Contract value: £70,000-£80,000 (dependent on experience)

Contract type: Full time (37 hours per week) 12 months fixed with the possibility of extension, 3-month probationary period

Location: Spain

As Defra’s EU Seafood Industry Trade Specialist, you will:

- Boost UK exports of seafood by shaping and overseeing the delivery of the UK Government’s EU seafood strategy, including leading on the delivery of key events in market such as trade missions, meet the buyer activity and exhibitions, with the support of a UK specialist.
- Coordinate with Defra trade teams, to provide support to UK businesses and build contacts across markets.
- Work with the delivery partners of the Seafood Exports Package (Defra, Seafish and BIST) and Devolved nation representatives to deliver the objectives of the Seafood Exports Package:
- Increase knowledge and skills amongst UK seafood exporters and trade representative bodies on how they can take advantage of trading arrangements.
- Provide new opportunities for export growth, including promoting UK seafood exports internationally and connecting industry with overseas contacts.
- Reduce the effects of market access barriers and help businesses diversify into new markets to improve resilience.

Building relationships with UK industry

- Work closely with Defra’s network of Agri Food & Drink Attaches to act as the main point of contact for UK businesses wanting to export seafood to the EU.
- Develop strong relationships with seafood companies and buyers, identifying opportunities for trade, whilst encouraging them to purchase UK seafood.

Helping UK companies to connect and harness opportunities

- Work with in-country market access teams, providing support on seafood import regulations and logistics.
- Establish relationships with in-market port authorities to enable smoother export journeys for UK products
- Develop a relationship with UK seafood companies registered to export to the EU, and with the support of the UK Specialist to identify opportunities to increase exports,



ensuring alignment with wider EU SPS objectives.

Upskilling colleagues on the UK seafood offer

- Upskill internal colleagues to understand the offering and gain confidence in promoting seafood to buyers.
- Build an excellent countrywide network of seafood stakeholders.
- Maintain excellent records of stakeholder interactions using DBTs CRM system.

Essential qualifications, skills and experience

Language Requirements:

- Essential - English (spoken and written): excellent/highly proficient
- Other languages desirable (such as Spanish or French).

Essential criteria

- Strong experience of working internationally in a commercially focussed role for a minimum of 2 years.
- Experience of working in the food and drink sector including with the seafood industry, and with imports or exports.
- Established reputation and network in the seafood sector in the region.
- Ability to travel internationally periodically and to work across time-zones.
- If required, agreement to submit to embassy security clearances.

Skills and experience Your personal qualities are as important as your professional experience, and we welcome applications from all backgrounds. We are looking for proactive, enthusiastic people who can work confidently on their own initiative, communicate clearly, draw together information effectively, and are motivated by the opportunity to contribute to impactful change in a key sector.

We are looking for the following skills and experience:

- Excellent written and oral communication skills, with the ability to draft clear and concise briefing material for a range of audiences.
- Experience of working to challenging deadlines and managing a range of priorities. You will need to be organised and efficient with your time and be able to prioritise and deliver quickly to a high standard.
- Ability to build productive working relationships with a variety of stakeholders, including more senior colleagues, external stakeholders and colleagues across government.
- Ability to work well independently and as part of a team.

📌 Seafood Industry Trade Specialist - EU (Madrid)
🏢 Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs
📍 Madrid