View Vacancy - AUH - Culture & Events Officer B3(L)

The British Embassy Abu Dhabi has a vacancy for a Culture & Events Officer.

The jobholder will work closely with the British Council, Devolved Administrations, GREAT Campaign, VisitBritain teams, wider Embassy teams and the Office of the British Embassy in Dubai, to enhance cross-government co-ordination and bilateral collaboration around the themes of culture, tolerance, women’s empowerment, and youth. This includes maintaining momentum from the UK-UAE Year of Cultural Collaboration, events for the Year of Zayed, work around the Special Olympics, and events for Royal Visits.

Duties and responsibilities:

The jobholder will identify opportunities and develop an innovative and varied annual programme of events that promote the bilateral relationship and the UK’s interests in line with our country business plan. Working with Embassy teams, often to tight deadlines, the jobholder will design event content, source venues and suppliers, and identify and invite appropriate guests to deliver top quality events, ensuring value for money and seeking feedback to maintain continuous improvement.

He/ She will deliver a range of off-site and on-site events (e.g., at the Ambassador’s Residence), working closely with the Executive Office, Chancery, wider Embassy teams, as well as the Residence and Estates Teams to ensure events run smoothly and Her Majesty’s Ambassador and Deputy Head of Mission are supported. This will require flexible working and some evening work.

The jobholder will also maintain the contacts database and manage the Executive Office and Chancery events budget, ensuring full compliance with financial reporting responsibilities and procurement rules.

Key competencies required:

• Making Effective Decisions - Being objective; using sound judgement, evidence and knowledge to provide accurate, expert and professional advice. Showing clarity of thought, setting priorities, analysing and using evidence to evaluate options before arriving at well-reasoned justifiable decisions.
• Collaborating and Partnering - Creating and 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.
• Managing a Quality Service - Being organised to deliver service objectives and striving to improve the quality of service, taking account of diverse customer needs and requirements. Effectively planning, managing, and organising time and activities to deliver a high quality and efficient service, applying programme and project management approaches to support service delivery.
• Seeing the Big Picture - Having an in-depth understanding and knowledge of how your role fits with and supports organisational objectives and the wider public needs. Focusing your contribution on the activities which will meet the organisation's goals and deliver the greatest value.
• Delivering Value for Money - Seeking out and implementing solutions which achieve the best mix of quality and effectiveness for the least outlay. Making decisions based on evidenced information and following agreed processes and policies, challenging these appropriately where they appear to prevent good value for money.

The ideal candidate will have at least a university degree and will have previous relevant experience in events management planning and delivery. Experience in resource or budget management will be an advantage. Previous relevant experience in events management, planning, and delivery in the Middle East will also be highly regarded.

We are looking for someone with excellent interpersonal, organisational, customer handling and communication skills. The ideal candidate will have the ability to work autonomously and have strong planning and self-management skills. He/ She will have excellent organisational skills, with proven ability to plan and prioritise tasks. They will also have previous experience of working in a team.

Having a customer-focused approach is essential. Excellent communication skills in English, both written and spoken are required, including the confidence to interact effectively with a range of stakeholders. Arabic language skills (speaking and writing) will be desirable but is not essential.

The ideal candidate must have the ability to anticipate and solve problems, pay close attention to detail, and be able to think strategically to spot opportunities.

Strong IT skills, including proficiency in MS Office software are also required. Previous experience of social media will also be helpful.