HM Trade Commissioner for North America (US and Canada) and HM Consul General in New York

To direct His Majesty's Government (HMG) work on trade and investment across North America which lies at the heart of the government's growth mission overseas and to represent HMG in New York and the surrounding region to political and business leaders, as well as overseeing consular support to British nationals.

The combined role's primary focus is economic growth - advancing the UK's trade and investment interests, promoting our economic reputation, developing science and innovation links, advocating for free trade and projecting our climate action agenda.

As His Majesty's Trade Commissioner (HMTC) you will be one of nine key leaders of the Department for Business and Trade (DBT) overseas network, delivering HMG's investment, export and trade policy priorities in two of our most significant markets: the US and Canada.

As His Majesty's Consul General (HMCG) you will be responsible for top level representational and communications work (promoting the UK and its activities), high quality political networking and reporting (New York city is a political centre in its own right) and careful oversight of a sustained consular workload.

Job description

The HMTC/HMCG role is hugely rewarding, based in one of the world's most vibrant cities that is critical to UK's economic interests and our reputation as a global player, and the financial centre of the United States. The US is the UK's largest bilateral trade and investment partner accounting for 19% of UK exports and 27% of foreign direct investment. US investment sustains well over one million jobs in the UK; UK investors in the US employ a similar number of Americans. Canada is a G7 economy and the source of billions of pounds of investment into the UK. NYC is also a global leader in financial services, tech, advanced manufacturing, and the creative arts. As well as New York state, the Consulate is also responsible for the UK's relations with Pennsylvania, New Jersey, and Fairfield County in Connecticut.

Please refer to the attached candidate information pack for an overview of the key responsibilities of the role.

Person specification

It is important that, through your CV and supporting statement, that you provide evidence of the following Essential Criteria:

A track record of successful and high impact leadership and effective change management at a senior level within government and/or other large scale, complex organisations, building a collaborative and inclusive culture, developing high-performing geographically dispersed teams and managing resources effectively to achieve organisational goals.
Experience of international trade, economic growth, and investment policy challenges along with evidence of delivering within this demanding environment.
Outstanding communication skills, with the ability to convey messages effectively to a range of different audiences, including CEOs of prominent companies, through the media and to the public, and to represent and promote the UK's national interest using multiple communication channels and opportunities.
Evidence of the ability to lead and manage a fast-moving, sensitive and complex portfolio, working constructively and collaboratively across organisational boundaries and thinking strategically to set direction.
Proven success in networking and building relationships at a very senior level (such as Board, C-Suite or Ministerial level), showing evidence of the ability to work with sound judgement, commercial awareness, cultural sensitivity, diplomacy, and discretion in both political and high-level commercial environments.
Financial and commercial awareness and understanding of commercial decision-making processes to enable credible discussion of policy levers and deal negotiations with top level CEOs and Board members.
Desirable Criteria:

Expertise/knowledge of the tech sector.
Behaviours

We'll assess you against these behaviours during the selection process:

Leadership
Communicating and Influencing
Changing and Improving

Benefits

Alongside your salary of £120,000, Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office contributes £34,764 towards you being a member of the Civil Service Defined Benefit Pension scheme. Find out what benefits a Civil Service Pension provides.

Whatever your role, we take your career and development seriously, and want to enable you to build a really successful career with the Department and wider Civil Service. It is crucial that our employees have the right skills to develop their careers and meet the challenges ahead. You'll benefit from a wide range of training and development opportunities, regular performance and development reviews to ensure this development is ongoing. As a Civil Service employee, you'll be entitled to a large range of benefits.

This includes:

25 days annual leave on entry, increasing on a sliding scale to 30 days after 5 years' service. This is in addition to 9 public and privilege holidays per year;
A competitive contributory pension scheme that you can enter as soon as you join where we will make a significant contribution to the cost of your pension; where your contributions come out of your salary before any tax is taken; and where your pension will continue to provide valuable benefits for you and your family if you are too ill to continue to work or die before you retire;
Generous paid maternity and paternity leave which is notably more than the statutory minimum offered by many other employers;
Interest-free loans allowing you to spread the cost of an annual travel season ticket or a new bicycle;
The opportunity to use onsite facilities including fitness centres and staff canteens (where applicable); and
Occupational sick pay.

Closing date: 12 May 2025.