View Vacancy - Head of Consular Network & Vice Consul

The British Government is an inclusive and diversity-friendly employer.  We value difference, promote equality and challenge discrimination, enhancing our organisational capability. We welcome and encourage applications from people of all backgrounds. We do not discriminate on the basis of disability, race, colour, ethnicity, gender identity, religion, sexual orientation, age, veteran status or other category protected by law. We promote family-friendly flexible working opportunities, where operational and security needs allow.
Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office (Consular Roles)
Consular

The British Embassy in Rabat invites applications for the position of Head of Consular Network & Vice Consul, Grade B3 (L) to start as soon as possible.

Main purpose of the job:

The Consular Section’s district covers Morocco and Western Sahara.  The jobholder has overall responsibility for the delivery of high-quality consular services to vulnerable British Nationals and their next of kin. They will contribute to delivering the Country Business Plan and coordinate delivery of Consular Network objectives.

The jobholder will lead and manage the Consular Team. They will lead proactive work on consular partnerships, prevention activities, and crisis planning.

The job is based at the British Embassy in Rabat but it will require regular visits to the Marrakech office, and possible ad hoc short-term overseas deployments.

Duties and responsibilities:

- Consular services (45%)

  • Coordinate delivery of consular assistance to vulnerable British Nationals and their next of kin by Pro Consuls; provide oversight/ guidance to Consular staff leading on cases
  • Provide consular assistance to British Nationals and their next of kin on specific cases which are high-risk, high-profile, or where resources dictate
  • Ensure assistance provided is best practice and in line with Business Plans/ Consular Strategy; ensure Casework system notes are well written, clear, and concise; ensure team understand and follow policy changes
  • Provide timely updates on high-risk, high-profile, or significant consular cases or trends to Consular Regional Operations Manager (CROM) and senior staff
  • Provide a quarterly summary of assistance work
  • Manage Emergency Travel Document (ETD) processing and the working stock; oversight of public services at the consular counters by the Pro Consuls
  • Coordinate response to public correspondence; lead on cases involving MPs and other high-risk/ high-profile cases, liaising closely with CROM
  • Provide the lead on Notarial and Documentary services, ensuring all applications are dealt with in a timely manner and according to our Public Service Agreement targets.

- Leadership and resources (30%)

  • Provide effective leadership to the Morocco Consular Team. Line management of four (4) Pro Consuls (two each in Rabat and Marrakech) and performance oversight of three (3) Honorary Consuls in Morocco
  • Manage team operations; coordinate absences to ensure sufficient service coverage; coordinate training; ensure team make maximum use of systems, tools, and IT available
  • Represent Consular Section inside and outside the Embassy. Lead on Post meetings and meetings with key external partners; work alongside the wider Embassy team
  • Coordinate delivery of Consular Network objectives and outcomes; monitor/ amend progress and outcomes quarterly with CROM
  • Ensure Management Information (MI) is completed accurately by team; monitor and react to trends in this information to improve service delivery
  • Administer, profile, and delegate the Morocco consular budget effectively
  • Ensure teams respect established financial and data handling processes and procedures

- Partnerships and communication (15%)

  • Coordinate cultivation of key strategic partners in Morocco; ensure cross-team sharing of contacts; manage EU, Colloque, and key local authority relationships. Develop working-level contacts with local authorities and other diplomatic missions. Build and maintain contacts with external stakeholders such as airlines, tour operators, welfare authorities, local charities, and British community groups
  • Develop a programme of outreach work for the team; ensure team builds operational contacts (e.g., police, airlines, local charities, mortuaries, hospitals, etc.)
  • Deliver, promote, and evaluate prevention activities
  • Deliver sustained engagement with British community through an effective network of consular key contacts
  • Responsible for relationships with key internal partners; including initial Consular Contact Centres, ETD Hub, Consular Directorate, Media, Corporate Services, and Political sections.

- Crisis planning (10%)

  • Carry out the role of Consular Manager in response to any crisis
  • Maintain team readiness to respond to a declared crisis based on named roles within the crisis plan
  • Provide regional resilience support in crises
  • Ensure Consular Team devotes at least one full day every quarter to crisis preparedness; lead preparations with discussions, drills, tests and exercises; work alongside the wider Embassy team on crisis planning
  • Update the Consular elements of the Crisis Management Plan; ensure consular outreach and new contacts are incorporated into the CMP; ensure all staff have access to and know how to use Crisis Hub
  • Lead provision of consular crisis training and mentoring of staff within the Embassy to improve our capability to respond to crises in Morocco.

The above list is not exhaustive and the jobholder will be required to be flexible and take on other ad hoc tasks as required. The job description may be reviewed to meet changes in business needs.  

