View Vacancy - Pro Consul (BGR255)

The British Embassy in Sofia is part of a worldwide network, representing British political, economic and consular interests overseas.

The Consular team at the British Embassy in Sofia is looking to recruit a full time Pro Consul (A2) to join the team in July 2017. The successful candidate will help the Consular team deliver effective and efficient consular assistance and services to British Nationals in Bulgaria and Macedonia.

As a Pro Consul, you will be based at the British Embassy Sofia reporting to the Vice Consul. You will manage and deliver consular support, in a team of four, to distressed British nationals throughout Bulgaria and Macedonia. This means you will need to travel to visit British nationals in, for example, prisons and hospitals, across the two countries (very occasionally at short notice).

Sofia is a busy assistance post which has a fair share of high-profile, complex cases and a steady stream of Emergency Travel Document applications (ETDs). Bulgaria attracts a high number of UK visitors and has the highest number of British residents in the Balkans.

The Vice Consul, in close partnership with the team, is required to build relationships with key external stakeholders in local authorities and the British community across the region to ensure we are in the best position to help British National visitors/residents in need of assistance when required.

The candidate will be a resilient, quick-thinking individual, who can demonstrate empathy towards our most vulnerable customers, with good prioritisation skills and a strong sense of team work.

Main Responsibilities will include:

Assistance

• Lead on consular assistance to British Nationals in cases of hospitalisations, mental health, emergency travel documents, deaths, victims of crime, financial assistance, welfare and detainee cases in accordance with Consular guidance and with the advice of Vice Consul and the Consular network;
• Handle enquiries and correspondence from consular customers and referring to Vice Consul as necessary;
• Follow up enquiries and cases by phone, email or in person (including travelling to various locations in Bulgaria, including out of hours/overnight in rare but necessary cases) and ensuring all engagement is properly recorded in line with the Data Protection Act, including unofficial translation work when required;
• Assist in the monitoring and updating of digital customer information such as travel advice, social media and websites;
• Provide resilience and support with case handling to colleagues in the Balkans and Eastern Adriatic region.

Partnering & Lobbying

• Support Vice Consul in preparing and delivering projects;
• Assist with building relationships with local partners and helping in prevention campaigns to give advice to British Nationals travelling to and living in Bulgaria;
• Make recommendations to Vice Consul for innovative ways to deliver professional and targeted consular service to residents and visitors in Bulgaria.

Notarial work

• Prepare paperwork for fee-bearing services.

Crisis

• Prepare self and post for any possible large scale event affecting British Nationals;
• Take part in Embassy crisis preparedness activity and local liaison;
• Proactively work as part of the Bulgaria consular team in any crisis situation and update the consular elements of the Crisis Management Plan.

Management

• Submission of accurate Management Information data;
• Contribute to Europe South Network regional work;
• Budget monitoring and cashier duties;
• A broad range of section administration, including filing/weeding, submission of returns to London responding to London requests for information and control of working stocks.

• 2-3 years of relevant work experience for the position;
• Experience in Customer Service;
• Excellent command of spoken and written English and Bulgarian;
• Proven experience in dealing with the general public and working in a team in a fast moving target-driven environment;
• Excellent customer focus using problem solving and judgement skills to deliver results within set deadlines;
• Superb attention to detail;
• Ability to develop and maintain contacts with internal and external stakeholders;
• Positive, proactive attitude and ability to work in a team;
• Strong service delivery awareness, adaptability, flexibility, patience and empathy;
• Strong interpersonal skills and ability to work accurately under pressure;
• Good communication and influencing skills;
• Excellent organisational and administrative skills;
• Self starter with strong time management skills - able to work to deadlines and targets, manage a sometimes heavy workload and prioritise accordingly;
• Excellent IT skills (MS Office - Outlook, PowerPoint, Word and Excel);
• Occasional travel and flexibility in working hours will be expected as on occasions out-of-hours assistance to British nationals may be required (overtime or time off in lieu is provided);
• Availability, on occasion, to travel at short notice to provide consular assistance in Bulgaria or Macedonia;
• Managing both external and internal customer expectations;
• Ability in the following key Foreign and Commonwealth Office competences: making effective decisions; collaborating and partnering; managing a quality service and delivering at pace.