Job description for Senior Economic Officer 

• Job title: Senior Economic Officer 
• Unit/mission: Consulate General of the Netherlands in Ho Chi Minh City
• Job level: 08 
• Number of hours: 40 hours per week

General features of the job 

• The Senior Economic Officer primarily focuses on improving the bilateral business  relations between Vietnam and The Netherlands, with a specific focus on south Vietnam. 
• Primary focus of the Senior Economic Officer are the sectors of water and climate, as  well as cross-cutting themes ESG (Environmental, Social, Governance), and female and youth entrepreneurship. Textile & garments are also part of the portfolio.  
• The Senior Economic Officer spots and communicates about business opportunities for  Dutch companies and investors, facilitating market entry.  
• The Senior Economic Officer is active in maintaining and expanding the business  network and promoting Dutch business interest, taking into account responsible  business conduct and the contribution to the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).  The Senior Economic Officer supports project identification and preparation. 
• The Senior Economic Officer is aware of the Dutch policy objectives in Vietnam,  contributes to their formulation, adopts a proactive approach, anticipates, takes  initiative to implement projects and activities.  
• The Senior Economic Officer is results oriented and knowledgeable, and uses available  instruments of the Ministry and Foreign Affairs and the Netherlands Enterprise Agency.
• The Senior Economic Officer reports to the Consul who is Deputy Head of the Policy  Section and Economic Affairs at the Consulate General in Ho Chi Minh City and works  in the economic team in HCMC and in water and climate joint sectors teams of  Embassy and Consulate General.

Possible duties
 

Content:  

• The Senior Economic Officer focuses on the water and climate sector, and is also  the responsible officer for cross-cutting topics ESG (Environmental, Social,  Governance), and female and youth entrepreneurship.  
• The officer is tasked to monitor, analyse and provide information on relevant  business and knowledge developments in the south of Vietnam, related to the sector topics and cross-cutting topics. The officer translates information into  concrete business leads, project leads or Public Private Partnerships between  Netherlands and Vietnamese business.  
• The officer is responsible for initiating, organizing and contributing to business  development activities (workshops, webinars, incoming missions, etc.) that support the Dutch business interests in the south of Vietnam. 
• The officer takes the initiative to use the available instruments available from the  Ministry and Foreign Affairs and the Netherlands Enterprise Agency in The Hague to bring Dutch policy objectives into practice. 
• Drafting briefing notes, speeches, analyses, strategy papers and content for  external communications, trade missions and other events such as networking and seminars.
• Providing input and dossiers for briefings and speeches for the Consul General and  high incoming visitors such as ambassador or ministers. 
• The officer will handle trade requests from individual Dutch companies, solve  trouble-shooting cases and arrange matchmaking between Dutch and Vietnamese  business.
• All of this work is done for both the water and climate sector, as well as on ESG  (Environmental, Social, Governance), and female and youth entrepreneurship.  - Cooperate with relevant Dutch and Vietnamese parties, in the business, academic  and public sectors, at national and regional levels with a focus on supporting the  Dutch policy agenda in south Vietnam.

Awareness: 

• Taking initiative and being responsible for building and maintaining a relevant  network regarding business development and Public Private Partnership  development in the South of Vietnam: the officer will build a relevant network  within the South of Vietnam involving all relevant businesses, local governments  and knowledge institutes. 
• Cooperate with Top Sectors on Water and Climate and with other relevant parties  such as Dutch embassies, Dutch Ministries, Netherlands Enterprise Agency (RVO),  Invest International, NL in Business, Dutch Business Association Vietnam, NL  Works, Netherlands Water Partnership and the Delta Team. 
• Spotting business leads for Dutch business by proactive business development:  The officer pro-actively looks for business opportunities for Dutch businesses, by  structured business development (attending networking events, arranging meet ups to build contacts in the fields, keeping an open antenna and going out into the  “field”). The officer will communicate these leads to the relevant parties via  different communication channels. 

Processes & Procedures:  

• The Senior Economic Officer is expected to be organized in the work, especially in  project management in order to execute and fulfil her tasks in a timely manner. - The officer will be involved in planning of processes related to events and incoming  or outgoing visits of the Consulate General and the Embassy in her assigned  sectors. The officer is expected to be aware of the requirements for good and  timely process planning and to execute these in an effective and inclusive manner. - The officer sets clear priorities and takes initiatives for the topics in the portfolio.  - The officer needs to be familiar with and facilitate the use of Dutch government  instruments in relation to project development and implementation.  
• The officer keeps regular records of relevant activities into Achilles and works effectively with 247 Sharepoint and is key-user for 247 Sharepoint.  
• Understands and implements the standard procedures in carrying out missions and  activities. 
• Provide the manager and the team with timely and proper planning proposals for  incoming missions, outgoing trips and events. 

