View Vacancy - AUH - Cultural Affairs Officer B3(L)
The British Embassy Abu Dhabi has a vacancy for a Cultural Affairs Officer.
The jobholder will work closely with wider Embassy teams in Abu Dhabi and Dubai, the British Council, GREAT Campaign and VisitBritain teams, to develop and drive forward the Embassy’s cultural agenda. This includes enhancing cross-government co-ordination and bilateral collaboration around the themes of technology, sport, design, and creative arts. Building on momentum from the 2017 UK-UAE Year of Cultural Collaboration and 2018 Year of Zayed, the jobholder will help deliver UK engagement related to e.g. the Year of Tolerance 2019, the Special Olympics, Expo 2020, and high-level visits.
Duties and responsibilities:
The jobholder will identify opportunities and develop an innovative and varied annual programme of events that promote the bilateral relationship and the UK’s interests in line with our country business plan. Often working to tight deadlines the jobholder will source appropriate venues and suppliers to deliver top quality events, ensuring value for money, seeking feedback, and always improving events.
He/ She will deliver a range of off-site and on-site events (e.g., at the Ambassador’s Residence), working closely with the Executive Office, Chancery, wider Embassy teams, as well as the Residence and Estates Teams to ensure events run smoothly and Her Majesty’s Ambassador (HMA) and Deputy Head of Mission (DHM) are supported. This will require flexible working and some evening work.
The jobholder will also maintain a database of relevant cultural contacts and event venues and manage the soft power events budget, ensuring full compliance with financial reporting responsibilities and procurement rules.
Key competencies required:
- Making Effective Decisions - Being objective; using sound judgement, evidence and knowledge to provide accurate, expert and professional advice. Showing clarity of thought, setting priorities, analysing and using evidence to evaluate options before arriving at well-reasoned justifiable decisions.
- Collaborating and Partnering - Creating and maintaining 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 and building supportive, responsive relationships with colleagues and stakeholders, whilst having the confidence to challenge assumptions.
- Managing a Quality Service - Being organised to deliver service objectives and striving to improve the quality of service, taking account of diverse customer needs and requirements. Effectively planning, managing, and organising time and activities to deliver a high quality and efficient service, applying programme and project management approaches to support service delivery.
- Seeing the Big Picture - Having an in-depth understanding and knowledge of how your role fits with and supports organisational objectives and the wider public needs. Focusing your contribution on the activities which will meet the organisation's goals and deliver the greatest value.
- Delivering Value for Money - Seeking out and implementing solutions which achieve the best mix of quality and effectiveness for the least outlay. Making decisions based on evidenced information and following agreed processes and policies, challenging these appropriately where they appear to prevent good value for money.
The ideal candidate will have at least a university degree, previous relevant experience in events management planning and delivery, an awareness of soft power issues, and the ability to implement soft power themes through events. Experience in resource or budget management will be an advantage. Previous relevant experience in events management, planning, and delivery in the Middle East will also be highly regarded.
We are looking for someone with excellent interpersonal, organisational, customer handling, and communication skills. The ideal candidate will have the ability to work autonomously and have strong planning and self-management skills. He/ She will have excellent organisational skills, with proven ability to plan and prioritise tasks. They will also have previous experience of working in a team.
Having a customer-focused approach is essential. Excellent communication skills in English, both written and spoken are required, including the confidence to interact effectively with a range of stakeholders. Arabic language skills (speaking and writing) will be desirable but is not essential.
The ideal candidate must have the ability to anticipate and solve problems, pay close attention to detail, and be able to think strategically to spot opportunities.
Strong IT skills, including proficiency in MS Office software are also required. Previous experience of social media will also be helpful.
The Embassy aims to offer an attractive working environment and remuneration package for this role, including: 25 days of annual leave per annum, on-site parking and on-site swimming pool, gymnasium, and sports facilities.
Salary is at AED 13,296 per month.
There are no other allowances payable as part of this package. No accommodation and relocation expenses are payable in connection with this position.
Conditioned working hours are 38 hours per week. Standard working hours are from 07:30 to 15:06, including a lunch break of 36 minutes, from Sunday to Thursday. The jobholder should be flexible in their approach to hours worked as these will be dictated by operational needs and may involve working out of hours, especially during events and visits.
Eligibility:
The successful applicant will be required to obtain the necessary security clearance. Higher clearances can be granted only to certain nationalities. For this reason, candidates must be of British, American, Australian, Canadian, New Zealand, or EU nationality in order to gain the level of clearance required for this role.
How to apply:
Interested candidates must attach the following documents along with their online application form:
- A covering letter.
- An updated Curriculum Vitae (CV).
Your application must also include examples of when you have demonstrated the competencies outlined above in the cover letter or in the Motivation section of the application form. Applications that do not include this information will not be considered.
Closing date for applications is at 11:55 PM (UAE local time) on 28 January 2019.
Applications received after the stated deadline will not be considered.
Process:
The recruitment process, including security clearance, is expected to take around two months.
Due to the large number of applications we receive, only those shortlisted for the next stage of the recruitment process will be contacted.
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.
The British Embassy Abu Dhabi is an equal opportunities employer, dedicated to inclusivity, a diverse workforce, and valuing difference.
This opportunity is closed to applications.
