Trade Commissioner - UK & Ireland

Championing New Zealand Trade Growth in the UK & Ireland | Leading a High-Impact London-Based Team | Driving Strategic Partnerships & Commercial Success. This incredible leadership opportunity offers the chance to lead our Business Development team in London. It’s the perfect role to fuel your passion for growing New Zealand companies, leverage your deep commercial expertise, and drive new opportunities for our customers and our people.

Who we are: New Zealand Trade and Enterprise (NZTE) works with some of New Zealand's most innovative and forward-thinking companies, helping them grow internationally. Our people are based in 37 offices, working across 24 time zones and 40 languages to support New Zealand businesses in over 100 countries. As a senior leader in the EMEA region, you’ll lead and empower our London-based Business Development team to deliver stronger commercial outcomes for New Zealand exporters. Your focus will be on driving performance, unlocking market opportunities, and accelerating customer success in the UK and Ireland.

Externally, you’ll represent New Zealand’s trade interests, build high-value partnerships with NZ Inc. agencies, and support ambitious New Zealand businesses to grow and compete in these key markets.

What you’ll be doing: The Trade Commissioner, UK & Ireland role is one of NZTE's most important roles globally, helping New Zealand companies grow in a dynamic and fast changing economy. With exciting new opportunities under the NZ-EU FTA, you’ll provide in-market connections and advice that will enable customers to navigate the UK & Ireland market successfully and build the profile of New Zealand exports. You will be leading an experienced team of business development managers whose networks and knowledge are vital to achieving exceptional outcomes for New Zealand companies. You will play an important role in implementing NZTE's strategic priorities in UK & Ireland and across Europe – a region that is rapidly growing in importance for New Zealand’s trade future. You will also work closely with a team of customer managers based in New Zealand and as one of our international leaders help to drive collaboration and connection throughout the organisation.

What you’ll need to be successful:

• Inspiring and Motivational Leadership: Leads the London BDM team with clarity and purpose, fostering a positive, inclusive culture where individuals are empowered to perform at their best and deliver strong commercial outcomes.
• Strong Emphasis on Accountability: Skilled in setting clear expectations for the team, holding themselves and others accountable, and driving results through consistent follow-through.
• Stakeholder Engagement and Relationship Building: Proficient in connecting with internal and external stakeholders, building trust-based relationships that encourage collaboration and mutual success.
• Customer-Centric Approach: Expert in understanding customer needs across a wide breadth of sectors and tailoring NZTE’s strategies to deliver value effectively.
• Exceptional Communication Skills: Able to convey ideas clearly and persuasively, listen actively, and adapt messaging to resonate with diverse audiences.

We’re looking for a commercially minded leader who’s passionate about helping New Zealand businesses grow. You’ll bring experience in business development, sales, marketing, or strategy and a strong interest in the commercial landscape of the UK & Ireland. You’re agile, thrive in complex environments, and know how to deliver smart, results-driven strategies that help companies succeed. You’re confident engaging in strategic conversations with companies at all levels, including the boardroom, offering insights that help customers navigate local market complexities. You bring exceptional relationship-building and influencing skills, and you’re a credible, confident communicator. You have proven leadership experience, with a track record of guiding talented, diverse teams across multiple offices, cultures, and flexible working environments. You approach challenges with a positive mindset, enjoy solving problems and navigating ambiguity, and are driven by delivering ambitious outcomes for both your team and yourself.

Why you’ll love working here: You will love this role if you are passionate about New Zealand and looking to diversify your career by building your knowledge of other sectors and industries and gaining exposure to the public sector. In this role you will be representing your country and working alongside a highly committed team who want to make a difference for New Zealand.

What’s next: For more information, please read the position description and if this sounds like your next career move, apply online with a CV and cover letter clearly outlining your suitability for the role. Applications close 11:59pm Wednesday 28 May (NZST).

Before applying, please review the notes below regarding eligibility for this role:

• Our successful candidate must be a New Zealand Citizen;
• This is an international posting with a minimum duration of 3 years. The preferred candidate will be subject to a number of vetting processes, including New Zealand national security clearance that you must be eligible for.

We believe New Zealand is good for the World. New Zealand Trade and Enterprise (NZTE) is an equal opportunity employer. At NZTE it is all about our people and we seek diversity of thought; we welcome and encourage you to apply regardless of ethnicity, gender, religion, age, sexual orientation, gender identity, neurodiversity or disability. If we need to make specific accommodations in any part of the interview process, please note this in your application or discuss with the recruiter.