Knowledge 

• The Senior Economic Officer should have a firm knowledge on the assigned sectors  in order to contribute to studies and advise on the relevant policy, based on the  study of news, literature and reports.  
• The officer must interpret and analyse the collected information independently to  provide advice when necessary. 
• Contribute to and share knowledge with the other team members. Work closely  with the Consulate General and Embassy team members and involve them pro actively where relevant. 
• Be aware of and help implement the Multi Annual Country Strategy and the Annual  Policy Plan of Embassy and Consulate General, and other relevant policy guidelines  in the daily work. 

Needed knowledge and skills 

Knowledge 

• Knowledge of Vietnamese ministerial policy and economy 
• Knowledge of priority sectors (water, climate adaptation) and developments ❑ Business development knowledge 
• Basic knowledge of Dutch policy goals and activities in Vietnam 
• Excellent command of Vietnamese and good command of English both spoken and written ❑ Obtained an academic degree relevant to this job 
• Multiple years of relevant experience is considered an advantage 

Skills 

• Proven capacity to build and maintain a network of contacts in relevant fields ❑ Proven skills in translating insights and information into recommendations and leads
• Proven organizational and coordination skills and commitment 
• You show that you can work on a project (project based working) 
• You show that you are used to be active on social media and have computer knowledge  ❑ Able to work autonomously and within a team in different locations

Competences 

• Ability to work with others 
• Result oriented 
• Integrity 
• Organisational sensitivity 
• Initiative 
• Conscious of working environment 
• Networking skills 
• Good oral and written skills 
• Analytical thinking 
• Flexibility

Working environment and contacts

Working environment 
The employee will be based at the Netherlands Consulate General in HCMC under the guidance  of the Consul. The employee will work closely with the colleagues of the Economic team of the  Consulate General in Ho Chi Minh City and of the Embassy in Hanoi. 

Vietnam is a priority emerging market to the Netherlands. The Dutch representations in  Vietnam, consisting of the Embassy in Hanoi and the Consulate General in Ho Chi Minh City,  focus on sustainable economic development, international order, human rights and social  progress. The Embassy and Consulate General also have a Consular Section which provides  consular services for Dutch nationals in Vietnam and for Vietnamese wishing to travel to the  Netherlands.  

The Consulate General is headed by the Consul General. The team comprises of 3 expat staff and 9 locally employed Vietnamese staff and once a year an intern. There is a policy section and  a consular/general affairs section. The Senior Economic Officer will be a member of the  Economic Affairs of the Policy Section of the Consulate General. This policy section further  comprises the Consul-General, Consul, a policy officer, the Senior Economic Officer, a senior  agricultural officer and a Senior Press, culture and communications officer. The Consul is the line  manager of the Senior Economic Officer. There is close cooperation with the Economic Section of  the Embassy in Hanoi. The Senior Economic Officer is part of both the water and climate sector  teams. The office of the Consulate General is located in Saigon Tower on Le Duan Boulevard in  District 1. 

The Embassy in Hanoi is headed by the Ambassador. The team comprises of 8 expatriate staff,  15 locally employed Vietnamese staff and 1 trainee from the Netherlands.

Contacts (with a focus on south Vietnam) 

• With the Dutch and Vietnamese business community, including the Dutch Business  Association Vietnam (DBAV), alumni and relevant business networks.  
• With local ministries and authorities, Vietnam Chamber of Commerce and Industry, universities and branche organisations and so called ‘Topsectors’, Netherlands Enterprise  Agence (RVO), NL in Business, VNO/NCW, Netherlands Water Partnership and the Dutch  ministries in The Hague. 
• With the Vietnam network consisting of colleagues at the Embassy in Hanoi and the  Consulate General in Ho Chi Minh City.  
• With local media. 

Salary 
The gross monthly salary based on a 40 hours workweek, starts from USD 1,975,- and depends  on skills and experience. 

Applications 
Can be addressed to Consul Hanna Pors (hcm@minbuza.nl) until January 12th.