Deputy Director, Middle East and Pakistan Trade Relations and Gulf Cooperation Council Negotiations?
| Posting date: | 09 December 2025 |
|---|---|
| Salary: | £81,000 to £91,000 per year |
| Hours: | Full time |
| Closing date: | 04 January 2026 |
| Location: | Salford |
| Company: | Government Recruitment Service |
| Job type: | Permanent |
| Job reference: | 440605/7 |
Summary
- UK Goods policy with the rest of the world, working on multiple live negotiations.
- Implementing the UK-India Free Trade Deal, and leading on trade relations with the South Asia region.
- The UK-Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) Free Trade Agreement and trade relations with the Middle East and Pakistan.
We are seeking a new Deputy Director to work on the geographically focused areas of the directorate’s work, playing a leading role in taking forward the UK’s priorities. The initial focus will be on the GCC, Middle East and Pakistan (MEAP) areas. We want to be a happy, supportive, expert, entrepreneurial and effective Directorate, enabling people to deliver at their best to directly deliver on the Growth Mission for this Government. We are proud of our track record and now want someone to help lead us to deliver even more. We hope you will be enthused by the opportunities of the role we are advertising.
The GCC & MEAP Team is responsible for negotiation of a Free Trade Agreement with the Gulf Cooperation Council and any follow up to that negotiation, and ensuring DBT has a coherent approach to policy and strategy for the MEAP region to secure increased market access and support UK business and the growth agenda. The team draws on expertise and analysis from across government to drive forward the negotiation and support the wider DBT MEAP strategy. This is a senior leadership role, supporting the Government’s growth agenda. We are looking for someone who can both play an important personal role and lead the high performing team to be more than the sum of its parts.
This is a job that will likely have different phases to it. The successful candidate will need to be comfortable with being flexible and adaptable and will likely get an opportunity to deploy and develop different skill sets over time as the role develops.
- In phase one, this role will co-lead this team (of approximately 25 policy professionals) alongside the GCC Chief Negotiator. In this phase, this role will focus on leading the important work in the wider Middle East and Pakistan region and lead the “home team” in the GCC negotiations and subsequent implementation. This home team role is essential, and includes focussing on communications and engagement and working with Businesses, other Government Departments, Devolved Governments as well as working directly with Ministers. You will be closely involved in the GCC negotiation itself, thinking about strategy and delivery, working alongside the Chief Negotiator on the GCC.
- In phase two, this role will likely broaden. We anticipate this role leading (alongside another Deputy Director) across both of the Middle East and Pakistan region and South Asia region (see above, the Directorate leads on both these regions). This will require a very similar skill set, but there will be the opportunity to lead on another fast changing, exciting region.
- Whilst we anticipate the above to be the likely evolution of this role, we would want anyone applying for this job to be comfortable working in Trade Policy Group more generally (the Group is comprised of 5 Directorates). Trade policy is fast moving and we evolve our structures and roles to enable the most effective delivery. Most Deputy Director roles in Trade Group focus either on a given region and / or a particular policy area. The skills needed would be similar to the ones we are looking for here, and the Group as a whole is a great place to work. The potential variety of the work is a substantial development opportunity, but we want to be transparent at the outset for the potential need for flexibility.
Key responsibilities in phase one:
- Work in partnership with the GCC Chief Negotiator to provide inspiring and inclusive leadership to a team of around 25 policy professionals, following the merger of the GCC negotiation and International Strategy and Trade Relations (ISTR) MEAP teams. This includes direct line management for 1-2 Grade 6s.
- Work closely with the Trade Commissioner and UK Ambassadors across MEAP to define DBT strategy and objectives, in line with the recently published Industrial Strategy and Trade Strategy, to enable growth. Develop effective cross-Whitehall governance, policy and monitoring capabilities to ensure delivery of objectives. This includes working in partnership with business and other stakeholders to ensure barriers to trade are effectively addressed.
- Drive communications and engagement activity across the FTA and wider team’s work, ensuring that outcomes are value-adding and reflect the challenges and opportunities in the region. Ensure there is a strategic delivery function across the team, that identifies synergies and effectively manages risks.
- Support team members in developing the necessary skill sets and opportunities to drive forward a ‘one-team’ culture that aligns with DBT’s vision and values.
- Establish and leverage strong connections with Ministers, seniors and colleagues across HMG, Devolved Governments, Crown Dependencies, and external networks to inform, shape, and promote HMG objectives. This includes brokering agreements on mandates, designing negotiation strategy, ensuring high-quality ministerial engagements (e.g. committees, visits) that promote and enable outcomes of value to the UK.
- Make an active contribution to the culture and corporate life of the GIG Directorate as part of its senior team and as SCS champion for some of its corporate workstreams.
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