View Vacancy – CPK – Senior Regional Outreach Officer (North West China), C4(L)

The China Network is operating with reduced staff because of the COVID-19 outbreak. Recruitment for this position may take longer than usual and may be cancelled or suspended. Job offers will be subject to a return to normal operations.

The successful candidate will be the sole British Embassy representative in Xi’an. This is a high profile and demanding role and will require the job holder to work closely with senior UK and Chinese officials and institutions. The jobholder will report directly to the North China Outreach team lead in Beijing but will have a high degree of autonomy on the ground.

The jobholder will act as the UK lead on and in the north west of China, owning and driving forward a wide range of activities and projects to build deeper and more active relationships in the region, including on prosperity and economic growth, trade and investment, and public diplomacy, establishing the UK as a partner of choice on shared priorities. They will be responsible for guiding partnerships with UK cities and regions to further deepen UK-China regional collaboration. As a Senior Outreach Officer, they will also be expected to strategically lead other teams’ engagement with Shaanxi, Gansu, Ningxia and Qinghai, acting as a source of expertise and primary point of contact to form, coordinate and deliver the China Network’s business plans in the province.

An outstanding network of high-level government and business contacts is already in place across the north west, and the jobholder will be required to manage and build on these relationships, as well as maintain strong links with key UK stakeholders such as all departments and teams in the British Embassy Beijing, the Department for International Trade (DIT), British and Chinese businesses, and many others. Once international travel is again possible, they will be involved in supporting inward/outward visits both from UK officials and Chinese provincial leaders.

The successful candidate will also need strong self-management and organisational skills. They must be able to work independently and proactively, seeking out and developing opportunities rather than being directed to them. This could include seeking funding from a range of cross government funds and finding new opportunities. Strong stakeholder management and communication skills (in both English and Mandarin Chinese) are also necessary to build a wide network within Shaanxi and the wider Northwest China region. They will need to understand and process a large amount of diverse information in order to be effective on behalf of other sections and keep the British Embassy and wider China network well-informed of developments in the Northwest.  They will be required to solve problems and make operational/policy decisions. Judgement and interpretative ability will be required where the issues are complex or conflicting.

In return, you can expect to: be a part of a truly innovative diplomatic network across China; become the UK government’s expert on Shaanxi; have the chance to build a wide range of skills and experience, such as strategic communications, project management and economic reporting and to have regular opportunities to travel in the region and to Beijing. The job holder will be based full-time in Xi’an but will spend some time every month in Beijing.

Political – 35%

• Build an understanding of the local business and political environment in the region. Develop closer links with the authorities and other relevant organisations in Northern China. Building networks, identifying and developing opportunities for engagement across the range of Embassy activity areas of work.

Prosperity/Commercial Diplomacy – 30%

• Working with colleagues in the Prosperity Cone of the British Embassy as well as from the Department for International Trade, identify and develop opportunities for UK business, organisations, government agencies, educational and research institutes, and other sources of UK expertise. Exploit synergies between commercial opportunities and other teams’ objectives (for example, low carbon policy).

Project/programme management – 20%

• Each Outreach Officer is expected to identify potential policy or commercial projects in the region s/he covers. Engaging project boards on designs for projects, identifying how to resource and run the projects, and then successfully delivering and reporting them.

Public Diplomacy – 15%

• Engage in public diplomacy activities in the region in order to raise the profile of the UK among a specified target audience. Explain and promote HMG’s policies on a range of subjects to a wide range of stakeholders. This includes engagement with the Chevening programme by attracting candidates and maintaining connections with alumni.

• Excellent communication skills orally and in writing (in English & Mandarin);
• Knowledge of the north-west of China particularly Shaanxi
• An existing network in northwest China and strong stakeholder management skills