Jilted candidate told her job 'a present'

Jenny West has told the hearing she was shocked when her appointment to a US post was rescinded. (AAP)

A senior NSW public servant who was appointed to a trade role in New York says she was later dumped from the job and told it would "be a present for someone".

Jenny West, the former deputy secretary of Investment NSW, has given evidence to a parliamentary inquiry into the process that led to former deputy premier John Barilaro being appointed as Senior Trade and Investment Commissioner to the Americas.