View Vacancy – Senegal Country Director – Department for International Trade (15/20 DKR)

About the Department:

The Department for International Trade (DIT) is the Trade Promotion and Negotiation Organisation for the UK. We promote UK businesses overseas and attract foreign investment to our shores. We have 3,000 staff across the globe in over 100 countries. Our aspiration is to help British businesses to internationalise and grow overseas.

DIT supports the development of strong, prosperous and peaceful African nations, through modern, dynamic and long-term partnerships that deliver mutual benefit for the UK and Africa. The UK is making a new and distinctive offer to work alongside, invest in, and partner with countries across Africa. By supporting African-led ambitions with British expertise, we want to create more opportunities, more jobs and greater stability – both in the UK and for our African partners. The UK can unlock economic growth and job creation by unblocking barriers faced by new investors and bringing private sector investment to Africa.

The UK government has committed to radically expand its presence in Africa. This role is part of this uplift and offers applicants the opportunity to help shape this new, long-term UK partnership for prosperity and stability with Africa.

You will join the Department for International Trade’s Africa network as the Country Director for Senegal. In this role you will also be a key member of the economic partnership team in the British Embassy Dakar, working alongside development and diplomatic colleagues in a combined team. This is an exciting time to join, as we expand our resources and ambition to deliver a broader, deeper win-win economic partnership between the UK and Senegal.

The priority areas for UK trade in Senegal are energy (both renewables and oil & gas); agriculture and infrastructure. We have new cooperation developing in the pharmaceutical sector and in finance.

Roles and responsibilities:

We are looking for a highly driven and organised person with excellent networking skills, commercial awareness, a strong attention to detail, the ability to take initiative, the ability to work accurately within deadlines and with limited supervision, excellent written and verbal communication skills, and a strong team member who works collaboratively.

The successful candidate will:

• Be DIT’s Country Director for Senegal and be part of the Embassy’s leadership team, setting and driving an ambitious and targeted plan of action to increase trade and investment flows between the UK and Senegal; 

• Provide strategic direction across trade, inward investment, trade policy and market access work streams and ensure the UK’s Africa Trade Commissioner has a clear understanding of DIT’s strategy for Senegal;

• Advise the Ambassador and Deputy Trade Commissioner (based in Cairo) on commercial matters to ensure a strong alignment and integration of trade and investment with the wider business priorities of the UK Embassy in Senegal. 

• Provide investment support for existing investors in Senegal; including identifying issues faced by British investors active in Senegal, and other market access issues hindering new investment, and work with the trade policy team to develop and implement clear strategies to resolve them;

• Identify and generate commercial opportunities, providing professional advice and high-quality market analysis to UK companies and facilitating introductions and providing other support required for companies to win contracts.

• Promote, where appropriate, the financing products offered by UK Export Finance, the British government’s Export Credit Agency, to support companies win contracts (including support of UKEF activities in market, through visit support and intelligence sharing);

• Work collaboratively with all parts of the British government, including the FCDO and the British Council, to identify opportunities for commercial activity to support development and political outcomes. This will include working with our development finance offer (CDC, PIDG, AgdevCo etc) to raise awareness of the UK offer, skills, expertise amongst the Senegalese private sector, government, and wider public.

• Organise visits and trade missions, including by trade ministers, envoys, businesses.

• Develop an excellent network of senior Senegalese and British government and business contacts -including through attendance at trade shows, seminars, events and receptions – and use that network in support of UK companies winning new business in Senegal.

• Build the skills and capacity of teams including the ability to mentor and coach others to achieve results

The role is subject to change as sector priorities develop.

Resources managed (staff and expenditure):

Line manager of 1 B3(L) DIT generalist

Country budget – modest budget covering events, travel, official entertainment

• You will need to be a self-starter who can seize the initiative and lay out your strategy for achieving the objectives in the job description.

• Excellent drafting skills in English and French, and fluency of written and spoken English and French is a prerequisite.

• Relevant degree and/or other professional qualification.

• At least five years professional experience.

• Knowledge of, and a keen interest in, sustainable development, investment and economic growth

• Private sector experience, or knowledge of the private sector, thorough understanding of private sector and business, regulatory environment in Senegal

• Experience of working in political and commercial environment with senior stakeholders and VVIPs

• A positive, resilient, flexible and adaptable “can-do” attitude that can see way through challenges.

• Excellent communication and collaboration skills, including the ability to work with colleagues and partners in other countries.