View Vacancy - Consular Regional Operations Manager for Eastern and Southern USA (Atlanta, Boston, Houston, Miami, or Washington)

Position may be based in Atlanta, Boston, Houston, Miami OR Washington.

Main purpose of job:

Consular Regional Operations Manager with responsibility for the leadership and management of six Consular posts and one Consular Office in the Eastern and Southern USA.

Responsible for maintaining a high level of service delivery, and providing oversight, policy advice and support to consular teams dealing with a wide range of consular cases. Ensure consistently high quality of consular services and prevention work through implementation of consular strategy, meeting business plan goals. As a member of Americas Consular Board of Management, contribute actively to the region’s overall performance.

Duties & Responsibilities:

• Lead consular operations in Miami/Orlando, Houston, Boston, Atlanta, Washington DC and New York.
• You will be required to travel regularly to visit teams within your region. You will also be required to travel occasionally elsewhere for Management meetings. This could entail travelling for around 10-12 weeks per year, varying given the business need. You should expect to travel more at the beginning of your tenure to get to know your network.
• Overall responsibility for ensuring staff are well equipped and motivated, meet consular targets, follow guidance and deliver a consistent and high level of customer service.
• Ensure a high standard of performance; perform quality control functions and lead a culture of continuous improvement. Role model best practice in staff management.
• As part of Americas Consular Board of Management, provide leadership to the Americas region to ensure a resilient, consistent, effective and forward-thinking consular network.
• Collaborate with the CROM covering the Western USA and Canada to ensure full policy coverage, consistency of approach, and cover for absences. You may be on call for other colleagues during periods of leave.
• Lead by example in Learning & Development, both through self-development and by supporting staff in their professional development using the full range of Diplomatic Academy Learning.

• Build knowledge of consular strategy, including consistency of approach and implementing best practice. Make effective decisions as part of Management Board and deliver Americas Business Plan in line with Consular’s strategic priorities.
• Have oversight/involvement of high profile and complex cases, providing operational guidance to staff and briefing senior staff at post and in London.
• As part of the Americas Board of Management, ensure that best practice from the region contributes to policy developments and central reporting in London.
• Review applicability of policy changes to local conditions, encouraging adaption as needed.
• Oversee prevention work for each post ensuring that strategic, coherent activities are delivered and evaluated. Encourage innovation and greater use of online services.

• Provide an advisory role in crisis preparedness and response for consular teams in your area. Ensure consular teams know how to respond to an incident or crisis involving British Nationals. Support training and exercises in posts as necessary.
• Consular staff sometimes deal with traumatic events, which may include visits to places such mortuaries, hospitals, prisons, and meeting with distressed British people. You will need to understand the pressures staff may be under and to provide them with the right support.
• In the event of an incident or crisis involving British Nationals in your area, you will be expected to oversee the consular element of the British Government response – for example, ensuring that staff are deployed safely and effectively to the site of an incident and that sufficient consular information is provided to support the broader response.
• You may be required to respond to serious incidents out of hours, for example, attending or chairing a teleconference if there is a serious accident, incident or event requiring consular staff to be present. An additional allowance will be payable if this happens.

• You will manage a team of 15 staff in 7 locations spread across the region.
• You will manage your own budget of approximately £15,000 and will have further oversight of smaller budgets which are devolved to individual teams.
• You will need to ensure value for money for all consular resources by analysing information to ensure staff resource is adequately deployed to meet customer and business need; you will conduct reviews of post in the region as necessary to ensure correct staffing levels and efficiency.

• Bachelor's degree and 8-10 years of relevant work experience;
• Line management experience;
• Excellent communications skills;
• Experience in positive, professional customer service;
• Team player.  

Requirements to be based in the USA:

Under US State Department requirements, the Embassy Network may only employ, as non-diplomatic staff, persons who are US citizens, US Green Card holders or A or NATO visa holders with EAD cards*. If you hold a visa other than an A or NATO visa you are not currently eligible to work at the Embassy.  Please refer to our website for information on exceptions to this policy at www.gov.uk/government/world/usa.  All candidates will be subject to background checks and security clearance. 

*A visas or NATO visas with EAD cards are acceptable at the Embassy, Consulates, and British Defence Staff (BDS) outposts.  The UK Mission to the UN (UKMIS) accepts G visas.