View Vacancy – Economic Advisor

The British Embassies in Abu Dhabi and Dubai have a vacancy for an Economic Advisor grade B3 (L).

This is an exciting opportunity to bring economic skills and understanding to trends and developments in the UAE economy and make sense of them both in terms of HMG priorities and wider regional and global contexts. The successful candidate will provide analysis, advice and reporting covering economic policy, drivers of growth and diversification, and the role of innovation and technology, and energy markets. They will monitor and report on economic developments, progress UK/ UAE co-operation, promote the UK’s interests, and build mutual understanding with our hosts in these areas.

The job can be based in either Abu Dhabi or Dubai with an expectation of some travel between the two Embassies as per work demands.

Duties and responsibilities:

• Provide high quality analysis, advice, and reporting to London stakeholders on UAE developments;
• Help shape our engagement with interlocutors to support UK policy;
• Respond to UK government enquiries, providing accurate data and high quality contributions to the Foreign Commonwealth and Development Office (FCDO) and wider cross-government economic priorities, including supporting the Embassy Political Team on political economy work and understanding the economic impact of regional developments;
• Support the Department for International Trade (DIT), Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy (BEIS), and the cross-government climate change agenda in support of the UK prosperity. This includes covering prosperity and climate change roles during absences;
• Member of the UAE-wide Prosperity Board, working closely with the Prosperity Officer;
• Develop an accessible collection of core economic analysis, data, and facts to support Embassy colleagues in their work;
• Create and maintain a strong network of national and international contacts to progress our engagement;
• Support on economic elements of official visits and events.

The above list is not exhaustive and the jobholder will be required to be flexible and take on other ad hoc tasks as required, including participating in the Embassy’s emergency planning and any response to a crisis affecting UK citizens.

Key competencies required:

• Delivering at Pace – Focusing on delivering timely performance with energy and taking responsibility and accountability for quality outcomes. Working to agreed goals and activities and dealing with challenges in a responsive and constructive way.
• Collaborating and Partnering – Creating and maintaining positive, professional and trusting working relationships with a wide range of people within and outside the organisation to help get business done. Working collaboratively, sharing information, and building supportive, responsive relationships with colleagues and stakeholders whilst having the confidence to challenge assumptions.
• Making Effective Decisions – Being objective; using sound judgement, evidence and knowledge to provide accurate, expert, and professional advice. Showing clarity of thought, setting priorities, analysing and using evidence to evaluate options before arriving at well-reasoned, justifiable decisions. Creating evidence-based strategies, evaluating options, impacts, risks, and solutions; aiming to maximise return while minimising risk and balancing social, political, financial, economic and environmental considerations to provide sustainable outcomes.
• Seeing the Big Picture – Having an in-depth understanding and knowledge of how your role fits with and supports organisational objectives and the wider public needs. Focusing your contribution on the activities which will meet organisational goals and deliver the greatest value. Scanning the current context and taking account of wider impacts to develop long-term implementation strategies that maximise opportunities, add value, and support economic, sustainable growth.

• A university degree in a relevant field.
• Excellent analytical and communications skills, including fluency in both written and spoken English. Able to express ideas and messages clearly and concisely.
• Demonstrates ability to gather, analyse, and report on information related to political, foreign policy, and economic issues. Ability to think strategically to spot opportunities.
• A confident communicator with excellent interpersonal skills and proven ability to engage at all levels internally and with external stakeholders.
• Flexible approach, strong initiative, and adaptability to changing UK priorities.
• Ability to work independently and to take the initiative as well as being able to work well with others.
• Excellent organisational skills, including ability to organise and prioritise workload, organise records, and meet deadlines and changing priorities whilst maintaining close attention to detail and without compromising the quality of the work.
• Very good level of IT skills and proficiency in using Microsoft Office applications (Outlook, Word, Excel, PowerPoint).