View Vacancy - Honorary Consul – Port Elizabeth Region, South Africa - 15/18 SA

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 (Consular Roles)
Consular

Main purpose of job:

Honorary Consuls are volunteers who provide a valuable service offering emergency Consular assistance to people who find themselves in difficulty overseas.


Roles and responsibilities:

Honorary Consuls are volunteers who provide a valuable service offering emergency Consular assistance to people who find themselves in difficulty overseas. The FCO Consular Strategy 2016-2020 outlines our mandate to provide professional and tailored assistance to British Nationals when they most need our help, including in times of crisis.

Honorary Consuls are generally people of good standing in the local community and ideally have a strong network of local contacts and preferably, although not essentially, a British national.

The job holder will work closely with the busy Consular teams in Cape Town and Pretoria, providing friendly and efficient emergency consular assistance in Port Elizabeth and its surrounding area as necessary.

This is a voluntary position with no salary attached; however an Honorarium payment will be awarded every financial year. An Honorary Consul should work on average no more than 4 hours per week.  

The successful jobholder will be supervised by the British High Commission in Pretoria who may ask the jobholder to assist with the following:

  • Offer assistance in consular emergencies such as visiting British Nationals in hospital following illness, assault or accident, or in detention following their arrest.
  • Respond immediately to a large scale incident (e.g. road/air/rail/boat accident, serious fire, and natural disaster) by seeking information from local authorities about any British casualties, and establishing the scale of the situation and then reporting back to the Embassy.
  • In the case of the death of a British National, you may be asked to provide assistance to family members.
  • Build and maintain good working relationships with key local contacts such as hospitals, courts, local police and tourist police, airports, social services, prisons, voluntary organisations etc. 
  • On behalf of the High Commission, help with the organisation of visits to Port Elizabeth especially when the High Commissioner, High Commission staff, and British delegations’ visit the area.
  • Speak on behalf of the British High Commission, Pretoria when requested to do so.
  • Solve problems creatively and promptly within FCO Consular policy guidance
Strong communication skills, including the ability to deliver difficult messages with empathy. Excellent customer service skills and the ability to work in a multitude of working environments.  A passion for helping people in distress. Good prioritisation skills
Competent use of IT packagers, including Microsoft Office. Presentation skills; ability to speak on behalf of the British High Commission when requested to do so. Good knowledge of South Africa local authorities.  Good local knowledge of the area around Port Elizabeth and the Garden Route.
1 May 2018
Fixed Term, Part-Time
4 hours per week
Africa
South Africa
Cape Town
British High Commission
1
1 June 2018

Working patterns:

Average 4 hours per week – honorarium paid.


Any other information:

This position is a volunteer role in which an honorarium will paid each year. The appointment is subject to clearance to pre-employment checks. Staff who are locally recruited by the British High Commission are subject to local Terms and Conditions of Service according to local employment law.  

No accommodation or relocation expenses are payable in connection with position. Expenses related to your role i.e. telephone calls / mileage are reimbursed.

  • Please complete the application form in full as the information provided is used during screening.
  • Please check your application carefully before you submit, as no changes can be made once submitted.
  • The British High Commission will never request any payment or fees to apply for a position. 
  • Employees recruited locally by the British High Commission in South Africa are subject to Terms and Conditions of Service according to local employment law in South Africa. 
  • 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. 
  • The responsibility lies on the successful candidate to;

1.    Obtain the relevant permit

2.    Pay fees for the permit

3.    Make arrangements to relocate

4.    Meet the costs to relocation

 

The British High Commission do not sponsor visas/work permits except where it may be local practice to do so. 

  • Employees who are not eligible to pay local income tax: e.g. certain third-country nationals and spouses/partners of UK diplomats will have their salaries abated by an equivalent amount. 
  • Information about the Foreign and Commonwealth Office Competency Framework can be found on this link: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/civil-service-competency-framework Please note:  AA=A1, AO=A2, EO=B3, HEO=C4, SEO=C5  
  • Reference checking and security clearances will be conducted on successful candidates.
  • If you don’t already hold a valid SA Police Clearance Certificate, we recommend that you apply for the certificate at the time of your application.
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.