Deputy Director, Middle East and Pakistan Trade Relations and Gulf Cooperation Council Negotiations

Department for Business and Trade; Highgate; On-site; GBP 81,000; Full time

Job summary

A government department is seeking a Deputy Director focused on leading trade negotiations related to the Gulf Cooperation Council and the Middle East. The role requires exceptional leadership and negotiation skills, adapting to priorities, and managing a team of around 25 policy professionals. An interest in trade policy along with a flexible approach is essential. The position offers a competitive salary along with comprehensive benefits, including a sizable pension contribution.

Benefits

Civil Service pension with employer contribution

Flexible working options

Learning and development tailored to your role

Qualifications

• Significant experience in leadership roles, motivating teams through change.
• Experience working with senior stakeholders to achieve shared objectives.
• Proven ability to lead complex negotiations and shape strategies.

Responsibilities

• Co-lead a team of 25 policy professionals and align DBT strategy.
• Develop effective governance and monitoring capabilities for objectives.
• Drive communication and engagement across the team's work.

Skills

Leadership skills

Negotiation experience

Stakeholder management

Ability to work under uncertainty

Trade policy knowledge

Job description

Overview

The Gulf, India and Goods (GIG) Directorate plays a key role in UK trade policy. We have teams leading on:

• UK Goods policy with the rest of the world, working on multiple live negotiations.
• Implementing the UK-India Free Trade Deal, and leading on trade relations with the South Asia region.
• The UK-Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) Free Trade Agreement and trade relations with the Middle East and Pakistan.

We are seeking a new Deputy Director to work on the geographically focused areas of the directorate's work, playing a leading role in taking forward the UK's priorities. The initial focus will be on the GCC, Middle East and Pakistan (MEAP) areas. We want to be a happy, supportive, expert, entrepreneurial and effective Directorate, enabling people to deliver at their best to directly deliver on the Growth Mission for this Government. We are proud of our track record and now want someone to help lead us to deliver even more. We hope you will be enthused by the opportunities of the role we are advertising.

The GCC & MEAP Team is responsible for negotiation of a Free Trade Agreement with the Gulf Cooperation Council and any follow up to that negotiation, and ensuring DBT has a coherent approach to policy and strategy for the MEAP region to secure increased market access and support UK business and the growth agenda. The team draws on expertise and analysis from across government to drive forward the negotiation and support the wider DBT MEAP strategy. This is a senior leadership role, supporting the Government's growth agenda.

This is a job that will likely have different phases to it. The successful candidate will need to be comfortable with being flexible and adaptable and will likely get an opportunity to deploy and develop different skill sets over time as the role develops.

Phases

• Phase one: In phase one, this role will co‑lead this team (of approximately 25 policy professionals) alongside the GCC Chief Negotiator. In this phase, this role will focus on leading the important work in the wider Middle East and Pakistan region and lead the “home team” in the GCC negotiations and subsequent implementation. This home team role is essential, and includes focusing on communications and engagement and working with Businesses, other Government Departments, Devolved Governments as well as working directly with Ministers. You will be closely involved in the GCC negotiation itself, thinking about strategy and delivery, working alongside the Chief Negotiator on the GCC.
• Phase two: In phase two, this role will likely broaden. We anticipate this role leading (alongside another Deputy Director) across both of the Middle East and Pakistan region and South Asia region (see above, the Directorate leads on both these regions). This will require a very similar skill set, but there will be the opportunity to lead on another fast changing, exciting region.
• Whilst we anticipate the above to be the likely evolution of this role, we would want anyone applying for this job to be comfortable working in Trade Policy Group more generally (the Group is comprised of 5 Directorates). Trade policy is fast moving and we evolve our structures and roles to enable the most effective delivery. Most Deputy Director roles in Trade Group focus either on a given region and / or a particular policy area. The skills needed would be similar to the ones we are looking for here, and the Group as a whole is a great place to work. The potential variety of the work is a substantial development opportunity, but we want to be transparent at the outset for the potential need for flexibility.

