View Vacancy - Pro Consul, Brussels (BEL18.195)

The British Bilateral Embassy in Belgium is part of a world-wide network, representing British political, economic and consular interests overseas and is now looking for a Pro Consul based in Brussels.

The British Bilateral Embassy in Belgium provides consular advice and services to British residents and over 882,000 annual British visitors that travel to the country. The consular team is part of the wider Euro-Asia consular region. Our customers rightly expect high levels of service and we aim to deliver. Consular work is very rewarding – you have the chance to make a direct difference to someone’s life, often in very challenging situations. The successful candidates will be working in a busy consular assistance team often under pressure and sometimes dealing with extremely sensitive cases.

Main Roles and Responsibilities:

• Consular Assistance and Services

        - Providing consular assistance across the full range of casework; visiting prisoners, dealing with people in hospital, victims of crime, distressed British nationals etc.;

        - Carrying out vulnerability assessments and providing corresponding assistance to vulnerable British Nationals;

        - Accepting, processing and approving Emergency Travel Document (ETD) applications;

        - Handling correspondence, telephone enquiries, and counter enquiries and services;

        - Updating information packs e.g. Prisoner and Bereavement information packs;

        - Performing other administrative duties as required (e.g. processing lost/stolen/recovered passports);

        - Managing Consular fees, and completing Consular Certificates.

• Prevention & Outreach

        - Assisting the Vice Consul with the Communications and Outreach Programme;

        - Building contacts with external contacts and stakeholders (e.g. local authorities, police, airlines local charities, British community, tourism industry);

        - Organising and participating in Outreach events, delivering speeches/presentations;

        - Identifying and implementing network/country specific   prevention campaigns. Liaising with local stakeholders and defining strategy with the Vice Consul;

        - Preparing for and responding appropriately to football matches and other large-scale events; responding to mass casualty incidents or crises

• Management Support

        - Providing cover for the Vice Consul during periods of leave and absence;

        - Providing statistical reporting throughout the year;

        - Contributing to regional Working Groups to assess and improve the quality of our services;

• Crisis Preparedness

        - Preparing for and responding appropriately to football matches and other large-scale events, responding to mass casualty incidents or crises;

        - Updating the consular elements of the Crisis Management Plan.

• Fluency in English (both oral and written);

• The ability to communicate well in French and or Dutch (both oral and written);

• Excellent time management and organisational skills;

• Ability to work well under pressure;

• Drive and initiative to get things done;

• Adaptability and a positive mindset towards change and working as part of a wider team;

• Strong communication and interpersonal skills;

• Flexibility, resilience to trauma and stress, patience, and the ability to deal with difficult situations, including out of hours and in an emergency or crisis;

• Ability to display a high level of discretion and responsibility;

• Good IT skills generally and specifically, a comprehensive knowledge of Microsoft Office, especially Word and Excel.

• Previous experience in a customer facing role and the ability to respond to a wide range of customers’ needs;

• A proven record of delivering results;

• Minimum 5 years previous work experience;