View Vacancy – SG – Head of Economic Policy, SEO

The British Government is an inclusive and diversity-friendly employer. We value difference, promote equality and challenge discrimination, enhancing our organisational capability. We welcome and encourage applications from people of all backgrounds. We do not discriminate on the basis of disability, race, colour, ethnicity, gender identity, religion, sexual orientation, age, veteran status or other category protected by law. We promote family-friendly flexible working opportunities, where operational and security needs allow. The FCDO operates an agile workforce and to facilitate this, you may be required to undertake other duties from time to time, as we may reasonably require.

Job Category

Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office (Policy & Political roles)

Job Subcategory

Political, Policy

Job Description (Roles and Responsibilities)

This role leads the economics portfolio at the British High Commission (BHC) Singapore, driving forward the mission’s regulation and standards policy work to support UK growth and mutual prosperity, as well as strengthen UK and regional economic resilience from economic shocks and threats to economic security.

As Head of the Economic Policy for the mission, we are looking for an experienced economist and proactive self-starter to lead the UK’s engagement with Singapore on a range of fascinating and high-profile economic policy issues.

The jobholder sits in the Economics, Financial and Intellectual Property Policy and Programming Team, and will work closely with teams across the BHC and other UK Missions across SE Asia to deliver on our ambitious economic objectives.

In addition to being a core part of the BHC Team, the job holder will play an important role in the Southeast Asia Economics and Trade Policy Network, using their engagement in Singapore to support the delivery of the UK’s ambitious economic agenda in Southeast Asia

The jobholder will join an existing team of economic, financial trade policy and intellectual property advisers based in diplomatic missions throughout the region, providing the opportunity for wider cross-team working.

Roles and responsibilities / what will the jobholder be expected to achieve:

1. Bilateral engagement (80%):

Develop, progress and lead UK-Singapore economic policy cooperation, and, in particular, delivering the UK’s Growth Mission in Singapore:

• Work with the Department for Business and Trade (DBT), Trade Policy and Science & Tech teams to develop and lead a pipeline of regulation and standards work that fully complements our market-shaping campaigns across UK industrial strategy sectors.
• Enhance UK and Singapore economic resilience through government cooperation on economic security and resilience issues, particularly in the areas of investment security, research security, sanctions, strategic sectors.
• Support UK business resilience and mutual prosperity through enhanced G2B information sharing on geopolitical risks, security threats and possible mitigations.
• Deepen bilateral cooperation to support regional economic development (e.g. through engaging on shared priorities within ASEAN, G20 and other multilateral fora).
• Work closely with the Singaporean government in multilateral fora on issues of common interest and better coordinating policy approaches, including through competition policy.
• Identify and respond in an agile manner to new opportunities and challenges, in close consultation with UK businesses.

Provide strategic advice to the High Commissioner, and cross-mission Growth Board to improve to strengthen internal governance and oversight on the mission’s performance on growth.

• Support the Growth Board secretariat to deliver an effective agenda that advance the mission’s growth campaigns.
• Support the Growth Board secretariat to update FCDO growth plans for FCDO HQ needs.
• Become the mission’s analytical champion by providing guidance and support to teams across the mission to help quantify the UK commercial opportunities in their work.
• Lead on cross-mission coordination of FCDO Growth Directorate commissions and reporting requests.

Deliver economic engagement with Singapore, including through representational duties, campaigns, set-piece events, visits and dialogues, working in partnership with the High Commissioner, the SE Asia Regional Director for Economics and Trade Policy and other senior colleagues across the High Commission:

• Build and maintain an extensive network of contacts in government, academia, other embassies, and the private sector to develop deeper partnerships and promote UK economic policy objectives in Singapore. This includes:
  • Leading and developing the economic policy relationships with Singapore government agencies such as the Ministry of Finance (MOF), Ministry of Trade and Industry (MTI) and the Maritime & Ports Authority.
  • Nurture and lead relationships with UK-based colleagues in the FCDO, HM Treasury (HMT), the Department for Business and Trade (DBT), and Cabinet Office.
  • Build up and develop relationships with organisations in SG, including the IMF, AMRO, think tanks, political risk consultancies and universities with presence in Singapore.
  • Deliver set-piece events, ministerial visits and dialogues. This includes:
    • Leading on Ministerial and senior level visits to Singapore from UK agencies including HMT, FCDO and DBT.
    • Supporting the delivery of the UK-Singapore Economic and Business Partnership (EBP).
  • Represent and promote the UK in external engagements, including with the Singapore government, industry and in other diplomatic mission engagements.

