TWO new senior civil service jobs have been created in the Chief Minister’s department.

The vacancies – commanding salaries of up to £200,000 each – are for a director of international tax and a director of international affairs/deputy director of international finance. Both posts are being advertised internationally as well as in the Island. The successful applicants will work for and alongside Martin de Forest Brown – the current director of international finance, a post created in 2006 – and under the guidance of the adviser to the States on international affairs, Colin Powell.

Financial resources for the new jobs were set aside in the States business plan in September. At that time £200,000 was earmarked for the new tax strategist post, rising to £220,000 by 2013. An additional £570,000 was approved to strengthen resources in the Chief Minister’s office, including £200,000 for international relations.

The States hub is likely to be particularly busy in the coming year as the Island faces a raft of international reviews, not least by the UK government, the UK Treasury Select Committee, and more broadly by the OECD and European Union. Mr de Forest Brown, who was last week in Delhi as part of a Jersey Finance promotional delegation, said that currently the department worked on a reactive basis in terms of international affairs.

• Picture: Martin de Forest Brown