Key competences required:

  • Collaborating and Partnering - Being a team player who creates and maintains positive, professional, and trusting working relationships with a wide range of people within and outside the organisation to help get business done. Working collaboratively, sharing information appropriately, and building supportive, responsive relationships with colleagues and stakeholders, whilst having the confidence to challenge assumptions. Being approachable, delivering objectives through creating an inclusive environment, encouraging collaboration and building effective partnerships and welcoming challenge however uncomfortable.
  • Managing a Quality Service - Valuing and modelling professional excellence and expertise to deliver service objectives and striving to improve the quality of service, taking account of diverse customer needs and requirements. Effectively planning, organising, and managing time and activities to deliver a high-quality, secure, reliable, and efficient service, applying programme and project and risk management approaches to support service delivery.
  • Changing and Improving - Being responsive and innovative, and seeking out opportunities to create effective change. Learning from what has worked well and what has not; being open to change, suggesting ideas for improvements to the way things are done; and working in ’smarter’, more focused ways. Seeking out ways to improve policy implementation and making use of alternative delivery models including digital and shared service approaches wherever possible.
  • Demonstrating Resilience - Being able to manage in a wide variety of circumstances and locations and, with appropriate support, to recover from challenges and setbacks. Supporting our people in their ability to adapt to working in difficult and varied international environments; to learn from what has not worked as well as what has; and to bounce back from crises and setbacks in these contexts. Being aware of the impact one has on themselves and on others, inspire, empower and show support for others with a pragmatic attitude, perseverance and resolve. Leading a culture of support, while promoting a proper regard for employee safety, health and well-being.
  • Staff management: proven experience delivering results through others
  • Customer service: proven experience in a customer-facing role meeting the needs of a wide range of customers
  • Resilience: flexibility and patience to deal with difficult situations, including the ability to sometimes work unsocial hours in a consular emergency or crisis.
  • Networking skills: proven track record of developing and maintaining a range of helpful external contacts
  • Autonomy: must be confident and able to work and act without close supervision
  • Mobility: must be willing and able to travel throughout Morocco, sometimes at short notice, in response to operational needs (full costs and expenses will be paid). Regular visits to Marrakech office are required, as are at least annual in-person meetings with the Honorary Consuls (Tangier, Marrakech, Agadir). Must be willing to deploy overseas temporarily at short notice if required
  • IT skills: able to effectively use Microsoft Office package (Word, Excel, PowerPoint, Outlook, and Teams) and other common IT software, to improve team communication and delivery
  • Communication: High standard of spoken and written English (IELTS score of at least 7 or equivalent). Fluent in French and Arabic (Classical and Moroccan Darija).
  • Assisting vulnerable people: professional background in social work and/ or providing support to vulnerable people would be an advantage
  • Local knowledge: general knowledge of the Moroccan administrative systems, including the justice system, laws and regulations, and social services
27 February 2022
Executive Officer (EO)
Full-time, Permanent
38
Middle East & North Africa
Morocco
Rabat
British Embassy
1
MAD
23,446
monthly
20 April 2022

Eligibility:

Applicants must have the right to work and live in Morocco.

Working hours and remuneration:

The Embassy aims to offer an attractive working environment and remuneration package for this role, including a non-negotiable gross salary of MAD 23,446 per month, inclusive of all allowances. However, employees who are not liable to pay local income tax on their Mission salary may have their salaries reduced by the equivalent local income tax amount.

The package includes a good level of medical insurance; 21 days of annual leave per annum (on pro rata basis) plus 14 public holidays; access to on-site swimming pool, tennis court and gym facilities.

There are no other allowances payable as part of this package. No accommodation and relocation expenses are payable in connection with this position.

The contract will be for a full-time employment on a permanent basis, subject to three (3) months’ probation period initially and can be extended up to another three (3) months.

Conditioned working hours for this position are 38 hours per week, Monday to Friday. Normal office hours are from Monday-Thursday, 0800-1615 and Friday 0800-1300.

The Embassy encourages flexible working subject to operational need and line manager’s approval. Independent working will be tested as a competence in interviews.

The Embassy and the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office’s (FCDO) Consular Directorate have a strong commitment to learning and development and all staff are required to agree on a learning and development plan with their line manager. Training will include both standard and consular-specific induction e-learnings, plus periodic mandatory formal training courses and events, which take place either in London or in the Middle East, North Africa and South Asia (MENASA) region.

How to apply:

Please note that those who have applied previously do not need to submit a new application/re-apply again.

Interested candidates must attach the following documents in English to their online application form:

  1. An updated Curriculum Vitae (CV)
  2. A covering letter

Your application must include examples of when you have demonstrated the competencies outlined above in the cover letter or motivation section in the online application form. Applications that do not include this information will be rejected.

All applications must be received before 23:55 (Morocco local time) on 27 February 2022.

Please note that incomplete applications or applications received after the stated deadline will not be taken into consideration.

Due to the large number of applications we receive, only those shortlisted for the next step of the recruitment process will be contacted. Shortlisted candidates will be invited for an assessment and a panel interview.

The start date mentioned in the job advert is a tentative start date and the successful candidate will be required to undergo security-vetting procedures. Any offer of employment will be subject to the candidate achieving suitable clearances.

Personal data collected will be treated in strictest confidence under the terms of the UK Data Protection Act and used for recruitment purposes only. 

 

The British Embassy is an equal opportunities employer, dedicated to inclusivity, a diverse workforce and valuing difference.  Staff recruited locally by the British Embassy is subject to Terms and Conditions of service according to local Morocco employment law.

Please be aware that you will only be able to apply to vacancies for Country Based Staff roles with the British Government through this official tal.net site (operated by Oleeo). Jobs may be advertised on third party websites, however our adverts will always link back to the official tal.net site. If you complete and send an application through any other site, we will not receive it.

This opportunity is closed to applications.