Job Opportunity at British High Commission: Hiring “Deputy Country Director” at Islamabad || Nov-2025

November 22, 2025 Admin

Exciting job opportunity at the British High Commission Pakistan
The British Government is a diversity-driven and inclusive employer that values equality, promotes fairness, and supports flexible, family-friendly work environments wherever possible. Applicants from all backgrounds are encouraged to apply.
The British High Commission Islamabad is currently inviting applications for the role of Deputy Country Director based in Islamabad.
Details are as follows:

Position: Deputy Country Director

Number of Vacancies: 01
Working Hours per Week: 41
Type of Position: Full-time, Permanent
Location (City): Islamabad
Grade: Senior Executive Officer (SEO)
Monthly Salary: PKR 720,719

Purpose of the Role:

To lead a team promoting and increasing trade and investment between the UK and Pakistan, in line with the Industrial Strategy, Trade Strategy, Country Business Plan and Middle-East and Pakistan (MEaP) Regional Trade Plan (RTP). You will support the Country Director and wider economy and trade team as it finds and delivers UK export, investment and trade policy wins. As the sole Islamabad-based DBT member of staff, you will need to work autonomously, proactively and collaboratively, sourcing viable opportunities that require consistent engagement with the GoP and seniors in order to deliver economic growth for the UK.

As the Deputy Country Director you will take the lead on the management and administration of the team, driving decisions around resourcing and performance across the network, while also identifying the best ways to work through others.

You will also play a leading role in progressing the UK Pakistan Trade Dialogue, which was launched in July 2025. Driving forward DBT led work on generating economic growth for the UK, you will need to have not only a thorough understanding of the market and opportunities here, but an appreciation of the political dynamics and where trade work can be further advanced through other UK equities. You will have a Trade Director based in Karachi, so you will need to be able to take the lead with Federal Ministries and support the High Commissioner as and when appropriate.

This role requires a whole of Government approach, leveraging resources from across the mission. Collaboration will be essential to succeed. HMG interests in Pakistan cut across every departmental agenda, and the UK growth mission is an integral part. You will be required to keep the High Commissioner and seniors briefed on relevant issues and mobilised as appropriate for maximum impact.

To get the most out of this job, you will need to be resilient and willing to pitch-in across the board. Strong leadership, enthusiasm, proactivity and a can-do attitude are essential.

Essential Qualifications and Experience:

Minimum 5+ years professional / commercial experience
Graduation degree or above.
Broad sector knowledge
Business development, sales or marketing experience, either from a business-facing role in government or from a corporate background
A proven track record of successful relationship management with senior stakeholders and international clients
Events, project management and market research skills
Experience of delivering results against deadlines/targets
Ability to provide oral and written briefings, produce meeting notes and provide policy advice on sensitive issues to senior officials and ministers
Evidence of self-motivation, professionalism and the ability to work under minimal supervision
Evidence of adaptability and ability to prioritise against competing, challenging tasking, often to tight deadlines.

Language Requirements:

Language: English
Level of language required: Fluent in written and spoken

Key Responsibilities and Deliverables:

Leading by example and delivering through the team, you will provide guidance and direction to ensure that the country targets set by HMTC MEaP are met, and that the Pakistan market makes a proportionate contribution to the wider objectives laid out in the MEaP Regional Trade Plan. This will include close and regular engagement with UK plc and senior Pakistani stakeholders, to whom you will have excellent access. You can expect to be involved with the following areas of activity:

Team Leadership (25%) : The DBT team in Pakistan has undergone a period of transition. Through active, hands-on leadership you will need to guide team members and ensure the right structures and prioritisation are in place to achieve team, CBP and RTP objectives.
Export promotion (25%) : To promote and increase trade between the UK and Pakistan. This will require outward-facing efforts to raise awareness of DBT and its work; a thorough understanding of the Pakistani marketplace and the unique circumstances here; an energetic and creative approach to identifying opportunities; and an excellent understanding of the political context and UK interests. It will require identifying viable opportunities that have the potential to become significant UK wins, while also pursuing longer-term strategic opportunities and relationships in parallel.
Trade policy (25%) : The UK and Pakistan have launched a bilateral Trade Dialogue which will focus on securing mutually beneficial economic growth, with a focus on trade policy, exports, investment and the UK/Pakistan Business Council. You will support annual meetings and regular senior officials working groups to deliver TD ambitions.
Contribute to wider High Commission work and to play a leadership role within the mission (10%) : You will need to make an appropriate contribution in a range of areas, leading by example. Working closely with the Director for Trade in Karachi, the successful candidate will play a key role in leading the small, but experienced, DBT team to meet UK growth mission objectives.
Build and maintain an effective network of contacts (10%) : You will need to have a broad and deep range of influential contacts among UK and Pakistan industry/business, banking, government/regulators and the diplomatic community. Given the interrelations of politics, economics and trade here, you will need to work closely with the political and economic teams across the mission with regular travel to Lahore and Karachi as and when required.
Contribute to the wider DBT MEAP regional team and projects (5%) : As part of your role, you could be required to work on regional projects as instructed from HMTC MEaP and her office in order to provide additional resource on major trade and engagement campaigns for the region as a whole.