Underwriter – Trade Finance Division

Job summary

The Trade Finance Division (TFD) sits within the Business Group and is accountable for the delivery of UKEF’s short-term business products: Bond Support Scheme, Export Working Capital Scheme, General Export Facility, Export Insurance Policy, and Bond Insurance Policy.

Job description

The Trade Finance Division (TFD) sits within the Small & Medium Enterprises and Trade Finance directorate and is accountable for the delivery of UKEF’s short-term business products: Bond Support Scheme, Export Working Capital Scheme, General Export Facility, Export Insurance Policy, Supply Chain Finance and Bond Insurance Policy (BIP). TFD comprises the Short-Term Business Underwriting Team (STBU), Post-Issue Management (PIM), and Business Group Operations (BSG).

The advertised role sit within this division and would suit a highly motivated individual who is process driven.

Main Activities

The main responsibilities of this post includes:

• Dealing with new business enquiries and reviewing applications for UKEF support. Determine viability and liaise with relevant parties for any absent information.
• Assisting with casework, in the preparation of credit papers and in negotiation of transactions; identification of key entities and ultimate beneficial owners; administering policies and guarantees; and customer relationship management. You will also be expected to interface with external stakeholders (exporters, banks, etc.).
• Obtain a technical knowledge of Export Finance, Trade Finance and Credit Insurance products, and gain an understanding of the wider political, legal, and risk environment in which UKEF and the wider Civil Service operate.
• Manage case work, ensuring all relevant communications and documents are correctly processed and stored in the relevant UKEF systems and databases.
• Learning and Development – continuously develop knowledge of UKEF’s products and policies and internal/external factors that impact UKEF’s operating environment.
• Explaining clearly UKEF’s products and processes. Contribute to policy development and process improvement.
• Participate in marketing activities as required, including giving presentations at meetings.

Person specification

UK Export Finance is looking for motivated individuals with a desire to learn about the business. Successful candidates will be provided not only with functional training to enable them to do well in their role, but also with personal development to help them to achieve their career ambitions. Please note that the person specification below outlines at which stage(s) you will be assessed on how you meet the criteria for the role(s) including:-

A = assessed at application stage I = assessed at interview stage T = assessed by test stage = assessed at presentation stage

Essential

Qualifications

• 5 GCSE passes (including Maths and English) at Grade 4 (C) or above; or equivalent or relevant demonstrable experience. [A]

Knowledge

• A working level understanding of the political, commercial, legal and risk environment that UKEF operates in and the wider Civil Service. [A, I]
• Knowledge of trade financing structures and UKEF products. [A, I]
• Basic Understanding of the Principles of Credit risk analysis. [A]

Skills/Ability

• Good written communication skills i.e. the ability to create good first drafts of documents and presentations for senior managers. [A]
• Oral communication skills i.e. able to present effectively, clearly and persuasively. [A, I, P]
• Analytical ability sufficient to be able to understand financial, legal and policy issues. [A, I]
• Ability to develop and maintain effective professional relationships. [A, I]

Experience

• Experience of working in teams. [A]
• Experience in working in an environment where attention to detail is paramount. [A, I]
• Experience of working with internal and external stakeholders. [A, I]
• Experience of Financial analysis / Credit Risk analysis. [A, I]
• Experience of working on multiple pieces of work concurrently. [A, I]

Other requirements

• Roles may require UK and/or international travel.

Qualifications

5 GCSE passes (including Maths and English) at Grade 4 (C) or above; or equivalent or relevant demonstrable experience.

Behaviours

We'll assess you against these behaviours during the selection process:

• Managing a Quality Service
• Working Together
• Delivering at Pace

Technical skills

We'll assess you against these technical skills during the selection process:

• Presentation - this will be a topic decided by UKEF and provided to successful candidates in advance.

Benefits

Alongside your salary of £41,500, UK Export Finance contributes £12,022 towards you being a member of the Civil Service Defined Benefit Pension scheme. Find out what benefits a Civil Service Pension provides.

• Learning and development tailored to your role
• An environment with flexible working options
• A culture encouraging inclusion and diversity
• A Civil Service pension with an employer contribution of 28.97%

Things you need to know

Artificial intelligence

Artificial intelligence can be a useful tool to support your application, however, all examples and statements provided must be truthful, factually accurate and taken directly from your own experience. Where plagiarism has been identified (presenting the ideas and experiences of others, or generated by artificial intelligence, as your own) applications may be withdrawn and internal candidates may be subject to disciplinary action. Please see our candidate guidance (opens in a new window) for more information on appropriate and inappropriate use.

Selection process details

This vacancy is using Success Profiles (opens in a new window), and will assess your Behaviours, Ability, Experience and Technical skills.

We are assessing candidates using Success Profiles and across the whole process we will assess your Experience, Ability, Technical and Behaviours as highlighted below.

The application must be completed by 23.55 on the day of the closing date for it to be accepted.

