View Vacancy - Planning and Strategic Communications Officer

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.
Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office (Policy & Political roles)
Communications, Press and Media

Main purpose of job:


The British Government’s Embassy in Washington has an exciting opportunity for a dynamic person to join the Communications Team as a Planning and Strategic Communications Officer. This opportunity is a rewarding role which supports and further develops the special relationship between the UK and the US, working at the forefront of international diplomacy in order to make a real difference globally. 

The US Network offers a unique career enhancing opportunity and is committed to supporting its staff through a variety of benefits including generous leave, insurance packages and a highly competitive 401k programme.  It also promotes a culture of flexibility which enables people to better maintain wellness through an excellent work/life balance approach that encompasses hybrid working, including working from home and flexible hours, where possible.  In this role you would be working in a diverse international environment side-by-side with UK diplomats, armed forces personnel and other country based staff operating across the British Government’s network of Consulates and Government Offices in the United States. This network provides a platform for approximately 30 Government departments and agencies to conduct their work in the United States and is made up of over 900 staff with a rich and diverse background, skill sets, and experiences. 

The successful candidate will have the opportunity to help implement planning functions within the Embassy – helping set out the priorities for UK communications in the US and coordinating external engagement activity across the US, and directly support stakeholder engagement throughout the network. With a mixture of comms, analysis and project management this role will be challenging but rewarding and a great opportunity to develop communications and external engagement experience. The post holder will spend 50% of their time overseeing the internal network digital and external engagement grid, filing of incoming post, coordination of meetings. The post holder will spend 50% of their time providing support to the Head of Stakeholder engagement through research, administrative support, and strategy creation.

The ideal candidate will be a clear communicator, adaptable, and have a strong attention to detail, with a background in fast-paced work environments and experience with project management.


Roles and responsibilities:


•    Liaise across the Embassy and US Network to ensure routine planning and capturing of communications and external engagement activity, leading on all duties related to the Embassy’s Grid and central planning function.
•    Schedule, manage and chair weekly meetings and network correspondence related to weekly external engagement activity and relevant communications, including overseeing the Weekly Note.
•    Communicate with UK Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office communications teams and planners in in London to coordinate communications, media, and external engagement efforts. 
•    Produce and present monthly and quarterly reports on the US Network’s external engagement and communications activity, providing insights and analysis on the impact of the Network’s work. 
•    Support the Head of Stakeholder Engagement on strategic outreach, background research, and coordinating information database on priority external organisations in the DC and US network.
•    Support directly the Head of Communications, Head of Strategic Communications and Public Diplomacy, and the public diplomacy and communications team in day-to-day administrative support.  

Resources managed (staff and expenditure): 
This will not be a supervisory position. Post holder would manage project expenditure delegated to them by line manager and comms team budget, and/or FCO project funds.


Essential on arrival: 
•    Strong oral and written communication skills; fluency in English
•    Experience with project management and administrative support;
•    Proven ability to complete multiple tasks and high volume of work on deadline in a fast-paced work environment;
•    Experience with CRM and related data-management systems;
•    Attention to detail and ability to edit and proofread;
•    Demonstrated ability to take control and follow through on assigned tasks with limited supervision;
•    Strong working knowledge of Microsoft Office software. 

Under US State Department requirements, the UK Government in the US may only employ, as non-diplomatic staff, persons who are US citizens, US Permanent Residents or A visa holders with EAD cards*. If you hold a visa other than an A visa you are not currently eligible to work at our office.  Please refer to our website for information on exceptions to this policy at www.gov.uk/government/world/usa.  All selected candidates are subject to background checks and will require a security clearance prior to starting work.  
*A visas are acceptable at the Embassy and Consulates. The UK Mission to the UN (UKMIS) accepts G visas, and British Defense Staff (BDS) outposts accept A or NATO visas.  

Seeing the Big Picture, Changing and Improving, Making Effective Decisions, Delivering at Pace
9 October 2022
Administrative Officer (AO)
Full-time, Permanent
40
Americas, Caribbean & Overseas Territories
United States
Washington
British Embassy
1
USD
$21.36
7 November 2022

The British Embassy and its US Network is committed to all employee’s ongoing learning and development needs. We offer a comprehensive platform for personalised learning for everything from soft skill development (communicating with impact, handling difficult conversations, time management) to more technical or professional skills necessary to complete your job (software training, formal qualifications etc.).

This role is 40 hours a week. The British Embassy and its US Network embraces hybrid working, allowing its staff to typically work from home 2 or 3 times a week.  We are an organization that also recognises the critical value of team work and we embrace and endorse collaboration by ensuring that all staff attend the office flexibly yet regularly. Following British Embassy working guidance, this position will be fully in person, with the flexibility to occasionally work from home pending approval from line manager.

The UK Government operating in the US offers a substantial benefits package including generous leave, a choice of medical insurance, 401(k) matching up to 7%, extensive learning opportunities and a great work/life balance. Employees who are not liable to pay local income tax on their Mission salary, eg some non-local national staff and some spouses or partners of UK diplomatic staff, will have their salaries abated by an equivalent amount. Internal candidates must inform their supervisor before they apply to a different position.

Only successful candidates will be contacted. Please no phone calls. Due to the high volume of resumes we receive, we cannot guarantee consideration of your application if the submission instructions are not properly followed.

The British Embassy is committed to a policy of equal opportunities and to creating a diverse working environment, free from discrimination, where everyone is included and treated fairly, based on merit alone. We are an equal opportunity employer, making all employment decisions without regard to race, gender, gender identity, religion, national origin, citizenship, disability, age, sexual orientation, political affiliation or any other criterion protected by 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.