View Vacancy - SRR - Programme Officer (EO)

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Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office (Programme Roles)
Programme / Project Delivery

The British Embassy Riyadh has a vacancy for a Programme Officer on a fixed term contract until 31 March 2025, with possibility of extension depending on performance and operational requirements.

We are looking for an energetic and experienced Programme Officer to help manage our fast-growing portfolio of projects in Saudi Arabia, primarily delivered through the Gulf Strategy Fund.

About the Gulf Strategy Fund (GSF)

The Gulf Strategy Fund (GSF) is a UK Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office (FCDO) fund, which sits within the FCDO’s International Programme. Through funding the delivery of strategic projects, it supports Saudi Arabia’s ambitious Vision 2030 agenda for economic diversification, modernisation and climate action, whilst also enhancing mutual prosperity by promoting inward investment and creating commercial opportunities for the UK.

GSF programming has been key to enhancing bilateral networks and collaboration between Saudi Arabia and the UK across areas of mutual priority, including culture, sport, healthcare, education, financial services, technology, climate resilience and aid.

About the role

The Programme Officer will be responsible for supporting stakeholders to deliver strategic, effective, and well-managed projects. They will work across multiple projects, providing project management support throughout the various stages of delivery.

Based in the Economic Diplomacy Team, they will report to the Programme Manager. The Embassy in Riyadh is a large team, delivering key priorities against a wide range of UK government objectives. The environment is challenging and the issues can be complex and fast moving. The successful candidate will be comfortable with both policy issues and project management, as well as able to add value by applying strategic and critical thinking.

This role will support post objectives in the British Embassy’s Country Business Plan, and ensure the programme delivers value for money. 

 

Duties and responsibilities:

  • Working with project leads and the Programme Manager to ensure high quality programme documentation is in place.
  • Supporting project leads to ensure all reporting and compliance tasks are completed and of a high standard.
  • Supporting the management and reporting of accurate financial forecasts and budgets.
  • Ensuring finance and programme management software are loaded with correct and up-to-date project data.
  • Supporting policy leads to ensure that that key partner/ supplier deliverables are tracked against project delivery plans.
  • Supporting follow up on audit and due diligence actions.
  • Organisation of and maintenance of information management systems.
  • Monitoring programme spend, including taking responsibility to deliver against allocation per project.
  • Providing support to the Programme Manager for analysing and presenting financial and audit data.
  • Tracking project activity against agreed timelines.
  • Supporting monitoring and evaluation reporting of projects at key stages.
  • Supporting convening and reporting to the Country Programme Board on the Embassy’s portfolio of projects.

The above list is not exhaustive and the jobholder will be required to be flexible and take on other ad hoc tasks as required, including participating in the Embassy’s emergency planning and any other response to a crisis affecting UK citizens.

 

Key behaviours required:

  • Making Effective Decisions - Use evidence and knowledge to support accurate, expert decisions and advice. Carefully consider alternative options, implications and risks of decisions.
  • Working Together - Form effective partnerships and relationships with people both internally and externally, from a range of diverse backgrounds, sharing information, resources and support.
  • Managing a Quality Service - Deliver service objectives with professional excellence, expertise and efficiency, taking account of diverse customer needs.
  • Delivering at Pace - Take responsibility for delivering timely and quality results with focus and drive.

 

Eligibility:

The position is available to Saudi Nationals and to current holders of valid Saudi residence permits or transferable iqama. The successful candidate will be required to transfer their iqama sponsorship to the British Embassy.

  • Experience in programme management and delivery.
  • Experience in financial management, including working with financial data to prepare forecasts, manage, and scrutinise budgets.
  • Excellent organisational skills, including ability to organise workloads, set priorities, meet deadlines, and maintain close attention to detail to manage multiple projects concurrently.
  • Native speaker or mother tongue level of communication skills in English.
  • Confidence to express ideas clearly and concisely, both orally and in written communication.
  • Strong ability to build positive and collaborative working relationships with partners across the FCDO and external stakeholders, and work effectively as part of a team.
  • Flexible, resilient, decisive, and calm under pressure, with a proven track record of delivering results to a high standard within tight deadlines.
  • Strong IT skills and literacy in Microsoft Office applications (Word, Excel, PowerPoint, Outlook, Teams).
  • Relevant programme management experience in government, international organisations, and/ or non-profit organisations.
  • Professional designation in accounting, finance, or HR.
  • Arabic language skills.
Making Effective Decisions, Managing a Quality Service, Delivering at Pace, Working Together
31 May 2023
Executive Officer (EO)
Fixed Term, Full-time
35
18 months
Middle East & North Africa
Saudi Arabia
Riyadh
British Embassy
1
SAR
11,525
30 July 2023

The Embassy aims to offer an attractive working environment and remuneration package for this role.

Monthly salary details:

  • Base Salary - SAR 8,900
  • Housing Allowance - SAR 2,225 (subject to eligibility)*
  • Travel Allowance - SAR 400 (subject to eligibility)*
  • Total - SAR 11,525 

*Allowances are not payable to staff who receive official provision for such expenditure in some other form.

No accommodation nor relocation expenses are payable in connection with this position.

This position is full-time, based on 35 hours per week. Normal working hours for the Embassy are from 08:00 to 15:00 from Sunday to Thursday, with core working hours from 10:00-15:00. Core working hours is the period of the day that employees are required to be at work. The working day outside of the core hours is a flexible period, which allows employees to choose when they work, subject to operational needs. 

The jobholder will be required to be flexible in their approach to hours worked as these will be dictated by operational needs and may involve working out of hours (evening/ weekend) during visits and events. 

The successful candidate will be subject to a 90-day probationary period.

How to apply:

Interested candidates must include with their online application form

1) an updated Curriculum Vitae (CV);

2) a covering letter/ motivation essay stating how you meet the requirements of the role; and

3) specific examples, in the relevant sections of the online application form, of how you meet the key behaviours required.

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

The closing date for applications is at 23:55 KSA local time on 31 May 2023.

Applications received after the stated deadline will not be considered.

 

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

Appointable candidates who were unsuccessful at interview may be placed on a ‘reserve list’. If during the reserve period of six (6) months the same or a largely similar role becomes available, that role may be offered to the second or subsequent candidate.

The start date mentioned in the 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 and reference checks.

The recruitment process, including security clearance, is expected to take around 2-3 months. The security clearance process includes checks available in country and in the UK, dependant on the security level required for the role and the candidates profile and UK footprint. You may experience some delay in the progress of this recruitment campaign, and we are working hard to minimise any disruption.  

 

 

The British Embassy Riyadh is an equal opportunities employer, dedicated to inclusivity, a diverse workforce and valuing difference. Staff recruited locally by the British Embassy is subject to Terms and Conditions of Service according to local Saudi Arabia employment law.

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.