Deputy Director of Trade - DBT

Based at the British Consulate in Chicago, this role leads Financial and Professional Services trade and investment activity across the US Midwest while supporting the Director of Trade with regional delivery, senior stakeholder engagement, team coordination, and strategic priorities.

About the role

The Deputy Director of Trade will focus on Financial and Professional Services, including FinTech, asset management, insurance, legal, accounting, consulting, and wider professional services. The postholder will build relationships with senior US and UK business leaders, identify investment opportunities into the UK, support UK companies entering or growing in the US market, and develop partnerships with professional services firms that influence corporate international expansion decisions.

The role also supports regional leadership across the Chicago consular region, including senior visits, briefings, performance oversight, regional strategy, state-level engagement, and cross-sector priorities. You will be part of the North America team and contribute to the Chicago-based DBT team, including cross-sector priorities, while working closely with colleagues across the US and UK.

Responsibilities

• Lead DBT’s Financial and Professional Services activity across the US Midwest, with a focus on Chicago and Illinois as major centers for client engagement, senior visits, and professional services networks.
• Provide high-quality account management to priority US investors and prospects in Financial and Professional Services, identifying opportunities to maintain, expand, or establish a UK footprint.
• Build and manage a disciplined pipeline of high-value investment opportunities, ensuring activity and evidence are recorded accurately in agreed systems.
• Support UK Financial and Professional Services companies, including FinTech and professional services firms, to develop US market entry strategies, grow market share, and address trade policy or market access issues.
• Develop strong relationships with professional services multipliers, such as law firms, accounting firms, consultancies, advisers, trade associations, and business networks, to generate intelligence, referrals, and commercial opportunities for DBT’s wider sector teams.
• Design and deliver targeted events, roundtables, trade missions, matchmaking activity, senior visit programs, and stakeholder engagement that promote UK capability and deliver measurable trade and investment outcomes.
• Support the Director of Trade with regional strategy, planning, and delivery across the Midwest, including business intelligence, regional briefings, core scripts, and senior-level engagement.
• Lead or support senior official and Ministerial visits, including program design, stakeholder engagement, briefing coordination, tasking, follow-up, and read-outs.
• Strengthen team delivery by supporting performance oversight, CRM/DataHub discipline, key account management, pipeline management, onboarding, mentoring, and capability-building.
• Support state-level engagement and trade policy priorities, including UK-Illinois activity, regional market access intelligence, and collaboration with sector, policy, and economic colleagues.
• Work with marketing and communications colleagues to promote the UK-US trade and investment relationship and showcase UK strengths in Financial and Professional Services.
• Represent DBT and the British Consulate-General externally at business events, stakeholder meetings, and occasional speaking engagements.
• Contribute to wider Consulate priorities, corporate activity, inclusion, wellbeing, and crisis response when required.
• Perform other duties as assigned.

Resources Managed

• Support the Director of Trade with coordination and leadership of the Chicago trade and investment team, including direct or matrix management of a small number of officers as agreed.
• Manage or contribute to the management of events, travel, and program budgets, ensuring activity is prioritized and delivered in line with financial guidance.

Requirements

• Professional experience in Financial Services, Professional Services, economic development, international business, trade and investment promotion, government, or a related commercial field.
• Strong understanding of the Financial and Professional Services sector, including major companies, market trends, and relevant business networks in the US Midwest and/or the UK.
• Proven ability to build trusted relationships with senior business leaders, advisers, trade associations, government stakeholders, and internal partners.
• Strong leadership and collaboration skills, including the ability to support, influence, and motivate colleagues through direct and indirect leadership.
• Excellent written and verbal communication skills, including briefing, presentation, stakeholder engagement, and external representation.
• Strong organizational skills, judgment, and attention to detail, with the ability to manage competing priorities and deliver high-quality work under pressure.
• Ability to multitask and complete work while traveling.
• Must be able to attend events outside of office hours and undertake travel in the US and internationally up to 20% of the time.
• Fluency in English.

Behaviors

• Communicating and Influencing
• Leadership
• Seeing the Big Picture
• Working Together

Pay

$100,600 gross per year.

Schedule

• Full-time, permanent position.
• 40 working hours per week.
• Start date: 28 September 2026.