James Sharp Email & Phone Number

Baku, Azerbaijan

Leading the UK effort in a country where British firms are the largest investors, with BP to the fore. Our role also involves working with the government to support European energy security, while developing commercial opportunities in the non-oil sector. Collaboration on security, defence and international policy are also key interests, as is education and support for English language. We also support the reform agenda, whether economic, societal or political. The role involves drawing together - and balancing - the various strands of UK interests, ensuring a focus on key priorities, and a significant amount of influencing, whether through face-to-face meetings or public diplomacy.

London, England, United Kingdom

Key member of cross-Government approach to tackling European irregular migration crisis; and chair of EU migration dialogue with Horn of Africa countries. Irregular migration was one of the biggest and most sensitive issues the EU dealt with during this period, with obvious read-across to the role of migration in the Brexit process, and required a significant ramping up of British government engagement, involving having to balance a number of government departments’ range of viewpoints and objectives. As part of the role, I chaired the Khartoum Process, the EU’s migration engagement with the Horn of Africa countries, leading to a reduction in the flow of irregular migration from the region.

London, England, United Kingdom

Head of FCO Migration Directorate, leading on all migration and visa issues for FCO. Some of this involved representing Foreign Office views in cross-Government negotiations on changes to the UK’s migration and visa policies at a time the government was committed to reducing net migration to “tens of thousands”; other aspects of the role included support for the Home Office - through negotiations with foreign governments - to return to their home countries foreigners in the UK illegally or in UK prisons.

London, England, United Kingdom

Led on complex arms export applications

Hong Kong, Hong Kong Sar

Responsible for UK government’s visa and migration operations in Asia Pacific. The role involved leading an international customer service business (500,000 customers per year; revenues of £65m) through major policy and operational change, while delivering significant improvements to the quality of the service. I transformed the network, moving from 18 individual visa sections to four big hubs, realising significant savings while improving consistency of decision making and customer satisfaction; and introducing a number of additional paid-for services. This involved working closely with our commercial partner; ensuring staff found the right balance between customer service and protection of the UK public; and keeping key stakeholders (Embassies, businesses, governments) informed and on board. I also oversaw the negotiation and implementation of migration agreements with South Korea, Japan, Hong Kong and Taiwan.

London, England, United Kingdom

Responsible for Gibraltar; UK relations with Spain/Italy/Portugal; and FCO lead on EU Justice and Home Affairs. A key achievement was the 2006 Cordoba Agreement, the most extensive agreement between the UK and Spain on Gibraltar for several hundred years. Both its negotiation and implementation demanded significant engagement with the governments of both Spain and Gibraltar to make breakthroughs on long-standing and sensitive issues.

Almaty, Kazakhstan

Supporting UK business in a country that was starting to see the benefits of its oil resources; encouraging further economic and political reforms; working with the government on international policy issues post-9/11 attacks; and expanding the UK presence through opening offices in the capital Astana and main oil town Atyrau. I was also non-resident Ambassador to Kyrgyzstan, dealing among things with a revolution and the spillover effects of massacres in Uzbekistan.

London, England, United Kingdom

FCO lead on UK policy on nuclear weapons, missile defence, conventional arms control

London, England, United Kingdom

Vienna, Austria

UK lead on former Yugoslavia and former Soviet Union