View Vacancy - Vice Consul & Deputy Head of Post (ESP22.504)

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 Consulate in Palma is part of a worldwide network, representing British consular interests overseas. Currently, we are looking for a Vice Consul and Deputy Head of Post to deliver the consular strategy.

With over 300,000 British residents and 15 million British tourists annually, Spain is the Foreign & Commonwealth Office’s busiest consular operation globally.

Main purpose of the job:

  • To lead and motivate the Balearics consular team in delivering first class customer service, consular assistance and support to resident and visiting British nationals;
  • To manage the efficient running of the consulates in Palma and Ibiza;
  • To build and maintain good working relationships with internal and external stakeholders;
  • To support the Consul/CROM to deliver against our strategic objectives. 

What will you be expected to achieve?

Team Management

  • Line management of the Balearic consular team in Mallorca and Ibiza, as well as the Honorary Consul based in Menorca. 
  • Lead on the implementation of service improvements in the Balearic Islands. 
  • Contribute to regional work streams, projects and sharing of best practice. 

Assistance 

  • Lead on management of high profile and very complex cases, briefing and advising the Consul/CROM and other senior stakeholders as appropriate. 
  • Deploy to provide support to vulnerable British nationals, following a serious incident or crisis situation, including conducting visits to hospitals, mortuaries, and evacuation centres, etc. when needed. 

External engagement / Prevention

  • Develop and nurture a strong network of mutually beneficial relationships with internal colleagues, local authorities, travel and tourist industry, local media, British community groups and NGOs, to support delivery of team objectives. 
  • Lobby host authorities as necessary. 
  • Lead on ensuring delivery of Balearic prevention priorities. 
  • Represent the Consulate/Embassy at external events. 

Crisis

  • Support Consul/CROM with crisis preparedness and response in the event of a crisis. 
  • Work with emergency services to ensure efficient communication/information flow in the event of a crisis. 
  • Build and maintain crisis contacts for use on posts’ Crisis Management Plan.  
  • Excellent verbal and written English and Spanish language skills (minimum C1 level, CEFR*);
  • Experience managing a team of at least 1 year;
  • Proven experience in customer service handling and excellent customer service skills;
  • Excellent interpersonal skills, ability to work collaboratively with colleagues and stakeholders in Spain, Europe and the UK;

  • Proficiency in Microsoft Office suite (Outlook, PowerPoint, Excel and Teams) and ability to adapt to new programmes/systems;
  • Ability to work at pace and prioritise, managing an often heavy workload, excellent organisational skills.
•    Full driving licence (valid in Spain);
•    Experience working in a social work setting (or similar), with an ability to deal with vulnerable individuals following traumatic incidents;
•    Knowledge of Spanish government structures and processes.
Changing and Improving, Making Effective Decisions, Managing a Quality Service, Communicating and Influencing
16 October 2022
Executive Officer (EO)
Full-time, Permanent
37.5
Europe, Eastern Europe & Central Asia
Spain
Palma de Mallorca
British Consulate
1
EUR
44,076.38 annual (gross)
1 November 2022

This is an (EO ES) grade, full-time permanent contract. The working hours are 37.5 hours per week.

The successful candidate is subject to a confirmation of a background check, security clearance and the successful completion of a 6 month probationary period.

The successful candidate will be enrolled in the Spanish Social Security Scheme and will therefore not be entitled to any gratuity from the Embassy based on gross annual salary.

The Consulate is a Diplomatic Mission with tax exempt status and does not collect taxes for other States. Employees are fully responsible for payment of income tax at the legally required rate. Staff recruited locally by the British Consulate in Spain are subject to terms and conditions of service according to local Spanish employment law.

Visa/work permit requirements: Candidates must currently hold the independent right to live and work in Spain and be prepared to ensure that right remains throughout the scope of the contract. Please note that it is your responsibility to ensure you meet the legal requirements to live and work in this country.

Please be advised that Consular positions at the FCDO entail dealing with casework in situations that may involve death, detention, rape, assault, post-mortems, prison visits and highly distressed customers. Candidates should therefore have a high level of resilience to trauma.

Please note that the deadline for applications is 23:55 on the day mentioned in the above field “Application deadline”.

We advise you to allow enough time to complete and submit your full application, since only applications completed and submitted before the deadline will be considered.

Please be aware that the deadline for submitting applications is considered to be the time zone for the country where the vacancy has arisen.

FCDO does not pay for travel related expense incurred in interviews (including Security Check) or accept any financial risk, including cancelation or reschedule costs. The FCDO will not meet the costs connected with relocation if offered a position.

*Please note for more information on the Common European Framework of Reference for Languages: Learning, Teaching, Assessment  levels  please click on the following link CEFR. Please bear in mind in case you are invited for an interview your language skill is going to be assessed.

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.