Regulatory Affairs Advisor (Importer Engagement and Support)

We’re seeking an international seafood trade and regulation expert to join our team, leading on stakeholder mapping, engagement and expert support.

This is a full-time, permanent role. Location: Homebased (UK) or office-based in one of our offices in Grimsby or Edinburgh. Salary: The salary range for this role is £41,000 per year.

Whilst we welcome applications from candidates around the world, applicants must have the legal right to work in the UK and be UK based.

About the Regulation Team: In the regulation team our job is to assist industry to comply with UK and international trade regulation, we are always looking for ways to reduce the burden on business, whilst ensuring that food is safe and the consumer gets the best quality seafood.

How we work: At Seafish we have a trust and performance culture. Performance driven results mean having autonomy and accountability in equal parts, so you can work in the way that’s most effective for you, as long as you deliver your work to the expected standards. You’ll have a personal development plan that outlines the objectives and competencies for your role and learning and development goals. You’ll have regular catch‑ups with your line manager, along with mid‑year and end‑of‑year reviews to discuss your work and performance.

Job role, responsibilities and relationships: This role will form part of the regulatory affairs team and lead on the following areas:

• Initial program of mapping our stakeholders involved in the import of seafood.
• Regular engagement with a wide range of stakeholders related to the import of seafood, including importers, import agents, customs agents and government officials.
• Working with our Economics Trade Analysis service to understand the changing dynamics of UK imports and the global events that shape them.
• Working with government and industry during the SPS negotiation and alignment of UK import controls.
• Providing 1:1 support to importers in the UK and their suppliers overseas.

Provide insight and guidance in the following areas:

• Regulatory requirements and procedures relating to the international trade in seafood.
• Trade agreement opportunities for sourcing imports of critical seafood supply.

The main dimensions of the role are:

• Working as part of a busy and dynamic team of regulatory professionals tasked with monitoring changes to regulation and official guidance along the entire seafood chain.
• Analysing and understanding legislative text and developing guidance material to help:
• Industry comply with seafood imports related legislation;
• Enforcement agencies to understand the unique characteristics of the seafood industry such as small consignments, high perishability, and any seafood specific regulations such as IUU regulations.
• Supporting businesses to understand, and adapt in good time to any new requirements due to EU alignment.
• Establishing effective and constructive relationships with the seafood importing sector, import agents, enforcement agencies and regulators to facilitate a smooth trading environment and swift resolution of any trade issues as they arise.
• Developing and maintaining contacts with UK/International trade organisations, to share information on wider trading issues or proposals such as changes to logistics and customs.
• Facilitating and providing secretariat for the importers forum in partnership with the British Frozen Food Federation.
• Establishing a reputation as a provider of expert and independent advice on rules and procedures relating to imports of Seafood for UK importers and their suppliers overseas.
• Producing guidance material for the seafood sector on changes to the trading environment that may affect their business.
• Working collaboratively with the regulatory affairs team, and other Seafish teams to ensure work programme objectives are met and to contribute to the wider objectives of the organisation.

Key accountabilities will be:

• Creating an up-to-date database of our stakeholders involved in the import of Seafood.
• Ongoing engagement with a wide range of stakeholders related to the import of seafood, including importers, import agents, customs agents and government officials.
• Working with our Economics Trade Analysis service to understand the changing dynamics of UK imports and the global events that shape them.
• Working with government and industry during the SPS negotiation and alignment of UK import controls.
• Providing 1:1 support to importers in the UK and their suppliers overseas.

Planning and Decision-making attributes:

• Driving the role forward – taking initiative to shape this new role and ensure the work progresses effectively.
• Keeping people informed – regularly updating colleagues, government, and industry stakeholders on progress and developments.
• Working independently and managing workload – planning own work, taking ownership of tasks, and seeking advice where needed.
• Turning information into action – gathering insights from stakeholders and trade data and using it to inform guidance or decisions.
• Coordinating across teams – working with internal teams to keep work aligned and moving forward.
• Working with minimal supervision - using initiative to respond to issues as they arise.
• Identifying new issues within the scope of work stream and managing the response, including identifying and working with the appropriate people in industry and government, using their judgement and referring upwards where there is significant political or financial risk.
• Managing work priorities, workload and diary commitments, including meetings and conferences etc.

The above is subject to the outputs set by line manager and monthly meetings to ensure work is within and contributes to achieving the work stream goals and corporate plan KPIs.

Knowledge, skills and experience required: To be a suitable candidate for this role you should have:

• Demonstrable experience in an international seafood trade role, preferably imports.
• Excellent knowledge of seafood UK imports procedures.
• Excellent knowledge of international trade processes such as contracts of supply, incoterms, customs declarations and special procedures.
• Expert report writing skills and a high standard of literacy to understand legislation and write expert interventions and produce formal guidance documents accessible to a variety of audiences.
• Competent IT systems usage.
• Strong problem solving and communication skills.
• Organised, with the ability to plan own workload and to prioritise work effectively.
• Experience communicating with diverse stakeholder groups and adapting communication materials or messages.
• Experience using online communication tools (e.g., Teams, Zoom).
• Experience producing or delivering briefings, reports, or presentations.

Special features: Willingness to travel within the UK some overnight stays. Occasional overseas travel.

Salary and benefits: All roles within Seafish are classified and have defined salary bands. This role sits within Job Family C in our pay structure, and the starting salary is at £41,000. A new member’s appointment on the pay structure is dependent on the experience they bring to the role when they start. New candidates normally start at the lower end of the range unless they can demonstrate considerable experience in the requirements of the role.

Additional benefits include:

• 25 days annual leave plus Bank Holidays and wellbeing break when the organisation closes between Christmas and New Year (3 additional days).
• Optional five days per year paid volunteering leave for an activity of your choice.
• Trust and Performance culture – you work in a way that suits you to get your work done to the expected standard.
• A generous employer pension scheme – we’ll double your contribution up to a maximum employer contribution of 10%.
• A range of health and wellbeing benefits including Cycle to work scheme and Techscheme, life insurance including health and wellbeing support, gym discounts and eye care.
• Our unlimited employee assistance scheme is a support service available 24/7 – it offers confidential, impartial advice on anything you need such as work, family, finance support or anything else personal to you.
• A professional development culture with plenty of learning opportunities.