Head of International Partnerships in Essex

Freeport East (one of 12 Freeports in the UK) has already attracted over £250m of private sector investment after only 2 years of operation and created opportunities for a range of high-value relationships in the UK and overseas.

Freeport East Ltd strives to be an innovative, creative and dynamic organisation that can deliver significant economic and social value for the east of England. Strong international visibility and relationships are central to our focus on delivering international inward investment to the Freeport East area, supporting our local businesses to export to key markets and creating other wider opportunities that will strengthen the economic value we bring to our local, regional and national economies.

Freeport East has already identified key sectors and markets that are a focus of our inward investment work and has had success building novel innovation partnerships and wider public and private sector collaboration.

There is significant scope for the right candidate to bring new creativity and innovation to build on these foundations in how we engage internationally and the opportunities we create in terms of trade relationships, economic partnerships and as a key partner to UK Government in delivering it’s wider international policy and growth objectives.

With a base at our newly established Head Office in Harwich you will join a small but passionate and energetic team and provide a key role to lead and coordinate our efforts to build high quality international and UK relationships that create a platform for delivering on our wider economic objectives.

Key Responsibilities:

Responsible for leading our approach to developing strong international relationships that support Freeport East’s economic growth objectives:

• Build on our existing overseas market plan to deepen our engagements with key stakeholders that can help facilitate valuable opportunities for Freeport East including inward investments, export opportunities and institutional partnerships.
• Implement a systematic approach to increasing our visibility in each of our priority overseas markets with a strong emphasis on supporting and orchestrating the most effective contributions from all members of the Freeport team, our Chair, Board members and other stakeholders
• Focus on building strong relationships in the UK (e.g. through Local Authorities, Universities, business groups, Embassies, Consulates, etc) to provide a platform for engagement that best positions Freeport East in an international context
• Make best use of existing and ongoing collaborations and partnerships (such as with international businesses investing in Freeport East or initiatives that position Freeport East in a range of green energy sectors) to maximise their value in raising our profile on the international stage to help facilitate further interest and opportunities
• Lead engagement with relevant parts of Government that can be utilised to support our international objectives and position our Place as a location for partnerships
• Identify new opportunities that can be derived from the strength of our international relationships Work with our Comms & Marketing Manager to strengthen opportunities to position Freeport East in international media and marketing channels
• Design and build new international partnerships through strong networks, proactive external engagement and creative thinking
• Lead and/or contribute to processes to secure funding to strengthen our international interactions
• Ensure that our international focus is ultimately utilised to create local benefits for businesses and communities
• Providing leadership within Freeport East Ltd
• Deputise for the Chief Executive as required
• Work with the Board and others to ensure effective governance and oversight
• Contribute to a high performing and collegiate organisation
• Collaboration - working with colleagues to ensure we maximise the potential and delivery of all in the organisation and provide effective supporting arrangements for your own contribution
• Communication - ensure effective and inclusive internal and external communications including proactive sharing of knowledge, insights and lessons learned
• Compliance – adherence to effective internal processes, in particular in relation to ensuring value for money in all that we do

General:

• Have an interest in building strong collaborations and partnerships, with an emphasis on using our position to convene
• Take an interest in delivering change for local communities, green energy, inward investment, economic development, innovation and skills development
• Be willing to be flexible and creative in approaching workloads and working collaboratively with others
• Have a self-starting attitude
• Undertake any other tasks that may be reasonably requested
• Be willing to travel in the UK (particularly the East of England and London) and occasionally overseas to ensure we can invest in face-to-face relationships with our partners.

What we are looking for

We are flexible in our approach to fulfilling this role and will consider a range of working arrangements including secondments, job-shares, part-time and/or flexible hours. 

Whilst we would expect periodic attendance at our Head Office in Harwich as a means of strong engagement with the wider team we will consider the optimal arrangement to support the right candidate to allow them to fulfil their role whilst also contributing to a high-performing wider organisation.

Person Specification 

Essential:

• Is educated to degree level or equivalent
• Experience operating internationally and/or building strong relationships with public and private sector stakeholders
• Understanding of or experience of investment promotion, inward investment, economic development or similar activity
• Able to interact confidently at a senior level with businesses, local authority and Government figures
• Experience of developing and implementing strategies
• Able to demonstrate a very high standard of written and oral communications
• Has the ability to analyse and communicate complex information
• Professional at all times
• Good team worker with a flexible and positive approach
• Strong approach to project management and effective planning
• Flexible and adaptable under pressure
• Able to handle confidential information in a sensitive manner
• High level of IT competence, including Microsoft word, outlook and excel

Desirable:

• Has knowledge of Government policies and programmes related to freeports
• Experience of one or more of the primary economic sectors relevant to Freeport East (e.g. green energy, logistics, ports, agriculture, technology, trade, etc)
• Experience working at the interface of public and private sectors
• Experience of the workings and structures of the public and private sectors
• Good understanding of business investment and R&D practices
• Good understanding of the role of regulation and interface with business
• Experience of interacting with business leaders or local authority leaders
• Able to be attend our Head Office in Harwich periodically and dependent upon other travel patterns and commitments

To apply, please submit your CV with a covering letter to marie.finbow@freeporteast.co.uk.