View Vacancy – JPN (Tokyo) – Consumer & Lifestyle Sector Lead & Events Officer for EXPO 2025, EO

Main Purpose of Job:

The Department of Business and Trade (DBT) is recruiting for a Sector Lead for Creative Industries to support UK companies in this sector and deliver trade missions and events for the UK Pavilion at Osaka Kansai World EXPO2025. Creative Industries includes a wide range of sectors including music, fashion, design, architecture, film, etc. We are looking for an experienced professional with knowledge and expertise of some of these “creative industries” sectors, who also has experience of planning and delivering events. 

This is an exciting new role in the Trade team working on the UK’s presence at EXPO2025 Osaka Kansai. The activities of the business programme are an integral part of the aim of DBT to use EXPO2025 as a catalyst to showcase the strengths of the UK in these sectors and attract more UK companies to the Japanese market through events and visits around EXPO2025. Located in the Trade Team of the Department of Business and Trade (DBT) in the British Embassy Tokyo, this is a new role where the successful candidate will be able to show initiative and bring fresh ideas to shape it. They will own the day-to-day management of event planning and delivery of activities relating to the consumer & lifestyle sectors (fashion, retail, luxury, etc.), including trade missions, events, visits. They will also be responsible for handling enquiries from UK companies in these sectors about potential opportunities in Japan. You will work with our partners such as the British Chamber of Commerce in Japan (BCCJ) on relevant activities, as well as with the EXPO team in the British Consulate-General Osaka. The successful candidates will need to be flexible to travel to Osaka and the EXPO site, especially during the “run-phase” of EXPO (13 April-13 November) when we will receive a high number of visitors and trade missions to Osaka and Tokyo.

What the Jobholder will be Expected to Achieve:

Candidates are required to demonstrate the following set of skills: 

You will have strong communication skills – you will be able to communicate clearly and concisely both orally and in writing. You will be able to write in different styles, for a range of purposes and audiences, tailoring your approach accordingly. For example, you should be able to draft high quality briefings, speeches or readouts and minutes from meetings. You will have the confidence to contribute in meetings, adapting communication style to ensure engagement with a diverse range stakeholders. You will be able to listen and constructively and objectively respond to comments and questions. You will be able to handle conversations with confidence and sensitivity.

You will be good at establishing relationships – you will have strong interpersonal skills and proactively build and sustain a range of internal and external contacts. You will be confident in engaging with senior stakeholders.

You will have strong drive, determination and good organisational skills to deliver at pace – you will be required to organise events and visits that contribute to your team’s UK promotion objectives. In addition to effective planning to manage the logistics, you will also be able to understand the visit/event objectives and deliver activity to meet these outcomes. 

You will be able to operate with autonomy, whilst working to your team head. You will take initiative and be confident in making decisions, seeking input from seniors and others as appropriate.
You will understand the bigger picture – you will understand how your work and your team support wider objectives in the Japan Country Plan. You will have an interest in expanding your knowledge and keeping up with issues related to your work.

You are a sector expert – through research, keeping up with developments, and using your stakeholder network, you will continue to develop a strong understanding of your sectors in Japan and the UK. You will use your expertise to support DBT to have an effective strategy for client management and to identify future trade and investment opportunities. 

You will be comfortable handling and interpreting data – with the ability to write/present information in a clear and concise way.

You will make a corporate contribution – contribute to the wider work of the Embassy, including taking an active role in the crisis response plan and participating in crisis exercises. 

Roles and Responsibilities:

• Promote the UK’s strengths in your sector to the Japanese market by engaging with key UK and Japanese stakeholders including the UK and Japanese Governments and influencers.
• Lead planning and delivery of promotional events including trade fairs, campaigns, webinars, trade missions and delivery of IG events for companies in your sector as well as events for your sector at Expo 2025.
• Research and identify trends in the Japanese market and identify potential new areas for the UK companies to win contracts in short to long term.
• Build relationships with sector experts in the relevant DBT HQ sector teams and other government departments to work with them to understand and identify opportunities in the Japanese market.
• Develop a network of useful contacts and account manage UK and Japanese companies, supporting the UK companies to win contracts/expand their business in the Japanese market. You will keep contacts up to date on the relevant CRM systems.
• Support UK companies through market research to assess their marketability in the Japanese market and provide advice on exporting to Japan or developing their business in the Japanese market.
• Provide advice and support to senior officers to deliver lfor Ministerial visits programmes to Expo relating to to promote these sectors during Expo.
• Engage with internal and external Osaka Expo stakeholders to support them in planning events and travel to Osaka during the Expo “run phase” to help the delivery of events.
• Corporate contribution. 10% of your time will involve contributing to the broader goals of the Japan network. This will involve a role in crisis response, as well as other roles such as leading a committee or a cross-network event.

In the run-up to and during EXPO2025, all officers will be required to remain flexible to pick up new opportunities outside of your own remit to support across the team, and to move between duties from time to time. 

Resources Managed (Staff and Expenditure): None

• Proven ability to work with business (either in the private sector or public sector)
• Proven stakeholder relationship management skills
• Knowledge and expertise from working in one or more of the creative industries sectors in Japan and event planning

Language Requirements:

• Candidates need to have an excellent command of spoken and written Japanese and English
• Fluency in both languages will be assessed at interview