Use of Artificial Intelligence (AI)

Artificial Intelligence can be a useful tool to support your application, however, all examples and statements provided must be truthful, factually accurate and taken directly from your own experience. Where plagiarism has been identified (presenting the ideas and experiences of others, or generated by artificial intelligence, as your own) applications may be withdrawn and internal candidates may be subject to disciplinary action. Please see our candidate guidance for more information on appropriate and inappropriate use.

Please ensure that you read through the Candidate Information Pack attached to this advert, before applying.

All applications will be sifted against our essential criteria outlined in the personal specification. In addition to this, applicants will also be asked to complete on-line ability tests, which must be completed by 23:55 on Wednesday 18 February 2026, which is prior to the deadline for your application.

• Qualification - 5 GCSE passes (including Maths and English) at Grade 4 (C) or above; or equivalent or relevant demonstrable experience. [A]
• On-line ability tests -
  • Civil Service Numerical Test
  • Civil Service Judgement Test
• Statement of suitability - you should fully articulate in 500 words how you meet the essential criteria outlined in the person specification within the Information Pack.

For the initial sift your application will be evaluated against:

1. Experience - Application and Statement of Suitability
2. Ability - On-line ability tests:
   • Civil Service Numerical Test
   • Civil Service Judgement Test - After the test deadline, we will look at the number of applicants received and all applicant scores to determine what the job’s pass mark will be.

In the event of a high volume of applications, there will be a pre-sift on the following:

• Civil Service Judgement Test - After the test deadline, we will look at the number of applicants received and all applicant scores to determine what the job’s pass mark will be.
• The following essential criteria:
  • Knowledge of trade financing structures and UKEF products.
  • Experience of Financial analysis / Credit Risk analysis.

If you are successful following the sift stage, you will be invited to an initial interview, to be held via MS Teams; this will include the following assessment:

1. Behaviours / Experience - a formal panel interview where you will be interviewed across all three behaviours highlighted in Appendix 1.
2. Technical - you will be assessed across your technical expertise and acumen, in relation to the essential criteria:
   1. Presentation - this will be a topic decided by UKEF and provided to successful candidates in advance.

Details of interview panel members will be e-mailed to all successful candidates who are invited for interview.

Timetable

Please note that the interview dates are indicative.

On-line tests completion date

23:55 on Wednesday 18 February 2026

Closing date for applications

23:55 on Sunday 22 February 2026

Notification of outcome of application

w/c 23 February 2026

Interviews via MS Teams

w/c 16 March 2026

Feedback will only be provided if you attend an interview or assessment.

Security

Successful candidates must undergo a criminal record check.Successful candidates must meet the security requirements before they can be appointed. The level of security needed is security check (opens in a new window).

See our vetting charter (opens in a new window).People working with government assets must complete baseline personnel security standard (opens in new window) checks.

Nationality requirements

This job is broadly open to the following groups:

• UK nationals
• nationals of the Republic of Ireland
• nationals of Commonwealth countries who have the right to work in the UK
• nationals of the EU, Switzerland, Norway, Iceland or Liechtenstein and family members of those nationalities with settled or pre-settled status under the European Union Settlement Scheme (EUSS) (opens in a new window)
• nationals of the EU, Switzerland, Norway, Iceland or Liechtenstein and family members of those nationalities who have made a valid application for settled or pre-settled status under the European Union Settlement Scheme (EUSS)
• individuals with limited leave to remain or indefinite leave to remain who were eligible to apply for EUSS on or before 31 December 2020
• Turkish nationals, and certain family members of Turkish nationals, who have accrued the right to work in the Civil Service

Further information on nationality requirements (opens in a new window)

Working for the Civil Service

The Civil Service Code (opens in a new window) sets out the standards of behaviour expected of civil servants.

We recruit by merit on the basis of fair and open competition, as outlined in the Civil Service Commission's recruitment principles (opens in a new window).The Civil Service embraces diversity and promotes equal opportunities. As such, we run a Disability Confident Scheme (DCS) for candidates with disabilities who meet the minimum selection criteria.The Civil Service also offers a Redeployment Interview Scheme to civil servants who are at risk of redundancy, and who meet the minimum requirements for the advertised vacancy.

Diversity and Inclusion

The Civil Service is committed to attract, retain and invest in talent wherever it is found. To learn more please see theCivil Service People Plan (opens in a new window) and the Civil Service Diversity and Inclusion Strategy (opens in a new window).

Apply and further information

This vacancy is part of the Great Place to Work for Veterans (opens in a new window) initiative.Once this job has closed, the job advert will no longer be available. You may want to save a copy for your records.

Contact point for applicants

Job contact :

• Name : Recruitment Team
• Email : Recruitment2@ukexportfinance.gov.uk

Recruitment team

• Email : Recruitment2@ukexportfinance.gov.uk

Further information

Should you have a complaint or wish to raise any concerns regarding the recruitment process, please e-mail your complaint to the Head of Pay and Resourcing (UKEF) at Recruitment2@ukexportfinance.gov.uk and include “Complaint” in the subject heading. Should you remain dissatisfied following UKEF’s investigation then you can refer your complaint to the Commission - http://civilservicecommission.independent.gov.uk/making-complaint.

Attachments

UKEF - Underwriter (TFD) Opens in new window (pdf, 1811kB)