View Vacancy - Consular contact centre: Operations Manager (ESP20.266) FCO Network wide
Due to COVID-19, you may experience some delay in the progress of this recruitment campaign. We are working hard to minimise any disruption. You may find more information in the Additional Information section below.
The British Consular Network in Spain is part of a world-wide network, representing British political, economic and consular interests overseas and is now looking for a Consular Contact Centre Operations Manager. This is an exciting role at the FCO Consular Contact Centre (CCC) operation in Malaga (Spain), working on varied, fast-paced issues, in the heart of our dynamic CC Customer Experience team. The successful candidate will be a key part of our friendly team, working with our staff at our two contact centre sites (Malaga and Ottawa), our Emergency Travel Document (ETD) centres in Madrid and Singapore, and across the global network of British consulates. Our CC operation is a supportive working environment which also embraces flexible working.
Main purpose of the job:
The Consular Contact Centre (CCC) Operations Manager position is responsible for the overall management and coordination of the consular contact centre (CCC) sites in Malaga (Spain) and Ottawa (Canada). The CCC operation is the first point of contact for British nationals requiring consular assistance outside the UK. The team reporting (directly and indirectly) into the CCC Operations Manager fields in excess of 378,000 phone calls and written enquiries from members of the public a year. These enquiries relate to a wide range of topics, from a lost passport to a missing person. The CCC team deliver a “first class first contact” service and experience to our global customer base.
The global CCC Operations Manager role is responsible for ensuring both consistency across regions and that the right staff is in the right place and at the right time, delivering the right message. In this respect, the job holder acts as the main point of contact for the CCC team, providing advice on procedures and processes to consular posts, and recommending alternative courses of action, as appropriate. This position works closely together with the London-based Consular Operations team & Consular Contact Centre team.
This position is fully responsible for crisis preparedness and makes sure that our staff are fully-trained in crisis procedures and that rosters and resources support this. The role suggests improvements to our operational performance in contact centres across a number of areas, including technology, process, organisation and people. Leading the Malaga and Ottawa CCC teams through change and service developments is a key responsibility of the job. The successful candidate will be based either at the British Consulate in Malaga or the British High Commission in Ottawa.
COVID-19 has demonstrated that our consular response matters more than ever before. This role is at the heart of our operational response, with a real sense of delivering with purpose and providing excellent customer service for British people overseas.
Consular Services is a new Department within Consular Directorate. The Directorate is a large, friendly, and diverse one where people enjoy working and where we fully support learning and development. We promote a positive work/life balance and encourage new ways of thinking.
Main Duties and Responsibilities:
Leadership & Staff management and development: Responsible for direct reports at B3 grade, and indirect reports at A2 & A1, the job holder is expected to invest heavily in the development of the CCC Team Manager positions, focussing on quality service to both internal and external customers. The job holder leads the development plan for all staff in the contact centre.
Ensuring that the Malaga and Ottawa teams work seamlessly in the virtual team with London, including on senior leadership, logistics, rostering and workflow. You will help shape how the Malaga and Ottawa teams contribute to the 24/7, 365 day, operation – including horizon scanning upcoming issues and improving our first contact.
The successful candidate will be fully trained as an enquiry handler. You will help call handlers manage calls to members of the public, by providing timely and clear advice using consular guidance and other sources of information including scripts, travel advice and social media. Provide an escalation point for call handlers to manage challenging calls.
Crisis response: To ensure all plans and messaging are in line with Consular Directorate and the Crisis Management Department (CMD). To make sure that staff are prepared and trained ready to respond to a crisis anywhere across the globe. To continually develop our tools with London to provide effective response and ensure regular crisis exercises with both post and London.
Customer quality control: To continuously assess our response mechanisms and quality checks daily. To provide feedback loop with consular posts and senior staff. To ensure that Key Performance Indicators (KPI) are met.
Development of service levels: To continuously look at our service and offer suggestions to point of contact mechanisms and pilot innovative ways of customer contact.
