View Vacancy – Head of Export Finance, North America

About the Department for International Trade

You will join the Department for International Trade which promotes exports to the North American continent of British goods and services, two way investment between the UK and North America, and mutual improved market access to help grow our bilateral trade. This role will focus particularly on the first of these supporting developers and enabling access for UK exporters.

About UK Export Finance

UK Export Finance (UKEF) is the UK’s export credit agency (ECA) and operates in partnership with the Department for International Trade (DIT).

In 2019-20, 339 companies were able to export with UKEF’s support, with many more companies in supply chains indirectly benefiting from UKEF support. 77% of the companies UKEF provided with finance and insurance were small to medium enterprises. In total UKEF provided £4.4 billion worth of support for exports to 69 countries, and over the past five years UKEF has provided £18.5 billion of support.

UKEF helps UK companies:

• win export contracts by providing attractive financing terms to their buyers
• fulfil contracts by supporting working capital loans and guaranteeing performance bonds
• get paid by insuring against buyer default

 Main Purpose of Role

The role will focus first and foremost on North America. There you will build strategic relationships with North American buyers and the local financing environment to market the suit of UKEF products and identify opportunities for UKEF support. You will also help UK exporters’ access the North American market by building a strong pipeline of qualified projects for UKEF to execute. 

You will also engage with North American project finance banks and other local and international financiers to inform our picture of the opportunities and relationships we may need. This will include exploring the opportunity for blended financing structures with UK and other financiers.

You will work closely with the DIT sector teams to explore how we can better integrate the UKEF offer with the UK’s broader infrastructure offer; supporting pipeline development, UK company account management and innovations in infrastructure financing. As part of the governments agenda to support climate change you will work closely with the High Commissioner and other Government Department officials on the British High Commission platform, a number of whom support the trade relationship in their work.  These include FCDO colleagues working on low carbon advocacy, as the UK prepares to host COP26 in Glasgow in November 2021.

You will be expected too to use your wider financial services background to inform the UK Government’s approach to trade with the North American market, helping to explain the regulatory and financing environment and to consider the opportunities and barriers to be tackled in each sector, especially in the financial and professional services sector.

As a member of the DIT in-country team, you will also be required to mentor and inspire the DIT trade advisors to understand UKEF’s products, and to develop UKEF engagement seeking opportunities for export finance support in their sectors.

You will be part of the International Export Finance Network, with UKEF functional and task leadership from UKEF Business Development Group in London. The International Export Finance Executives lead the engagement with local buyers, project sponsors and associated stakeholder networks to develop export growth through the provision of trade finance and credit insurance available from UK Export Finance. The International Export Finance Executive will guide and support UK Export Finance teams in the UK, DIT colleagues and other third parties to provide this specialist market advice.

The role holder can be based in either Chicago or Houston, sitting with the Department for International Trade’s Commercial Team. You will be expected to travel frequently across Northern America. The team works closely with the High Commissioner and other Government Department officials on the British High Commission platform, a number of whom support the trade relationship in their work.

Roles and responsibilities:

To develop and lead the implementation of a plan to increase British exports to North America through the strategic use of UK Export Finance products, working in close partnership with Department for International Trade colleagues.

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

As UKEF’s sole representative in North America, you will act as the eyes and ears of the UKEF Business Group, supporting the objectives of DIT locally and the UKEF International Business Development (IBD) team to grow UKEF supported exports by focussing on 5 key areas of activity:

Build Awareness of UKEF Support Capabilities

• Lead local campaigns to raise the profile of UKEF internationally through engagement with the business community, government bodies and other stakeholder organisations
• Deliver UKEF marketing plans, ensuring that messages are appropriate to the audience. Remove complexity and build understanding
• Develop and implement PR activities that educate the business community on UKEF products

Build and Share Market Knowledge

• Develop detailed knowledge and insight of public and private sector organisations, including their strategic business planning and development objectives. Implement findings into UKEF strategic plans
• Understand and interpret host government trade policy, priority sectors and projects
• Ensure timely export intelligence and insight for IBD, enabling opportunities for UKEF
• Act as the lead source of UKEF advice to local DIT teams, including integration of UKEF objectives into HVCs
• Take the lead in leveraging expertise, knowledge and networks of local staff, business chambers, and other local channels in their capacity as multipliers
• Identify the competitive framework (Export Credit Agencies and Supply Chain)
• Exploit local knowledge, experience and networks to gather intelligence of local commercial banking sectorial focus and appetite for risk

Establish and Maintain Stakeholder Relationships

UKEF primary stakeholders are buyers, UK exporters, project sponsors, host government departments etc. This role will be required to:

• Exploit knowledge and experience to build robust business networks and develop calling plans to enhance the profile of UKEF
• Oversee the development of mechanisms to record and coordinate business outreach activities
• Maintain and develop regular contacts with local senior sponsors, banks, public sector organisations, government bodies and UK businesses to identify export opportunities that could benefit from UKEF support.

Create and Deliver Strategic Plans

• Lead and coordinate country strategic planning, aligned to UKEF organisational objectives, supporting HVCs where ‘leading with finance’ could be an important driver

Progress Business Development Opportunities

• Lead the local coordination of UKEF local campaign activities
• Engage the UK Export Finance Manager (EFM) Network to ensure seamless coordination between the UK supply chain and local sponsor
• Lead UKEF local relationships with providers of trade finance and risk mitigation products (e.g. banks, credit insurers, brokers, and others) and to introduce customers / sponsors who require their services.
• Lead UKEF collaboration with the local DIT team to develop innovative export solutions for UK companies

Language requirements:

Language: Fluent oral and written English

• Postgraduate degree and/or undergraduate degree and other professional qualification.
• At least Ten years professional experience, gained within a Financial Services environment.
• Proven experience of leading structured finance / trade finance transactions.
• Understanding of local capital markets and experience of navigating emerging/ growth markets with the ability to support complex financial service projects.
• Proven ability to take the initiative pursuing the objectives in the job description.
• Proven competence in leading strategy development and business planning
• Proven advisory and negotiation skills at senior levels –able to express ideas and messages clearly and concisely, both orally and in written communication.
• Management experience of autonomous operations in a sector servicing exporters in financial and credit risk products; or in a relevant role in an exporting business.
• Current and relevant commercial management skills, well versed in contracting and finance oversight.
• Competent in Microsoft Office applications.
• Confident public speaking and networking skills.

Under US State Department requirements, the UK Government in the US may only employ, as non-diplomatic staff, persons who are US citizens, US Permanent Residents or A visa holders with EAD cards*. If you hold a visa other than an A visa you are not currently eligible to work at our office. Please refer to our website for information on exceptions to this policy at www.gov.uk/government/world/usa. All selected candidates are subject to background checks and will require a security clearance prior to starting work.
*A visas are acceptable at the Embassy and Consulates. The UK Mission to the UN (UKMIS) accepts G visas, and British Defense Staff (BDS) outposts accept A or NATO visas.