View Vacancy - MNL - Capability Officer, EO

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.
Department for Business and Trade roles (DBT)
Department for Business and Trade (DBT)

The Department for Business and Trade (DBT) is the UK Government department charged with securing UK and global prosperity by promoting and financing international trade and investment, and championing free trade. In the Philippines, DBT works closely with the Foreign and Commonwealth and Development Office (FCDO) and other partners to:

  • Promote British trade and investment across the world
  • Build the global appetite for British goods and services
  • Break down market access barriers to trade in order to help businesses succeed
  • Support the development of the UK’s trade policy framework

This role is a key one in DBT APAC’s network of 300 people working across 15 markets, led by His Majesty’s Trade Commissioner (HMTC). You will help support the network to achieve its objectives by ensuring we have a high performing, well functioning workforce that enjoy coming to work.

This is an exciting opportunity for a confident, motivated and experienced HR Professional in Asia Pacific. The successful candidate will be expected to develop and lead the implementation of DBT APAC’s Capability Offer to its staff. This will include establishing strong relationships across the wider One HMG network in APAC, with the DBT APAC Operations Team and with DBT HQ in the UK to ensure co-ordination and alignment.

This work is a mixture of proactive and reactive, you will lead on long term strategies and field day-to-day queries on recruitment processes. You will deal with sensitive, emotionally charged issues and be expected to work with tact and keep issues confidential. We are, unsurprisingly, looking for someone with excellent people skills themselves. Critical to this role is being able to quickly gain the trust and respect of colleagues and having an understanding of the real issues on people’s minds. You will be expected to give advice and have frank conversations with staff at all grades.

The successful candidate will be joining a regional Operations Team based in locations across Asia Pacific. The line manager for this role is based in British Embassy, Manila but the successful candidate will be working with colleagues across APAC. 

Roles and responsibilities/What will the jobholder be expected to achieve?

DBT APAC Capability Offer (60%)

You will take pride in supporting DBT’s Capability Offer to its staff. This will include:

People Policy Management (35%)

  • Using insights from the annual all staff survey, focus groups and your relationships to draft and implement a People Plan that includes tangible actions and changes that address the real needs of colleagues;
  • Ensuring that existing and new People related policies and initiatives are implemented to a high standard consistently across DBT, and that FCDO and platform HR policies are consistently applied across the network;
  • Conducting a skills audit across the network to identify gaps and providing strategic recommendations to senior managers about how to respond;
  • Engaging with the DBT Senior Leadership Team, the wider Leadership team and all staff to support change – running training sessions, attending team meetings and making sure change is embedded;
  • Proactively raising and tackling HR issues as they arise throughout the year, drafting papers and making recommendations at DBT APAC Board meetings.

Recruitment and Induction (25%)

  • Running an informative and inspiring quarterly induction for all new staff in region, aligned with HQ and using a blended learning approach (including e learning, webinars and formal training);
  • Being the key point person for staff in the region for questions about HR issues / processes, providing clear, accurate and timely advice;
  • Liaising with hiring managers to ensure certain roles are advertised well in advance of the start date. Running pre-posting calls and working with DBT HQ and FCDO to ensure colleagues travelling from the UK to work at Post have a smooth start;
  • Holding intro and exit chats, feeding back insights from them to relevant People Priorities;
  • Maintaining DBT APAC’s Recruitment and People guide which is a “go-to” document for all HR and People guidance. Working with our HR Business Partner and the FCDO’s recruitment hub to ensure our approaches are aligned.

DBT APAC Capability Schemes (20%)

You will lead on DBT APAC’s Capability Schemes. This includes:

  • Proactively engaging with relevant learning and corporate teams in the FCDO and DBT to understand, shape and use HMG’s central learning offer where relevant to APAC teams. Tracking and sharing feedback from different learning events to make sure we understand the quality and impact of various training offers;
  • Running the process to facilitate an annual L&D fund;
  • Championing L&D by masterminding and hosting an annual L&D day for the region;
  • Providing weekly updates to the region on L&D initiatives accessible to DBT APAC staff;
  • Refining the design of and running our regional secondment scheme;
  • Leading on administering our language training offer to staff;
  • Overseeing a suite of APAC related initiatives designed to reward our talented performers across the region, working closely with a member of HMTC’s Private Office team on them;
  • Designing additional APAC Reward schemes where necessary.

DBT APAC Capability Data (15%)

You will manage the region’s Capability Data. This includes:

  • Leading on facilitating an annual People Survey and analysing its results;
  • Ensuring the sound day-to-day management of a Census containing key staff data;
  • Making strategic recommendations about where our workforce may need to be bolstered, based on data;
  • Working with the FCDO Recruitment Hub to understand local market pay, recruitment and retention data and using the insights you gather to develop a pay and reward strategy for the APAC region.

