Regional Foreign Direct Investment Specialist - Europe, Middle East, Africa

Regional Foreign Direct Investment Specialist - Europe, Middle East, Africa

This position serves as the Europe, Middle East and Africa Regional Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) Specialist (PSA Option
1) for the Illinois Department of Commerce's Office of Trade and Investment (OTI). The Regional FDI Specialist for Europe, Middle East and Africa will develop programs to promote Illinois within the region, and support inbound investment through close company and stakeholder engagement. Key responsibilities include coordinating and executing FDI activities in the region, promoting Illinois' value proposition to potential investors, associations, and government audiences, and supporting inbound investment projects.

Essential Functions:

• Develops the Office of Trade & Investment's (OTI) foreign direct investment (FDI) program for Europe, Middle East and Africa regions, including implementing and directing activities to attract out-of-country clients to establish, maintain or expand their facilities and or operations in Illinois.
• Collaborates with various public and private economic development entities and Illinois service providers in the development and implementation of a statewide foreign direct investment strategy and serves as primary point person state-side for the Europe, Middle East and Africa regions.
• Serves as project manager for business expansion and relocation opportunities from the Europe, Middle East and Africa regions.
• Develops and implements program goals, objectives, performance measures and management plans for the Europe, Middle East and Africa regions function of the Office of Trade and Investment.
• Conducts and oversees complex research and analysis and keeps abreast of foreign direct investment markets, economic trends and international trade policies for Europe, Middle East and Africa, in order to develop and advise long term strategies and goals for marketing and promoting Illinois company's products and services.
• Performs other duties as required or assigned which are reasonably within the scope of the duties enumerated above.

Minimum Qualifications:

• Requires knowledge, skill and mental development equivalent to completion of four (4) years of college, with courses in business, marketing or international studies.
• Requires prior experience equivalent to three (3) years of progressively responsible administrative experience in a public or business organization, and experience working with international business either in the public or private sector.

Preferred Qualifications:

• Three (3) years or more experience working on international trade performing duties such as market research or business lead generation.
• Three (3) years or more experience in sales, marketing, business development or business counseling with a focus on international markets.
• Three (3) years or more experience with end-to-end accountability (owning, managing, and delivering) for multiple projects simultaneously.
• Two (2) years or more experience in public facing role that includes presenting or promoting both in domestic and international settings.
• Two (2) years or more experience collecting and analyzing data, developing recommendations, and presenting to executive leadership.
• Two (2) years or more experience developing or managing a budget.
• Intermediate experience using client management and project management systems, including independently building workflows, tracking pipelines, and resolving routine data sync or communication bottlenecks across platforms like Salesforce, Hub Spot, , Asana, or Click Up.
• Intermediate level experience in the utilization of spreadsheet software, document creation. email and cloud-based platforms, including data analysis, dynamic formatting, workflow tracking, and file collaboration.

Conditions of Employment:

• Requires completion of a background check and self-disclosure of criminal history.
• This position has been found to meet the requirements in section 4A-101 of the Illinois Governmental Ethics Act requiring the occupant/employee to file a Statement of Economic Interest.
• Requires appropriate, valid driver's license.
• Requires ability to travel both domestically and internationally in the performance of duties, with overnight stays as appropriate.
• Requires the ability to work outside of normal office hours to communicate with clients/partners/colleagues in different time zones.

About the Agency:

The mission of the Illinois Department of Commerce and Economic Opportunity (DCEO) is to create equitable economic opportunities across the State of Illinois. By attracting and supporting major job creators, investing in communities, strengthening Illinois' world-class workforce, fostering innovation, and ushering in the new clean energy economy, DCEO works to fortify Illinois' reputation as a global economic powerhouse while ensuring Illinois is the best state to live, work and do business.