Underpin bilateral policy cooperation through high-quality economic analysis of the Singapore economy

• Produce high-quality analysis of Singapore’s economy, as well as other emerging issues related to Singapore. Coordinate and lead a cross-Mission view of the political economy to produce reporting suitable for a non-technical audience.
• Deliver economic briefings for senior UK government and industry stakeholders, including ahead of senior level visits and for organisations like the British Chamber of Commerce in Singapore.

2. Southeast Asia engagement (20%)

In partnership with the Regional Director for the Southeast Asia Economics Network, support the UK government’s regional economic agenda:

• Support the Regional Director on strategic areas of UK economic interest for the region, contributing to secure and resilient growth. Facilitate knowledge-sharing and upskilling across the regional network on these, presenting to seniors where necessary.
• Coordinate and lead economic reporting on Southeast Asia/ ASEAN, targeting a Whitehall audience and supporting HMG efforts to improve understanding of the SE Asia economy. Includes the production of the flagship Southeast Asia Economic Bulletin, as well as ad hoc thematic pieces on topical economic issues. Involves coordinating inputs from Economists working in Southeast Asia Posts.
• Use economic analysis to inform UK positions towards ASEAN on priority issues.

Resources managed (staff and expenditure):

This role has line management responsibilities. You will line manage and be supported in your tasks by an Economic and Trade Policy Officer. The reporting line also works part of their time to the Bilateral Head of Trade Policy.

Essential qualifications, skills and experience

• A bachelor”s or postgraduate degree in economics or related social science subject. Degree must contain at least 50% economic modules.
• At least 5 years of relevant experience providing economic analysis, advice and reporting in a comparable organisation.
• Proficiency in macroeconomics and international economics (see definitions in the sifting criterion).
• Strong quantitative analysis skills, including familiarity with MS Excel.
• Excellent English drafting skills and ability to draft at pace.
• Strong leadership skills.
• Good knowledge of Singapore’s and more broadly Southeast Asia’s economic, financial, business and political environment.

Desirable qualifications, skills and experience

• Previous experience working for or closely with UK Government.
• Previous experience of working in or closely with an international organisation or context would be an advantage, particularly within Singapore or Southeast Asia.
• Previous line management experience.

Required behaviours

Leadership, Seeing the Big Picture

Application deadline

21 December 2025

Grade

Senior Executive Officer (SEO)

Type of Position

Full-time, Permanent

Working hours per week

37.5

Region

Asia Pacific

Country/Territory

Singapore

Location (City)

Singapore

Type of Post

British High Commission

Number of vacancies

1

Salary Currency

SGD

Salary

SGD 9,670

Type of Salary

monthly

Start Date

16 February 2026

Other benefits and conditions of employment

Required behaviours:

Demonstrate proficiency in international economics and macroeconomics:

• International economics: Being able to understand and explain the interaction with the global economy including: balance of payments; international and regional trade; international aid, remittances, financial flows and debt; migration; international and regional financial institutions and regulation.
• Macroeconomics: Being able to understand and explain the economy as a whole including: growth measurement, trends, drivers, and diagnostics; inflation and exchange rates; fiscal and monetary policy; financial sector and debt sustainability; exchange rates and government regulation (e.g. labour, climate).

Working patterns:

Normal working hours are 37.5 per week: 8:30AM to 5:00PM from Monday to Friday. The team operates a ‘core hours’ policy of 10:30AM to 2:30PM with individual flexibility around that.