Corporate contribution (5%)

  • Provide support where necessary in delivery of the wider objectives of British Embassy in Manila.

You will report to the Head of Operations and Finance in Manila. You will be a core part of APAC’s Operations team in Manila, which is the glue that holds DBT APAC together working on People, data, L&D, finance, procurement and corporate issues. Ultimately this team reports to the region’s Chief Operating Officer (based in Singapore) and you will work closely and directly with them. Both she and your line manager will support you in your career progression.

Please note the exact responsibilities of this role are likely to change over time. Candidates should be willing and open to take on a variety of work. In return there is plenty of scope to develop and support you in your development goals such as CIPD qualifications.

This role may involve limited travel to APAC Posts.


Resources managed (staff and expenditure):

  • Learning and Development fund
  • Secondment Scheme fund

 

  • Tertiary Education with Human Resource, Business and People Management focus degree and other qualification
  • At least three years professional work experience in a relevant field.
  • Experience with Recruitment and Corporate Function is a plus
  • Strong interpersonal skills, the ability to quickly gain the trust and confidence of colleagues at all levels
  • Excellent written and verbal presentation and communication skills
  • Proactive, driven and motivated, with an ability to work with a huge degree of autonomy
  • Emotional intelligence
  • Ability to work flexibility and deliver at pace, demonstrating resilience and ability to manage multiple priorities

Language requirements:

Language: English

Level of language required: Excellent

  • CIPD qualification
  • Working with culturally diverse set of groups and individuals

Other skills / experience/ qualifications:

We are looking for someone who can juggle competing pieces of work, has high standards, and genuinely cares about people and making DBT a good place to work. The ideal candidate would be someone who can suggest and implement improvements, takes the initiative to problem solve, and builds connections easily.

 

Changing and Improving, Communicating and Influencing, Leadership, Working Together
15 September 2024
Executive Officer (EO)
Full-time, Fixed Term, Fixed term, with possibility of renewal
36
24 months
Asia Pacific
Philippines
Manila
British Embassy
1
PHP
65,947.50
monthly
11 November 2024

Benefits:

The British Embassy Manila offers the following:

  • A competitive compensation package
  • 36-hour work week
  • Guaranteed 13th and 14th month pay
  • 20 days paid annual leave (calculated on Pro-rata basis if joined after 1 January)
  • Extensive medical insurance
  • Life insurance
  • Access to a guaranteed 5 days of learning opportunities a year.

Learning and Development Opportunities:

The Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office is committed to developing its staff, working hard to provide a comprehensive L&D offer. Staff have access to a wide variety of online resources and are strongly encouraged to take advantage of all the available opportunities. All new staff undertake a workplace induction and there are a number of mandatory e-learning courses covering areas such as diversity, health and safety, and information management

Working Patterns:

Monday–Friday 09:00-17:00

Other Information:

This is a 2 year fixed-term contract with possibility of renewal for permanent position.

Employment offers are subject to successful clearance of pre-employment checks. Staff recruited locally by the British Embassy Manila is subject to Terms and Conditions of Service according to local Philippine employment law.

No accommodation or relocation expenses are payable in connection with this position. 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. Any costs related to obtaining or renewing permits and visas are the responsibility of the successful applicant.

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.

Candidates are expected to have a valid NBI Clearance.

The FCDO also operates an agile workforce. To facilitate this, you may be required to undertake other duties from time to time as we may reasonably require.

Please note that your application must be submitted before 23:55 on the day mentioned in the above field “Application deadline.”

Please be aware that the deadline for submitting applications is considered to be the time zone for the country where the vacancy has arisen.

We advise you to allow enough time to complete and submit your full application since only applications completed and submitted before the deadline will be considered.  

All applicants are required to mandatorily fill the online application form completely including the employment and educational details, experience, professional skills and behaviour-based questions. We will be thoroughly reviewing the applications and incomplete form in any respect may not be considered while shortlisting for the next stage.

For inclusivity and diversity, please remove the following personal information when uploading your CV: name, address, email address, age, date of birth, gender, and nationality.

Only shortlisted candidates for interview will be contacted. Interviewees will be assessed on the core behaviours/qualifications listed above. Unsuccessful candidates will be notified via the system in due time. Appointable candidates who were unsuccessful may be placed on a ‘reserve list’.  If during the reserve period of 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 job advert is a tentative start date. Any offer of employment will be subject to the candidate achieving suitable clearances.

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.