We welcome applicants from Melbourne, Perth, Canberra, Sydney or Brisbane. This role will be based at one of the British Consulate Generals or the British High Commission in Canberra, subject to agreement with the hiring manager.

This is a pivotal time to join ‘UK in Australia’, the UK government’s Australia network. The wider UK-Australia economic partnership is broadening and deepening, worth £800 billion, and supporting 80,000 UK jobs – and a key component of this is driven by defence industry collaboration, against the backdrop of the AUKUS defence and security trilateral partnership. We are looking for a dynamic, talented candidate to work as the Senior Trade Manager in our network covering the Defence industry for both Australia and New Zealand (critical FVEY partner and market), within the fast-paced environment of the UK Ministry of Defence.

Your role will be to drive the delivery of a pipeline of strategic, high-value opportunities across the defence sector. Day-to-day work is varied and rapid paced: you could be leading an inward mission for a Senior UK Military representative, engaging Australian defence counterparts, and convening industry from across ANZ and the UK to work through critical deliverables that could underpin 1,000s of jobs across communities. You will work in the wider Ministry of Defence National Armaments Directorate team, acting as the Deputy to the UK Head of Defence and Security Industry. The total team size is five, spread across Australia and New Zealand; there will be line-management responsibilities, and the necessity for some travel across ANZ (and on occasion, the UK).



The team works closely with the UK in New Zealand network and both the UK in Australia and UK in New Zealand networks work as one-UK team – so our work is closely aligned with colleagues from the UK Department for Business, Innovation, Science and Trade and the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office.

The ideal candidate should have strong experience in the defence sector, coupled with the ability to build and implement strategies, create senior and credible stakeholder networks across government, defence, industry and academia, prioritise and leverage opportunities, manage programmes and deliver results. We work flexibly, and all team members at different times find themselves working in other areas. This is typically both interesting and rewarding.

Our network and team:

You don’t have to be a government expert to join our team. We recruit people with a wide variety of experience and skills. If you have strong motivation and core competences, we can help you develop the network and expertise needed to thrive. You will work with colleagues from diverse backgrounds whose professional experience is the foundation of our shared capability – we deliver as one team. Our team members have the chance to develop a wide range of marketable skills and networks for professional advancement – useful for their jobs, and for when they choose to progress their careers externally.

UK in Australia is an inclusive and equal-opportunity employer. We encourage applicants from the widest possible diversity of backgrounds, cultures, and experiences. Our culture of inclusion is underpinned by our excellent staff networks,



and we have a zero-tolerance policy towards bullying, harassment and discrimination.

1. Develop and maintain a pipeline of trade, investment and collaboration opportunities across Australia and New Zealand, with a particular focus on opportunities, including defence-adjacent opportunities arising from AUKUS.
2. Establish and maintain senior relationships across government, defence, industry, research institutions, innovation accelerators, venture capital networks and trade associations.
3. Support UK companies seeking to enter or expand within the Australian and New Zealand markets through the provision of market intelligence, strategic advice, stakeholder introductions and tailored export support.
4. Identify opportunities for Australian and New Zealand organisations to invest in, partner with or expand into the UK, contributing to bilateral investment and economic growth objectives.
5. Work across wider UK Government to support strategic campaigns linked to AUKUS, sovereign capability development, critical technologies and defence industrial cooperation.
6. Identify and help address market access barriers affecting UK companies, including issues related to security clearances, workforce mobility, cyber accreditation, regulation and procurement.
7. Prepare high-quality written and verbal briefings for ministers, senior officials, visiting delegations and industry stakeholders.
8. Support the development and delivery of Team UK approaches to priority opportunities, bringing together government, industry and academic stakeholders to maximise UK impact.
9. Manage programme budgets and activity expenditure as required, ensuring effective use of public funds and accurate forecasting and reporting.

📌 Australia Network - Senior Trade Manager - Ministry of Defence, HEO (Sydney)
🏢 British Consulate-General Hong Kong
📍 Sydney