View Vacancy - Consular Officer (GRC21.114)

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

Due to COVID-19, you may experience some delay in the progress of this recruitment campaign. We are working hard to minimise any disruption. You may find more information in the Additional Information section below.

The British Embassy in Athens is part of a world-wide network, representing British political, economic and consular interests overseas and is looking for a Consular Officer based in Corfu.

The main purpose of the job is to help provide resilience to our consular networks across Europe. We need dynamic, well-organised people with a passion for customer service to offer clear guidance and assistance to UK nationals. The roles will cover many aspects of consular and the work that the Embassy leads on. Provide high quality, professional and efficient consular services to visiting and resident British nationals in Corfu. Be a fully engaged and a proactive member of the Corfu consular team, the Greece/Cyprus Network and the wider Europe South Network, to contribute to the achievement of business plan objectives and full Consular Strategy delivery.

Roles and responsibilities:

  • Assistance (60%) – Provide a high level of consular assistance and support to British Nationals in a range of situations including hospitalisations, death, arrest, rape and sexual assault, financial difficulties, missing persons and child custody.Maintain high level of awareness of consular policy and utilise appropriately and effectively the whole range of IT and other tools necessary to achieve a high standard of customer service, with a view to consular excellence. Print Emergency Travel Documents. Provide appropriate advice and carry out any notarial service, based on the hub/spoke agreement with Athens Consular Section. Give UK nationals information to help them follow procedures necessary for the Post EU Exit period;     Other tasks that support UK nationals a result of the UK leaving the EU. Cooperate fully with local and wider team, including the Consular Contact Centre and Global Response Centre, if and when a case requires it.
  • Policy & network projects (10%) – Take responsibility for and lead on implementation of consular policy/network projects, following consultation with Vice Consul, aiming to improve our services. Take part in Greece/Cyprus network and regional projects and events, as and when necessary. Engage appropriately with local and wider regional consular team/s. Share and communicate through local and regional channels.
  • Influencing and External Stakeholder Management (15%) – Build and maintain relationships with local authorities and services (such as police, prison, court, social services, hospitals, local administration, etc). as well as key stakeholders, charities and support organisations in order to provide assistance to British Nationals; Be proactive in liaising and partnering with local interlocutors as and when possible, to show a modern and professional service, working to proactively inform and safeguard British nationals.
  • Corporate management responsibilities (5%) – Manage office cash flow and complete all required transactional returns. Receive customer payments in accordance with FCO regulations. Report to Vice Consul for authorising purposes, as necessary. Ensure all post information is current and visible on appropriate internal and external platforms.
  • Personal Learning and Development (5%) – Take responsibility for carrying out a Personal Development Plan for the short and medium term, based on business and personal learning needs.
  • Crisis (5%) - Take responsibility for maintaining and testing crisis IT and other equipment. Ensure information on the Crisis Management Plan is current. Participate in post and network crisis exercises. Be a confident Crisis Hub user.
  • Proven customer service experience of at least three years and a strong sense of customer service delivery, including an ability to support customers in difficult or traumatic situations;
  • Fluency in oral and written English and a good level of Greek language skills ( minimum C1 level for English and minimum B2 for Greek according to Common European Framework of Reference for Languages *);
  • Good knowledge of Microsoft Office applications (Outlook, PowerPoint, Word and Excel);
  • Excellent communicator, strong outreach and networking skills, ability to work collaboratively with colleagues throughout Europe and the UK;
  • Excellent interpersonal skills, attention to detail, strong analytical perspective and problem solving skills;
  • Excellent time management and organisational skills; the ability to work without close supervision managing an often heavy workload;
  • Previous experience in a customer facing role and ability to respond to a wide range of customer needs;
  • Resilience and resistance to trauma; ability to cope with the challenging nature of consular work;
  • Good general knowledge of Greek administration system;
  • Valid passport.
  • Professional background in tourism, social services or providing support to individuals in a vulnerable situation would be an advantage;
  • Experience of assisting British Nationals overseas;
  • Willingness and ability to travel occasionally within the wider European consular regional network and to work out of hours at short notice, if required;
  • Experience of influencing and engaging key stakeholders and local authorities;
  • An understanding of the issues that British nationals (tourists and residents) may face;
  • Driving licence.
9 May 2021
Administrative Officer (AO)
Fixed Term, Full-time
37.5
4 months
Europe, Eastern Europe & Central Asia
Greece
Corfu
British Embassy
1
EUR
€1690.60
14 June 2021

This is a full-time, temporary position of 4 months , 37.5 hours per week .

The British Embassy offers a competitive remuneration package, 24 days annual leave entitlement (given pro-rata to staff on fixed-term contracts and/or staff working part-time), a training package and flexible working opportunities. Monthly salary for this position is EUR € €1690.60 currently payable 14 times a year (as per Greek labour law). An individual personal development plan will be agreed with the successful candidate.

The successful candidate will be subject to confirmation of a background and security clearance. Anyone with right of residence and employment in Greece may apply, including all EU / EEA citizens and the family members of EU / EEA nationals exercising a treaty right in Greece.

Staff recruited locally by the British Embassy is subject to terms and conditions service according to Greek employment law. The British Embassy does not sponsor work permits.

Visa/work permit requirements: Candidates must currently hold the independent right to live and work in Greece 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.

Additional Information (due to Covid-19):

  • You may experience some delay in the progress of this recruitment campaign and we are working hard to minimise any disruption;

  • Interviews will be done remotely if the existing situation determines this to be the right course of action;

  • Starting date may be delayed depending on circumstances at the time and it will be agreed with the selected candidate.

*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.