Stakeholder management & Local mission representation: To manage the relationship with senior FCO staff in region, ensuring effective communication & innovative suggestions respond to complaints and ideas. Focus on our centrally provided information ensuring our networks keep this up to date. Supporting senior management decision making through the provision of briefings, presentations and the compilation of written reports with appropriate recommendations.
To represent our global Consular Contact Centre in local management boards, ensuring we are compliant with local TACOS and relevant H&S requests.
This position reports into the Consular Contact Centre (CCC) Director. Whilst their line manager is always available to provide support and guidance, this position is expected to be autonomous enough and work without close supervision to effectively carry out their responsibilities with very little advice, undertaking their duties within established policies and rules. The job holder is expected to use their judgement and opt for a course of action from amongst different possibilities. They are expected to plan ahead and take independent action without recourse to more senior management, under the control and direction of the CCC Director (D6L).
- Fluency in English (C level according to Common European Framework of Reference for Languages), verbal and written.
- Team management experience.
- Experience in a fast paced multinational organisation.
- Managing call/contact centre teams and operations.
- Experiencing operating an Automatic Call Distributor (ACD) system to manage call flows and queues.
- Experience managing, coaching and motivating junior managers with direct reports under them.
- Experience working with outsourced Service Desks and external managed service providers.
- Experience drafting, submitting and following up on business cases.
- Passion for customer service with previous experience leading a team to deliver customer service.
Any of the following foreign languages an advantage: Arabic, Cantonese, French, German, Greek, Italian, Mandarin, Portuguese, Spanish, Russian, Thai, Turkish.
This a FCO recruitment network wide recruitment,subject to Visa requirements and open to: all existing Local Staff and Post Interns currently employed in the global network (subject to qualifying criteria) and Spouses/partners of UK-based staff (including PAGS) in the global network.
This is a full-time permanent position and the working hours are 37.5 hrs per week. The candidate will work on a shift-rotation basis (i.e. varying work schedule each week), from Monday – Sunday including unsociable hours and compressed shift patterns. The candidate will need to be available to work some Public Holidays. The exact working hours and shifts will be laid down by the Contact Centre in Malaga but the centre is open 24/7 and working patterns will reflect this.
The successful candidate is subject to a confirmation of a background check, security clearance and the successful completion of a probationary period.
The successful candidate will be enrolled in the Spanish Social Security Scheme and will therefore not be entitled to any gratuity from the Embassy / Consulate based on gross annual salary.
Regarding taxation, the Consulate in Malaga is part of the British Mission in Spain, and as such supervised by the British Embassy. The Embassy is a Diplomatic Mission with tax exempt status and does not collect taxes for other States. Employees are fully responsible for payment of Spanish income tax at the legally required rate. Staff recruited locally by the British Embassy in Spain are subject to terms and conditions of service according to local Spanish employment law.
Visa/Passport requirements: Candidates must currently hold the independent right to live and work in Spain and be prepared to ensure that right remains throughout the scope of the contract. Additional requirements may become necessary after 31st December 2020.
Please note that the deadline for applications is 23:55 on the day mentioned in the above field “Application deadline”.
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.
Please be aware that the deadline for submitting applications is considered to be the time zone for the country where the vacancy has arisen.
FCO does not pay for travel related expense incurred in interviews (including Security Check) or accept any financial risk, including cancelation or reschedule costs. The FCO will not meet the costs connected with relocation if offered a position.
* Please note Common European Framework of Reference for Languages: Learning, Teaching, Assessment indicates Level C2 as Mastery or proficiency Level which comprehends that a person can understand with ease virtually everything heard or read; can summarize information from different spoken and written sources, reconstructing arguments and accounts in a coherent presentation; can express themselves spontaneously, very fluently and precisely, differentiating finer shades of meaning even in the most complex situations. For more information please click on the following link CEFR. Please bear in mind in case you are invited for an interview your languages skills are going to be assessed.
Additional Information (due to Covid-19):
- You may experience some delay in the progress of this recruitment campaign and we are working hard to minimise any disruption;
- Interviews will be done remotely if the existing situation determines this to be the right course of action;
- Starting date may be delayed depending on circumstances at the time and it will be agreed with the selected candidate.
This opportunity is closed to applications.
