The Consulate General of the Kingdom of the Netherlands in Japan is looking for a Trade Officer Expo. We are looking for a new colleague, 1, 0 FTE which means 1 fulltime position.

Do you have what it takes to make the Dutch contribution to the Osaka Expo 2025 a success? Are you interested in cooperating with both internal as external partners on key themes and the programming for the Dutch participation on the Osaka Expo 2025? If you like organizing events, can contribute to trade promotion from the Netherlands to Japan by creating a large network with Japanese companies and institutes, identify good partners for Dutch companies and spot trade opportunities, then you could be our new Trade Officer Expo. This job requires commitment, persistence and the ability to work with a range of contacts and partners across different cultures and international borders, with Japanese and Dutch companies and organizations within a governmental environment. Fluency in both English and Japanese is a must, fluency in Dutch is a plus but not a requirement.

MAIN TASKS
The Trade Officer Expo is expected to:

1. Organize trade related events (trade missions, seminars, etc.) as part of the Road2Osaka and during the Expo Osaka 2025 covering multiple sectors which reflect Dutch priorities in Japan.
2. Liaise with organizations in the Netherlands and Japan on the planning and implementation of Road2Osaka events and events during the Expo as part of the overall programming.
3. Work together with the colleagues from the Consulate General, the Embassy in Tokyo and the Expo projectteam in the Netherlands on practical and other matters regarding the Expo
4. Work together with the colleagues responsible for sustainability and energy transition, life sciences and health and other priority industries to (co-)organise trade related events.
5. Support Dutch companies working in the field of sustainability and energy transition, life sciences and health and other priority industries with market information, relevant developments, contacts, advice on market entry strategies as well as collective and individual matchmaking. You can think, for instance of hydrogen, ATES, and regenerative medicine.

Success factors for the position are successful co-organizing a number of events in, 2024 and 2025 as part of the Dutch contribution to the Expo 2025 in Osaka and secondly to increase in trade between Dutch and Japanese businesses and organizations especially in the priority industries as set by the Netherlands diplomatic network in Japan. Although the position is located in the Economic Section of the Consulate General in Osaka, you will work extensively with colleagues from various sections of the Embassy in Tokyo and colleagues in the Netherlands.

The ideal candidate:

• likes organizing trade related events and missions
• has a good sense of the developments involving the Expo 2025 in the Kansai region and Japan as a whole or is able to quickly pick this up  
• develops and maintains a network of contacts in Japan and the Netherlands and using this network can identify opportunities and generate leads for collaboration between Dutch and Japanese companies
• takes initiative when spotting (business) opportunities and pro-actively develops new ideas
• is able to give presentations in front of large groups of people, either from the government or business community and represent the interests of the Netherlands and Dutch companies
• likes to work together with other people in- and outside the Consulate General.

REQUIRED SKILLS & KNOWLEDGE

· University or comparable level

· At least 5 years of relevant work experience, preferably in the field trade promotion, or in the private sector, preferably related to Energy Transition, Life Sciences and Health or event organization

· Experience working in international organizations, in organizing country’s participation to big-scale international events like the World Expo is a plus

· Strong communication skills

· Fluency in English (writing, reading and speaking)

· Fluency in Japanese (writing, reading and speaking)

· Knowledge of the Dutch language is a plus

· IT skills (MS Office, CRM systems), use of social media

COMPETENCIES

· Ability to think analytically

· Ability to communicate orally

· Ability to network

· Ability to largely independently plan and organize, both long-term as ad hoc

· Ability to take initiative and bring in creative ideas

· Result oriented

· Integrity

· Outgoing nature

· ‘can do/hands on’ mentality and flexibility

· Ability to work in teams

Conditions of employment:

• Salary scale will be in accordance with function and experience and will be between 539,137 JPY and 808,706 JPY (gross)  
• Benefits are according the local staff regulations of the Consulate General of the Kingdom of the Netherlands, which are in line with the regulations of the Netherlands Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

The successful candidate will have to be based in or near Osaka, and will be offered an employment contract for 24 months with a 2 month probation period. The position is created for a maximum period until the end of 2025. Therefore the period of the fixed-term contract cannot exceed the end of 2025. After 2025 there is no possibility for extension of the contract or transition into a permanent contract at the consulate-general in the current position.

Selection procedure:
Candidates are required to submit their motivation letter and resume in English to:

Marc Kuipers, Consul General (OSA-EA@minbuza.nl). The deadline for submission is 31^th December 2023.

Candidates whose letter and resume are considered to match the formal requirements will be invited for a first interview early 2024. Should there be sufficient mutual interest, the candidates will be invited for a second interview.

More information:
If you would like more information regarding the content of this position please contact Marc Kuipers, Consul General or Naoko Shiraishi, senior trade officer (OSA-EA@minbuza.nl).