View Vacancy – Senior Trade Adviser (Future Mobility/Automotive), Grade-HEO, Chennai

Note: All applicants are required to mandatorily fill the complete online application form including the employment, educational details, behavioural and technical/ professional skills questions. We will be thoroughly reviewing the application forms only with all the required details and the shortlisting is not basis CV/ cover letter. Forms that are incomplete in any respect will not be considered while shortlisting for the next stage.

Main purpose of job:

Background:
Based at the British Deputy High Commission, Chennai, this role is an exciting opportunity to work with businesses in an international setting, within an India-wide Future Mobility team at the UK Department for Business and Trade (DBT). DBT secures UK and global prosperity by promoting and financing international trade and investment, and championing free trade, and have already start negotiating a new Free Trade Agreement with India. The UK is a global leader in Automotive/ Future Mobility sector and contributes roughly £ 80 bn to the UK economy.
Future Mobility(FM) is a key spoke for the UK-India trading relationship. The FM sub-sectors include EV’s & Hydrogen, its supply chain, ICE, its supply Chain and After Market. This is a large and challenging area to operate especially on EV and Hydrogen adoption, but one with plenty of opportunity for India and UK collaboration as both nations seek demanding green targets. 
The incumbent will be expected to focus specifically on developing a pipeline of UK exports projects, lead on market development in sub-sectors as well as supporting the sector and cluster manager in Managing relations with State Governments in Southern India.
As a Senior Trade Adviser, you will be responsible for leading and effectively delivering events, strategies and activities based in India for the Automotive/ FM sector working with the Sector Manager. You will also be responsible for establishing and maintaining relations with companies, trade associations, and multipliers. The job involves working closely with and supporting your colleagues in the wider team.
An ideal candidate will bring, or demonstrate how you would quickly acquire, an in-depth knowledge of the FM sector, ideally both in the UK and India. You will support a strategy based on this knowledge to turn the long-term potential of the sector into a pipeline of opportunities for UK business. To do so, you will identify and build relationships within the sector and build a pipeline of validated projects for UK businesses, particularly large or high-value deals which would require UK government support or involvement to win. You will then work with the DIT team in the UK and in other markets to bring UK companies to India and support them to win business, delivering towards the UK government’s commercial targets and wider trade objectives.
Your role will be high profile and with responsibility. You will be a voice for the UK government and industry in the sector; you will be expected to gain access to the most senior levels within Indian industry and government if necessary, using Her Majesty’s Trade Commissioner, Deputy High Commissioners and other senior staff throughout India. You will be a self-starter who can demonstrate a long-term objective; plan  and manage a delivery model; identify, grow and make effective use of stakeholders. You will work with colleagues within DBT in India and elsewhere, with other UK government colleagues, Indian government(s), business and other multipliers (trade associations, etc.).

The team in DBT focuses on:
Supporting UK Future Mobility exports to India; providing advice and assistance to UK companies looking to invest and operate in India; identifying commercial partnership opportunities, both in the UK and India.
Key responsibilities will include supporting current and future scoping of export opportunities for UK business, including public tenders, if any, at every stage from facilitating introductions of organisations through to the winning of contracts/closing of deals and identifying trade policy and market access issues and leading on discussions to overcome these.

We reserve the right to review, revise or amend the roles and responsibilities from time to time reflecting the changing needs of business.

Roles and responsibilities / what will the jobholder be expected to achieve:

Market development and Business opportunities (70%):

• Create, validate, plan and deliver a strategy for enhancing the bilateral trading relationship within the FM sector, specifically EV and Hydrogen Fuel Cell sub-sectors.
• Identify, validate and deliver a pipeline of high value business opportunities; plan and deliver activities to connect UK business to these opportunities and provide bespoke support to UK companies to win business. In doing so, meet DBT’s internal targets (trade policy, strategic relationship management business wins, return on investment and customer satisfaction/quality).
• With the FM team, build and manage senior level relationships with companies, government departments, trade associations and multipliers in the UK and South India.
• Research and Identify high-value export opportunities for the UK companies, support UK companies to get access to these opportunities and win significant contracts in India.
• Partner with UK companies to increase exports to and invest in India, find new partners and safeguard investments; and identify new opportunities in areas such as asset management,
• Support overseas direct investments from UK companies in India;
• Work in close coordination with various stakeholders such as the wider DBT and UK network in India, DBT teams in HQ, International Trade Advisers, senior-decision makers of FM companies in the UK and India, and various departments of Government at the State and Central levels to deliver DIT sector campaign and wider HMG objectives;

Market Access and Policy Support (10%):

• Help UK companies in consultation with trade policy and market access colleagues to overcome the trade barriers

Marketing and Communications (10%):

• Lead on marketing, press and communication activities for the sector including creating core scripts and pitch packs for the sectors, as also work closely with the Strategic Relationship Management team to lead on sector specific relationship management.

Delegations and Ministerial Visits (10%):

• Support UK business delegations visiting India and Indian business delegations visiting the UK by organising various events and meetings;
• Support senior managers, including UK Ministers, HM Trade Commissioner and other senior management, providing them with high-quality briefing and advice with an aim to strengthen relationships with senior local contacts and further facilitate towards achieving the objectives of the team and DBT;

Working patterns:
Yes, the Network allows you to work from home for one day per week. So, one day within a five-day working week can be spent at home (if desired and subject to business requirements), while the other four must be spent in the office, travelling with work, or in meetings outside the office.

Learning and development opportunities:
The British High Commission Network in India provides ample L&D opportunities to its staff to grow in their professional journey. The 70-20-10 learning, and development model is applied, with both internal and formal opportunities readily available.
In addition, DBT team provides opportunity for sector specific ‘developing skills & knowledge’ training to increase understanding of the UK market.

Essential on arrival:

• Graduate / Post-Graduate degree, preferably in Engineering with exposure to Automotive/ Future Mobility Supply Chain and Regulatory environment (Candidates without the required educational qualifications but with exceptional practical experience will be considered)
• At least 5 years of work experience in Business Development role with good level of professional experience of relevant commercial/business domain.
• Good overview & understanding of the Automotive/ Future Mobility sector in UK and India – You will have an in depth understanding of the Automotive and FM sector, knowledge of both India and the UK context (with a strong network on the ground would be desirable)
• Strong analytical and problem-solving skills to research significant opportunities for UK business – You will use your good analytical skills to apply this to identifying significant market opportunities for UK business and then supporting them to turn these in to deals.
• You will need to be strategically aware to identify emerging opportunities in the sector, as well as relevant trends in the UK and emerging potential exports and investments into India.
• Excellent interpersonal, team working and networking skills – You will have strong interpersonal skills and be capable of setting the direction for yourself and those around you, gaining their trust and respect – while working within a virtual team located across India.
• You will have experience of developing productive relationships with senior decision-makers, stakeholders and partners, and of using these to deliver your objectives.
• You will need to be collaborative and flexible, and able to manage yourself and the demands on you.
• Excellent written and verbal communication skills with an ability to develop a network and manage the relationship with senior decision makers in government and industry.
• Tried and tested project management skills – You will have good project management skills to deliver campaigns. You will be expected to produce written work into a high standard.

Language requirements:

• Language: English, Tamil / Kannada, Hindi
• Level of language required:
  • Excellent spoken and written English
  • Excellent spoken Tamil / Kannada
  • Working Knowledge in spoken Hindi is desirable