpose;
- Provide strategic advice to the Ministerial Team and Permanent Secretaries on communication and engagement plans and handle key issues;
- Produce briefings and engaging content for key audiences to promote better understanding and wide dissemination of messages;
- Gather intelligence and analyse the effectiveness of external engagement to help inform current and future engagement strategies;
- Champion the establishment of common engagement principles and best practice to improve the quality of stakeholder engagement across the department and its agencies;
- Represent the Department across government deputising for the Head of External Affairs;
- The Deputy Head will have line management responsibility for an External Affairs team with 4 – 5 reports.