Terms of service:

• Staff recruited locally by the British High Commission are subject to terms and conditions of service according to local Singapore employment law.
• Employment offers are subject to successful clearance of pre-employment checks. Only short-listed applications will be called for personal interviews.
• We have a generous leave offer including: 23 days annual leave, increasing to 25 after 5 years” service, with the option to carry over up to 12 days into the subsequent leave year; 14 public holidays; generous maternity and paternity leave; and childcare leave. We encourage volunteerism and offer up to 3 days paid volunteer leave.
• We also offer medical insurance to support staff with the high costs of healthcare in Singapore and periodic reimbursement for the cost of eye tests and replacement eye wear.
• The British High Commission is an equal opportunities employer and does not discriminate on grounds of ethnic origin, race, religious beliefs, age, disability, gender or sexual orientation. Our values of Collaboration, Openness, Respect and Expertise (CORE) are our guiding principles. We aspire to live our values consistently in order to make the British High Commission a great place to work where staff feel valued, supported and inspired to be their best.
• In addition to the duties which this job normally entails, you may from time to time be required to undertake additional or other duties as necessary to meet the needs of the High Commission, including playing a part in the corporate life of the mission and supporting any crisis response.
• All successful candidates will be expected to serve a minimum of 6 months in their new role before being eligible to apply for further positions within the British High Commission.

Please note that all successful candidates will be expected to serve a minimum of 6 months in their new role before being eligible to apply for further positions within the British High Commission.

Learning and development opportunities (and any specific training courses to be completed):

We offer time and financial support for the successful candidate to take advantage of professional learning and development opportunities inside and outside of the organisation.

The BHC has an active Learning & Development Committee which works hard to provide a comprehensive L&D offer. There is a wide range of options available for personal development including training courses, coaching and mentoring, job-shadowing, presentations and learning sets. Staff have access to a wide variety of online resources through the International Academy and Civil Service Learning. Staff are strongly encouraged to take advantage of all available opportunities.

The post holder can also access specialist funding to support the development of their economic capabilities.

All new hires undertake a workplace induction and there are several mandatory e-learning courses that must be completed to pass probation.

Additional information

Please ensure that your application is authentically written based on your own experiences. If AI tools are used, their usage must only be limited to specific tasks such as ensuring formatting consistency and keyword relevance. The core content, personal narratives, and responses to behaviour and skill-based questions must genuinely reflect your professional journey, experiences, and achievements. We place great importance on originality and individual effort throughout the application process. Any form of plagiarism will result in immediate disqualification.

Please note that the deadline for applications is 23:55 on the day mentioned in the above field “Application deadline”.

Please be aware that the deadline for submitting applications is considered to be the time zone for the country where the vacancy has arisen.

We advise you to allow enough time to complete and submit your full application since only applications completed and submitted before the deadline will be considered.

Note: All applicants are required to mandatorily fill the online application form completely including the employment and educational details, experience, professional skills and behaviour-based questions. We will be thoroughly reviewing the applications and incomplete form in any respect may not be considered while shortlisting for the next stage.

Only shortlisted candidates for interview will be contacted. Interviewees will be assessed on the core behaviours/qualifications listed above. Unsuccessful candidates will be notified via the system in due time. Appointable candidates who were unsuccessful may be placed on a ‘reserve list’. If during the reserve period of 6 months the same or a largely similar role becomes available, that role may be offered to the second or subsequent candidate.

To ensure a successful application it is important that you explain how you demonstrate these behaviours, including through your experience. You are strongly advised to read the Success Profiles Civil Service Behaviours Framework, which provides detailed guidance on how the behaviours are defined.

Applicants are encouraged to use the STAR (Situation, Task, Action, Result) format to prepare specific examples of when they have demonstrated these behaviours in their application. Using the STAR format to provide evidence of your skills and experience in your application and at interview helps to give a structure. You briefly describe the situation in which you showed the behaviour, and then explain your task in addressing the situation, what action you took and the result of this.

For inclusivity and diversity, please remove the following personal information when uploading your CV: name, address, email address, age, date of birth, gender and nationality.

The start date mentioned in the job advert is a tentative start date and the successful candidate will be required to undergo security vetting procedures. Any offer of employment will be subject to the candidate achieving suitable clearances.

Please be aware that you will only be able to apply to vacancies for Country Based Staff roles with the British Government through this official tal.net site (operated by Oleeo). Jobs may be advertised on third party websites, however our adverts will always link back to the official tal.net site. If you complete and send an application through any other site, we will not receive it.