View Vacancy - Visits and Events Support Officer

As a Visits and Events Support Officer you will be responsible for providing administrative and logistical support for high level visits from the UK to the US. The British Defence Staff United States receives a number of visits every year from UK Government leaders and senior military and civilian officials in order to facilitate UK/US Defence relationships and further the MOD’s objectives. Working as part of a wider Embassy team, you will be responsible for helping organise a coherent and sustainable programme of visits, delivering the logistics and preparations for each visit to the USA, and ensuring visits run smoothly.

The post-holder will work flexibly within the team to organise and support internal and external meetings for the visitor, arrange travel, accommodation, and social functions, and prepare necessary paperwork for the visit.

The post-holder will also support the Flagship BDSUS events, which BDSUS hosts annually to build relationships with US interlocutors, as required by the event lead.

1.  Main point of contact for inward visitors and their meeting requests, ensuring clarity on their objectives and our deliverables.

2.  Liaise with stakeholders to produce a draft visit programme and circulate this and any subsequent updates. This will result in producing a visit booklet for the visitor’s party and Embassy staff involved.

3.  Liaise with outer office staff of the Ambassador, the Defence Attaché and the Minister for Defence and Materiel to arrange for senior Embassy based staff to accompany visitor on calls, offer accommodation at the Ambassador’s Residence and/or organise official hospitality opportunities.

4.  Ensure that all security clearance details are submitted for the visiting party + accompanying embassy staff

5.  In conjunction with the Embassy Transport Team, organise transport and produce a transport schedule.

6.  Where necessary, visits section will arrange expedited transit through airports and weapons clearances for protection officers

7.  Maintain a central record of all visit programmes, briefing packs and records for wider BDS awareness and to inform future visits.

8.  Maintain the post visit questionnaire and collate and distribute post visit reports.

9.  Assist in event planning logistics for key BDSUS events, including making bookings, managing guest lists, arranging logistic support and other duties as required..

10.  Perform other duties as assigned, supporting the Head of Visits and Events.

11.  Be expected to travel to locations to assist in recces and programs if required.

Essential on arrival: High degree of knowledge of Microsoft Office applications including Microsoft Outlook and Sharepoint.

Ability to work flexible hours due to the requirement to work on evenings and weekends on occasion in support of visit programmes.

Must hold a valid and current US driving licence.

Proven track record of working well under pressure, problem solving, and making judgments in a timely fashion in response to changing circumstances.

Effective communicating and influencing skills to engage confidently and effectively with the military and civilian staff at all levels as well as stakeholders and customers in the UK.

Keen attention to detail to ensure consistently high-standards.

Exceptional organisation and prioritisation skills are required as is flexibility to respond to competing team requirements as necessary.