Senior Advisor, Board of Trade and B5 Strategy

We are recruiting for a permanent team member to join the Strategy team within the Business Engagement Unit at the Department for Business and Trade.

The Business Engagement Unit is a unique team with strategic, coordination, delivery, and business facing responsibilities. The team is located within Business Group in recognition of our proximity to business and cross-cutting responsibility across the whole Department. We lead on coordinating business engagement across DBT, liaising with No.10 and wider Whitehall. The team works very closely with the Secretary of State, Ministers and the Permanent Secretary on their own business engagement and shaping how we do business engagement across DBT and wider Whitehall.

The BEU missions include:

Strategy – Delivering a regularly updated and tracked business engagement strategy looking forward to 25-26, and translated into quarterly plans for each Minister. Policy – Developing policy for how we should do co-creation and engage with non-business stakeholders, among other things. Delivery – Coordinating and delivering events on behalf of SoS, including agreeing objectives for large scale events, and end-to-end delivery for in-house events such as the Board Of Trade, roundtables, breakfasts and broadcasts. Account Management/Excellence – Establishing and operating a central hub to coordinate and ensure consistency across our strategic account management and engagement activity.

This role sits in the Engagement Strategy team, which is responsible for setting the strategic direction of the DBT’s overall business engagement, creating a long-term plan and translating this into clear quarterly deliverables for Ministers and Senior Officials. It will also take a central role in managing relationships with the key business representative organisations (B5) and coordinating engagement across Whitehall. The key priorities for this team are:

• Long term planning of engagement to a two-year time horizon.
• Compiling quarterly forward engagement plans for Ministers and Senior Officials.
• Developing a refreshed strategy for engagement with the five Business Representative Organisations as well as the relaunched Board of Trade.

The Role:

The Senior Advisor for Board of Trade and B5 strategy will play a pivotal role in shaping and delivering the strategic direction of DBTs business engagement. This role involves working closely with the Secretary of State, Ministers, Senior External Stakeholders and Senior Officials to ensure effective engagement with key business stakeholders, including the five largest Business Representative Organisations (B5) and the Board of Trade.

Key Responsibilities:

• Monthly Forum Facilitation: Lead the planning and facilitation of a monthly forum with senior stakeholders from the B5. Organize the agenda, write readouts, and track actions to ensure follow-up and accountability.
• Relationship Management: Serve as a key relationship manager with B5 stakeholders. Set up and manage meetings to foster strong, collaborative relationships.
• Board of Trade Engagement Planning: Plan the Board of Trade's engagement for the year. Create individual engagement plans and develop the overall Board of Trade strategy.
• Stakeholder Management: Build and maintain strong relationships with key business stakeholders, including the B5 and Board of Trade advisers. Facilitate effective collaboration and engagement.
• Inbox Management: Handle communications from a shared inbox efficiently and effectively.
• Event Coordination: Work closely with delivery team colleagues to coordinate and deliver high-profile events. Ensure objectives are met and outcomes are effectively communicated and coordinated. Coordinate events such as Board of Trade meetings, B5 forums, and other stakeholder engagements.

This role requires a strategic thinker with excellent organizational and communication skills, capable of managing multiple priorities and fostering strong relationships with a diverse range of stakeholders.

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