Deputy Head of Climate Change and Energy, B3 (7 months contract)

This is an excellent opportunity to join a highly motivated team that is making a real impact in advancing East China’s transition to a low carbon economy.

The job holder will play an influential role in the Climate Change and Energy (CCE) team based in Shanghai,  with responsibility for delivering the CCE Network’s objectives in East China covering Shanghai, Zhejiang, Jiangsu and Anhui.

The successful candidate will join as Deputy Head of a three-person team tasked with 1) accelerating East China’s transition to a low carbon economy through targeted policy engagements, and 2) positioning UK organisations as leading partners in this transition with key stakeholders in the Chinese system. To maximise impact and outcomes this will require close collaborative working with different teams across the British Consulate-General Shanghai, including the Department for International Trade, Science and Innovation Network and Regional Cities Network.

Existing CCE policy engagements in East China include climate change risk and building resilience, green finance, offshore wind and carbon capture and storage. Driving these engagements, identifying new opportunities for UK-China collaboration on CCE policy and strengthening relationships with key stakeholders will be at the heart of this exciting role.

The role offers plenty of scope to develop both policy and leadership skills, including supporting the Head of CCE (East China) in management and development of the Shanghai CCE team.

Roles and Responsibilities

Policy

• Work with the Team Leader to develop and deliver a strategy to support development of CCE policy in East China and deliver objectives in the CCE Network China business plan.
• Lead for the Shanghai CCE team on one thematic area of policy engagement, working independently to research and analyse key issues, deliver constructive solutions and report on developments.
• Collaborate with colleagues across the British Consulate-General Shanghai to maximise impact and outcomes for the CCE Network and support delivery of wider UK objectives in East China.

Stakeholder management & outreach

• Contribute to developing and implementing CCE’s stakeholder engagement plan for East China.
• Build and maintain strong working relationships with a wide range of external stakeholders, particularly key provincial government departments and affiliated organisations. Leverage contacts to identify priority areas and opportunities for bilateral cooperation and to influence CCE policy.
• Utilise the British Consulate-General’s Regional Cities Network in East China to support CCE stakeholder engagement.

Project portfolio management

• Play an active role in ensuring the portfolio of projects supported by the UK Government in East China contribute to achieving climate change and energy objectives.
• Track opportunities for project funding and work with internal/external delivery partners to develop successful project bids.
• Where required, supervise project implementation to ensure outcomes are delivered on time, on budget and meet quality standards. Where projects are managed outside the CCE Network, work with internal/external partners to ensure projects support delivery of CCE objectives.

Visit programmes

• Scope, plan and deliver visit programmes for official visitors between the UK and China.
• Identify opportunities to leverage visits to achieve CCE objectives. Work closely with cross-Consulate teams to ensure maximum impact for UK initiatives in East China.

Leadership

• Deputise for the Head of CCE during absences, including attending internal Heads of Section meetings and representing the CCE team at external engagements.
• Line manage one A2(L) member of staff.
• Work with the Team Leader to develop and maintain team L&D plan to build capability and ensure L&D opportunities (e.g. Expertise Fund, Regional Learning & Development Training, Diplomatic Academy) are fully exploited.

This position is advertised on a fixed-term, maternity cover role for seven (7) months.

• Fluent in spoken and written English and Chinese (Mandarin)
• 3 years work experience in climate or energy-related sectors in government, NGO or the private sector.
• Strong people skills and an ability to build, maintain and leverage a network of external contacts to achieve results.
• A track record of designing programme engagement strategies and delivering results under pressure.
• An ability to see the broader strategic picture and drive new initiatives.
• Good organisation and planning skills, ability to work independently and the discipline to pay attention to detail.
• Proficiency at using Microsoft Office software.
• University educated.