Key responsibilities in phase one

• Work in partnership with the GCC Chief Negotiator to provide inspiring and inclusive leadership to a team of around 25 policy professionals, following the merger of the GCC negotiation and International Strategy and Trade Relations (ISTR) MEAP teams. This includes direct line management for 1‑2 Grade 6s.
• Work closely with the Trade Commissioner and UK Ambassadors across MEAP to define DBT strategy and objectives, in line with the recently published Industrial Strategy and Trade Strategy, to enable growth. Develop effective cross‑Whitehall governance, policy and monitoring capabilities to ensure delivery of objectives. This includes working in partnership with business and other stakeholders to ensure barriers to trade are effectively addressed.
• Drive communications and engagement activity across the FTA and wider team's work, ensuring that outcomes are value‑adding and reflect the challenges and opportunities in the region. Ensure there is a strategic delivery function across the team, that identifies synergies and effectively manages risks.
• Support team members in developing the necessary skill sets and opportunities to drive forward a “one‑team” culture that aligns with DBT's vision and values.
• Establish and leverage strong connections with Ministers, seniors and colleagues across HMG, Devolved Governments, Crown Dependencies, and external networks to inform, shape, and promote HMG objectives. This includes brokering agreements on mandates, designing negotiation strategy, ensuring high‑quality ministerial engagements (e.g. committees, visits) that promote and enable outcomes of value to the UK.
• Make an active contribution to the culture and corporate life of the GIG Directorate as part of its senior team and as SCS champion for some of its corporate workstreams.

You will be asked to upload the two documents outlined below.

Application documents

• 1. A CV setting out your career history, highlighting specific responsibilities and achievements that are relevant for this role. Please provide reasons for any gaps within the last two years.
• 2. A Supporting Statement of around two pages of A4, providing examples of how your experience meets the essential criteria.

Failure to submit both documents will mean the panel only have limited information on which to assess your application against the criteria in the person specification.

If you encounter any issues or are unable to apply online please contact [e-mail] in the first instance.

DBT now host Senior Civil Service (SCS) Candidate Support sessions for those wanting to learn more about the application and recruitment processes for SCS roles within DBT, if you are interested please register for a session here - https://registration.crowdcomms.com/dbtscsrecruitment

Feedback will only be provided if you attend an interview or assessment.

Assignment duration

This role has a minimum assignment duration of 3 years. An assignment duration is the period of time a Senior Civil Servant is expected to remain in the same post to enable them to deliver on the agreed key business outcomes. The assignment duration also supports your career through building your depth of expertise.

As part of accepting this role you will be agreeing to the expected assignment duration set out above. This will not result in a contractual change to your terms and conditions. Please note this is an expectation only, it is not something which is written into your terms and conditions or indeed which the employing organisation or you are bound by. It will depend on your personal circumstances at a particular time and business needs, for example, would not preclude any absence like family friendly leave. It is nonetheless an important expectation, which is why we ask you to confirm you agree to the assignment duration set out above.

Security

Successful candidates must undergo a criminal record check. Successful candidates must meet the security requirements before they can be appointed. The level of security needed is developed vetting (opens in a new window). See our vetting charter (opens in a new window). People working with government assets must complete baseline personnel security standard (opens in new window) checks.

Qualifications

• Excellent leadership skills to drive and motivate teams, particularly through periods of uncertainty and change. You will also have significant line management experience and ability to co‑lead with other senior leaders to provide joint direction and resilience.
• Ability to adapt quickly to shifting priorities and to work effectively across teams and organisations. You will have significant experience working in close partnership with senior stakeholders to deliver shared objectives.
• Strong ability to turn high‑level goals into clear, measurable strategies. Skilled at building relationships, influencing others, and fostering collaboration across diverse teams, including international partners.
• Proven experience leading complex negotiations at a senior level, involving multiple stakeholders, and shaping negotiation strategies to achieve agreed outcomes.
• In‑depth knowledge of trade policy, with experience explaining complex issues clearly to senior decision‑makers, external partners, and international counterparts. Ability to represent organisational interests in high‑level discussions.

Desirable

• Knowledge of UK‑GCC / MEAP or UK India/South Asia trade policy issues.
• Experience of working in/ with the Gulf/MEAP or India/South Asia region.
• Please note that this role requires developed vetting security clearance (refer to slide 17 in the Candidate Information pack for details).

Alongside your salary of £81,000, Department for Business and Trade contributes £23,465 towards you being a member of the Civil Service Defined Benefit Pension scheme. Find out what benefits a Civil Service Pension provides.

Benefits

• Learning and development tailored to your role.
• An environment with flexible working options.
• A culture encouraging inclusion and diversity.
• A Civil Service pension with an employer contribution of 28.97%.