View Vacancy - Corporate Services Officer – Residence, Events and Community Liaison- A2, Karachi

Note: All applicants are required to mandatorily fill the complete online application form including the employment and educational details, motivational segment and the competency based questions. We will be thoroughly reviewing the application forms only for all the required details. Forms that are incomplete in any respect will not be considered while shortlisting for the next stage.

Please note that due to Covid-19 outbreak, the start date of employment mentioned in the advert is tentative, subject to normal business of British High Commission. All recruitment campaigns will remain open for applications, we will progress the recruitment process as swiftly as possible and continue to review all applications, monitor progress and developments. We will be in touch with you for the interviews/ should there be further updates on the application, however given the circumstances, kindly expect some delay in response and please reach out to SAAD.Recruit@fcdo.gov.uk , if you have any further questions.

It is a fixed term position for 2 years.

Main purpose of job:

Whilst the role is intended to concentrate on residence, events management and community liaison, in the immediate term a flexible approach to wider corporate services and community support will be required.

• Lead and provide Events and Residence support and services to all FCDO staff, PAGs and BDHC stakeholders.
• Responsible to organise, oversee and deliver the full spectrum of Mission events inside or outside the Residence, in partnership with relevant Residence teams, and look after visitors to the Residence, able to work within defined rules, regulations and policies, as well as deal with a wider range of problems, such as maintaining the Residence, managing Junior staff, leading all Mission Events (including large events 500+ guests – including official and VIP visitors from the UK ).
• To coordinate the logistical arrangement through internal and external vendors for the management of events at BDHC. Draft action plans, delegate duties to staff and supervise on the day of events.
• Lead Deputy High Commissioner (DHC) and Deputy Head of Mission (DHM) Residence Team and manage all the representational expectations, reporting directly to Corporate Services Manager.
• Lead on Income Generation target.
• Lead on updating all information related to UK based staff and provide support to UK-based staff on community issues, principally in the areas of information gathering, welfare and communication.
• To manage procurement including identification of vendors and completing the PO process

Roles and responsibilities:

Residence Management: 30%

• Manage the day to day functioning of the Residence to a high standard of efficiency and professionalism, in keeping with UK Foreign Commonwealth, and Development Office (FCDO) guidelines.
• Ensure the Residence is always ready to offer a welcoming, efficient and professional service to visitors and guests, and a comfortable home environment for the DHC and DHM.
• Organise and co-ordinate all aspects of DHC / DHM hosted events ensuring professionalism, creativity and value for money, working effectively with Mission staff at all times.
• Ensure that issues relating to the Residence are properly communicated to DHC, DHM and CSM when relevant.
• Ensure good and efficient communication among Residence staff and the Corporate Services Team. Act with professionalism, respecting the dual-use of the Residence as a work space and home, maintaining proper confidentiality of matters arising in the Residence.
• In liaison with DHC/DHM and Executive Assistant (EA), maintain a calendar of visitors and events, ensuring the Residence plans in advance.
• Ensure the Residence is well-maintained – including through making and seeing through work requests for necessary maintenance; ensuring facilities are well maintained and serviced, by liaising with Estates team.
• Identify major purchase requirements in residences at the start of FY and prepare costing / budget for approval.
• Line manage 3 staff members from Residence team.          
• Stock control, managing alcohol (purchase & inventory) and purchasing / utilisation of kitchen and food items.

Event Management: 30%

• Take lead on managing logistics of all small and large scale events on compound
• Provide logistical support at all BDHC events outside compound
• Liaise with vendors / caterers / hotels to ensure quality and achieve value for money where possible. End to end dealing, from booking vendors to raising PRISM requisitions, coordinating with security for entrance, quality check, delivery standards, feedback and payment.
• Liaise with internal and external event stakeholders to determine exactly what is expected of each party.
• Prepare minutes of the meeting and keep a track of delivery against timelines.
• Update relevant internal staff on upcoming events at the start of each month.
• Prepare action plan, costing and event programs.
• Procure food items, groceries, refreshments related to events.
• Assign staff duties to cover all areas of work during events.
• Record and update inventory post event.

Finance, Income Generation and Procurement: 20%

• Raise requisitions for CS related procurement.
• Set up / update and deal with all queries related to PRISM.
• Process corporate expenses in a timely manner, meeting all relevant deadlines.
• Lead Income Generation target, including IG Contract and negotiations directly with customers, ensure value for money as well as compliance with IG target.
• Prepare expenses reports, quotes, reconciliations and other necessary reports to run the Residence properly and in timely manner.
• Manage a record of transactions through GPC with appropriate approvals for audit purposes.
• Initiate, procure and pay vendors in line with FCO Procurement policy.
• Staff Uniforms for Residence and CS team (end to end procurement process).
• Health and Safety related items for Event.
• Environment Friendly procurement for Events.

Community Liaison: 20%

• Act as initial point of contact for UK-based staff prior to arrival; allocate buddy to new arrival; ensure that new arrivals are welcomed at Post and integrated into the local life and community.
• Arrange familiarisation tours for new arrivals, initial visits and follow-up visits to enable them to settle into life at Post.
• Liaise with CSM and TWG on housing and ensure initial supplies for new arrivals.
• Complete and return bi-annual cost of living returns (COLA); compile domestic staff salary surveys;
• Complete the Post Report and the Post Fact Sheet.
• Maintain ownership of the Welcome Pack and Buddy List and other relevant Post documents;
• Review, update and maintain CLO Folder in MS TEAMS.
• Liaise with Islamabad CLO on a regular basis.

Resources managed (staff and expenditure):

Line Manage team of 4 Residence Staff

Language requirements:

Language: Fluent written and spoken English and Urdu

Level of language required: minimum level required C1 under the CEFRL or equivalent.

Learning and development opportunities:

The FCDO is committed to providing learning and development opportunities to all its employees, including:

1. Formal in-house and external training.
2. Coaching, mentoring and job shadowing.
3. Structured learning on the job, including stretching objectives and work.
4. Online training

• Bachelor’s Degree in any discipline;
• +2 years of experience in leading a team (with at least 2 staff);
• +2 years of experience in Events Management;
• +2 years of experience of managing a budget;
• Flexibility to work different schedules, according to Event’s needs;
• Prepare to work over weekends depending on Events, and outside regular office hours.
• Ability to plan and deliver successful and sometimes concurrent events;
• Multitasking under pressure;
• Problem solving initiative, with a creative, innovative and flexible mind-set;
• Excellent staff management and communication skills; specially with staff from different/diverse backgrounds;
• Ability to work collaboratively with others to get results;
• Advanced MS Office skills (Outlook, Word, Excel, PowerPoint);
• Understanding of British Culture and Values.
• Good written and spoken communication.