View Vacancy – Senior Commercial Attaché

The British Embassy in Doha has a vacancy for a Senior Commercial Attaché C4 (L). An excellent opportunity for a dynamic, energetic and highly-motivated individual to play a key and impactful role in the Embassy’s Department for International Trade (DIT) team.

The British Government is an inclusive and diversity-friendly employer. We value difference, promote equality and challenge discrimination, enhancing our organisational capability. We welcome and encourage applications from people of all backgrounds. We do not discriminate on the basis of disability, race, colour, ethnicity, gender, religion, sexual orientation, age, veteran status or other category protected by law. We promote family-friendly flexible working opportunities, where operational and security needs allow.

Main Purpose of the Role:

As a Senior Commercial Attaché the jobholder will be responsible for identifying, supporting and developing opportunities for new and existent British companies seeking to enter or expand in the Qatari market.

The role in context will have a primary responsibility for leading on the Healthcare & Life Sciences sectors.

In addition, the role will extend responsibility to the Education & Corporate Training and Food & Drink sub-sectors, although may be re-assigned based on needs and priorities of the team and market.

The role will be required to support wider DIT responsibilities including handling market research enquiries, coordinating events, and recording business interactions, providing tailored reports and proactively identifying business opportunities.

Main Duties and Responsibilities:

• Leading on sectors as a Senior Commercial Attaché, to develop a deep understanding of the UK and Qatari market, including key players, market opportunities, market access issues and competition
• Provide competent support and advice to British companies wishing to enter Qatar
• Build strategic relationships with organisations (private and public) and relevant Ministries that increase British trade by identifying export opportunities and future economic partnerships
• Engaging the respective sectors’ network, including briefing British and Qatari businesses, responding to enquiries, including market access, local engagement and doing business in Qatar
• Build and manage a pipeline of high value projects
• Organise key events and activities which support British trade work in Qatar including webinars, roadshows, trade missions and Ministerial visits. Build upon relationships with key stakeholders whilst proactively seeking out new clients and opportunities to build the sector pipeline(s)
• Deliver against agreed targets, including Export Wins, OMIS (Overseas Market Introduction Service) revenue, Export Opportunities, and case studies / success stories published
• Travel to the UK and region for trade promotion activities
• Initiate engagement with Qatari clients to identify market trends and emerging opportunities
• Build and maintain senior and operational relationships within the Embassy, across the wider MEAP region and with DIT/Whitehall
• Collaborate with UK and Regional teams, including sector specialists to deliver high quality outputs and support to British businesses
• Working independently on achieving aims of the post, while reporting directly to the Country Deputy Director
• Promote, where relevant, the financing products offered by UK Export Finance, the British government’s Export Credit Agency, to support companies to win contracts
• Maintaining a log contact with customers on our global ‘Data Hub’ database
• Ensuring robust forecasting of events and submitting timely budget requests
• Line manage 1 Trade and Investment Officer

Additional DIT team duties include:

• Providing support to wider team events, including Senior/Ministerial visits
• Updating the DIT key contact database to be used for invites to events
• Providing administrative support to the wider Trade and Investment team as required
• Any additional duties as required by the Director/Deputy Director of International Trade

Key Competencies:

• Delivering at Pace: Effectiveness in this area means focusing on delivering timely performance with energy and taking responsibility and accountability for quality outcomes. It’s about working to agreed goals and activities and dealing with challenges in a responsive and constructive way. 
• Collaborating and Partnering: People skilled in this area create and maintain positive, professional and trusting working relationships with a wide range of people within and outside the Civil Service to help get business done.
• Managing a Quality Service: Effectiveness in this area is about being organised to deliver service objectives and striving to improve the quality of service, taking account of diverse customer needs and requirements. 
• Leading and Communicating: Effectiveness in this area is about leading from the front and communicating with clarity, conviction and enthusiasm. It’s about supporting principles of fairness of opportunity for all and a dedication to a diverse range of citizens.

• You will need to be a self-starter who can hit the ground running and quickly adapt to the role
• University level of qualification or equivalent in a science related subject
• 3-5 years’ experience in business development ideally in healthcare/life science sector
• Proven track record of cross-team collaboration
• Demonstrated experience meeting and/or exceeding challenging targets
• Analytical skills acquired in an international market context with a consultative sales approach to achieving results
• Fast learning, self-starter who can demonstrate initiative, resilience, and project management skills
• Confident communicator
• Good written and verbal skills
• Strong IT computer skills using Microsoft Word, Excel, PowerPoint, Office and conducting internet searches
• The ability to initiate and maintain a wide range of working relationships, both internally and externally
• Strong organisational skills
• The ability to work quickly, reliably and proactively with attention to detail and limited supervision
• Excellent written and oral English is essential with an eye for detail