View Vacancy - Pro-Consul, Visa, and Compliance Officer AO (04/23 ABI)
Main purpose of job: The British Embassy in Abidjan is growing! The Embassy in Abidjan is part of the worldwide UK diplomatic network representing British political, economic and consular interests overseas. The jobholder will report to the Second Secretary (Regional Political), and work closely with the Corporate Services team. They will deliver high-quality consular services to British nationals and their families, and respond swiftly, compassionately and professionally to consular queries. The jobholder will build local partnerships, and develop and embed our consular prevention work, ensuring our customer communications are correct and up-to-date. The officer will support the Embassy’s drive to maintain high levels of consular and crisis preparedness, and will perform administrative and information management tasks. The jobholder will help to channel and prioritise urgent VIP visa requests, in line with guidance, working with the external visa service providers and regional colleagues. The jobholder will also cover estate compliance issues, including health and safety and procurement issues. The successful candidate will have strong interpersonal skills, good judgement and be well-organised with the ability to forward plan and to work well independently. The Embassy offers the opportunity to work in a supportive, empowering, inclusive, English-speaking working environment, as well as a good work-life balance, and a fantastic L&D offer. |
Main duties and responsibilities : Consular Assistance (25%)
Crisis Preparedness Planning and Response (10%)
Visas (15%)
Compliance (45%)
Corporate (5%)
Essential qualifications, skills and experience
|
Resources managed (staff and expenditure): Consular fees and local budget for work-related items. |
|
|
Learning and development opportunities: The British Embassy in Abidjan prides itself on its strong learning and development culture. We offer fantastic opportunities to our team, and encourage an environment of continuous development and improvement. We provide on-the-job learning, online courses, formal training, mentoring, and the opportunity to learn from colleagues in the region through shadowing, conference attendance and job swaps – for example, the pro-Consul usually attends the West Africa regional consular conference, last year it was in Accra and the year before in Dakar. British Embassy colleagues can also bid for resources to undertake professional qualifications that will help them deliver effectively in their job. |
Working patterns: The job is office-based. Occasional working from home will be permitted with the advance agreement of the line manager. |
Any other information: Out of hours working will be required on occasion but Time Off In Lieu can be claimed. The British Embassy Abidjan team is growing quickly at the moment, given the UK government’s increasing focus on Côte d’Ivoire. It is a small and friendly team of around 25 colleagues - as well as the development team, the embassy comprises trade, political, corporate services and consular teams. This role will report to the Second Secretary (Regional Political) but will work closely with colleagues across the Embassy, particularly the Estates Officer and Corporate Services Team. They will also be in frequent contact with the Consular Regional Operations Manager, who is based in Accra. |
- Please complete the application form in full as the information provided is used during screening.
- Please check your application carefully before you submit, as no changes can be made once submitted.
- Employees recruited locally by the British Embassy in Abidjan are subject to Terms and Conditions of Service according to local employment law in Côte d’Ivoire .
- All candidates must be legally able to work and reside in the country of the vacancy with the correct visa/work permit status or demonstrate eligibility to obtain the relevant permit.
- The responsibility lies on the successful candidate to;
- Obtain the relevant permit
- Pay fees for the permit
- Make arrangements to relocate
- Meet the costs to relocation
- The British Embassy/High Commission does not sponsor visas/work permits
- Employees who are not liable to pay local income tax on their Mission salary may have their salaries reduced by the equivalent local income tax amount.
- Information about the Foreign and Commonwealth Office Competency Framework can be found on this link: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/civil-service-competency-framework Please note: AA=A1, AO=A2, EO=B3, HEO=C4, SEO=C5
- Reference checking and security clearances will be conducted on successful candidates.
- The British Embassy will never request any payment or fees to apply for a position
- Appointable candidates who were unsuccessful may be placed on a ‘reserve list’. If during the reserve period of 12 months the same or a largely similar role becomes available, that role may be offered to the second or subsequent candidate.
This opportunity is closed to applications.