View Vacancy - AUH - Government Relations and Protocol Office Manager B3(L)

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 (Operations and Corporate Services)
Protocol, Visits and Events

The British Embassy Abu Dhabi has a vacancy for a Government Relations and Protocol Office Manager.

The jobholder will be responsible for ensuring the Government Relations Office (GRO) delivers services in accordance with the Corporate Services and Government Relations Office Charters, ensuring progress is made against objectives and key tasks delivered. This role has a high focus on customer service and continuous improvement.

The GRO is vital to the smooth running of the British Diplomatic missions in the UAE, working closely with the UAE HR Team to ensure that staff can live, work, and undertake diplomatic duties in the UAE. It is a high profile job which will require regular interaction with senior officers at the Embassy, UAE government officials, and VVIPs. This is a challenging role that requires excellent organisational, managerial, collaborative, interpersonal, and customer skills.

You will manage a small yet busy team based in Abu Dhabi and Dubai in delivering vital facilitation services which enable the British Embassy and its people to operate in the UAE, and in providing guidance and advice to staff members in the Embassy and partner organisation. You will maintain and improve relations with UAE government departments with which the Embassy conducts everyday business relating to facilitation services, in particular, the Protocol Department of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation.

You will be expected to travel to Dubai on a regular basis, as well as visit UAE government offices and airports across the UAE. You will be reporting to the Director of Corporate Services (DCS).


Duties include:

  • Liaising with UAE administration, building a network of contacts and visiting regularly to maintain positive relationships.
  • Leading and developing the GRO Team to achieve high levels of performance in a demanding environment, providing effective direction and support to staff split between Abu Dhabi and Dubai.
  • Ensuring that the processes and procedures carried out by the GRO Team are fit for purpose, efficient, and achieve good value for money.
  • Maintaining up to date management information on GRO operations and performance, providing reports as required to the DCS.
  • Together with UAE HR, maintaining and managing a database of all sponsored staff and dependents, and providing management reports on this data as required.
  • Providing relevant and timely communications to Embassy staff about changes to processes, procedures, or timescales.
  • Obtaining ID cards/ visas/ airport passes/ driving licenses for staff and their families.
  • Clearance and coordination of heavy baggage and unaccompanied air freight movements and deliveries to and from the Embassy.
  • Managing the process of official communications in from and out to various ministries and administrative offices. 
  • On a rotating basis, be an Embassy point of contact at the airport, assisting officers and visitors through Customs.
  • Working with Chancery and other departments to arrange and facilitate the visits of VVIPs, attending their movements whilst in the UAE as required.
  • Being the main point of contact for all staff and external contacts regarding facilitation requests, ensuring that staff are aware of the processes to contact the facilitation team.
  • Leading on 'self-service' initiatives, enabling Officers to help themselves where appropriate and practicable.

Key competencies required:

  • Managing a Quality Service - Effectively planning, organising and managing time and activities to deliver a high quality and efficient service. Being organised to deliver service objectives and striving to improve the quality of service, taking account of diverse customer needs and requirements. Creating an environment to deliver operational excellence and creating the most appropriate and cost effective delivery models for services.
  • Collaborating and Partnering - 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.
  • Changing and Improving - Being responsive and innovative, and seeking out opportunities to create effective change. Being open to change, suggesting ideas for improvements to the way things are done, and working in ‘smarter’, more focused ways. Creating and contributing to a culture of innovation and allowing people to consider and take managed risks, continuously seeking out ways to improve policy implementation and build a leaner, more flexible and responsive team.
  • Leading and Communicating - Leading from the front and communicating with clarity, conviction, and enthusiasm; supporting principles of fairness of opportunity for all and a dedication to a diverse range of stakeholders. Managing and engaging with people with honesty and integrity, and upholding the reputation of the department and the organisation.
  • Experience of working within an embassy or foreign diplomatic mission or equivalent, experience of working within the UAE government, or as a PRO for a major multinational company. Good knowledge of the visa system.
  • Excellent written and spoken English and Arabic language skills (to be tested at interview).
  • A confident communicator with excellent interpersonal skills, proven ability to engage and influence at all levels internally and with external contacts, and collaborate effectively across Embassy teams.
  • Experience of managing a small team in a high pressured environment; needing to deliver a range of services, often at short notice.
  • Excellent organisational ability, with proven ability to manage, plan, and prioritise tasks and workload.
  • Resourcefulness in solving problems and demonstrates good judgement. Ability to respond quickly and flexibly to meet multiple and changing priorities.
  • Excellent IT skills and office administration skills, with good knowledge of Microsoft Office applications, particularly MS Excel which will be used for recording data and producing reports (to be tested at interview).
  • Ability to work out of hours where required, including evenings and weekends.
18 July 2019
Executive Officer (EO)
Full-time, Permanent
38
Middle East & North Africa
United Arab Emirates
Abu Dhabi
British Embassy
1
AED
16,492
1 September 2019

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, gym, and sports facilities.

Salary is at AED 16,492 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 also be dictated by operational needs and may involve working out of hours.

Successful candidates will be required to transfer their visa under the Embassy's sponsorship.

How to apply:

Interested candidates must attach 1) an updated Curriculum Vitae (CV) and 2) a covering letter.

Your application must also include examples of when you have demonstrated the competencies outlined above.

Applications that do not include these information will not be considered.

Closing date for applications is at 23:55 (UAE local time) on 18 July 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. The successful candidate must be able to obtain a valid UK security clearance to the required level.

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.

Due to the large number of applications we receive, only those shortlisted for the next step of the recruitment process will be contacted.

 

The British Embassy Abu Dhabi is an equal opportunities employer, dedicated to inclusivity, a diverse workforce, and valuing difference.

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.