International Agreements Committee seek specialist trade policy adviser

The role is part-time, remunerated by a daily fee. The successful candidate will provide impartial advice to members of the Committee on a variety of trade-related matters and will demonstrate established expertise in the field of trade policy. This is an exceptional opportunity to influence the direction of the Committee’s work on prospective trade agreements. The trade adviser will work closely with Committee members by providing expert advice, under the direction of the clerk.

Role of the adviser

The successful candidate will be expected to:

• Brief the Chair and Committee, orally and in writing;
• Identify external stakeholders and contacts that may support the Committee’s work;
• Propose suitable witnesses for seminars and inquiries;
• Attend committee meetings as required to assist its deliberation;
• Contribute to drafting reports; and
• Undertake other work to assist the Committee with inquiries or other trade-related issues as required.

In addition to a legal counsel and the clerk, the International Agreements Committee has a policy analyst and committee operations officer.

Skills

The successful candidate will have in-depth knowledge of UK trade policy in the context of international trade. The postholder will have a strong understanding of trade agreements and will have the ability to advise on any related issues in a clear and concise manner. The adviser must be incisive, articulate and be able to draft quickly and clearly for both a specialist and non-specialist audience. A wide network of contacts with stakeholders in the field would be an advantage.

Time

The number of days a week the adviser will need to spend on the work of the Committee will vary over the parliamentary session. The commitment should not average more than one day a week when the House is sitting.

The trade adviser would normally work away from Westminster, communicating with the clerk and other staff by email and telephone. The trade adviser would normally attend Committee meetings, either in person or remotely, at which notes and reports which the adviser has drafted are being discussed.

Conditions of appointment

The appointment will attract a daily fee of £300 (based on an eight-hour day exclusive of breaks), payable monthly, either for attendance at the Committee or for time spent on the work of the Committee. A half-day or pro rata rate is payable. Travel expenses are payable within specified limits and there is provision for a modest subsistence allowance. Amounts received as fees and expenses are potentially liable to income tax (or VAT) and the House of Lords may seek formal assurance that income tax and national insurance obligations are being met. The Committee’s specialist advisers are not employees of the House of Lords. Appointment is subject to the approval of the Committee, which must be renewed each parliamentary session. This appointment is therefore initially for the duration of the current session and may be renewed up to a maximum of five years.

Applications

Interested candidates should send a CV and short covering letter setting out their suitability for the post to the Clerk of the International Agreements Committee at:
HLINTLAGREEMENTS@parliament.uk by noon on 9 September 2024.

Interviews are likely to take place shortly thereafter. The adviser is likely to begin work in the autumn of 2024.

The House of Lords welcomes applications from all qualified candidates regardless of their ethnicity, race, gender, religious beliefs, sexual orientation, age, marital status or whether or not they have a disability. Requests for reasonable adjustments will be considered. Applications are particularly welcome from sections of the community which are currently under-represented among House of Lords specialist advisers, including applicants who identify as Black, Asian and Minority Ethnic (BAME).

About the Committee

The House of Lords Select Committee on International Agreements (IAC) was appointed in 2020 as a sub-committee of the European Union Committee. It was established to review and report on the many post-Brexit treaties being undertaken by the UK (such as rollover Free Trade Agreements, which had previously been established at EU level). Following the end of the Brexit transition period in 2021, the EU Committee was replaced by the European Affairs Committee. IAC was then re-established as a standalone Committee with a more wide-ranging remit covering international agreements in general.

The Committee’s terms of reference are:
“To consider, and where appropriate report on, 1) matters relating to the negotiation, conclusion and implementation of international agreements, and 2) treaties laid before Parliament in accordance with Part 2 of the Constitutional Reform and Governance Act 2010.”

The Committee set out its approach to this task in its reports on Working Practices and Working Practices: One Year On, which are available via the committee website along with other examples of the Committee’s reports, including on trade agreements.
The current Chair of the Committee is Lord Goldsmith KC. For more information about the Committee or the post of trade adviser please contact the Clerk of the Committee Rhiannon Williams: williamsrb@parliament.uk

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