View Vacancy - Consular Assistant for Moscow (RUS18.309)

The British Embassy in Moscow is part of a world-wide network, representing British political, economic and consular interests overseas and is now looking for a Consular Officer to support out delivery of assistance to British Citizens in Russia.  The successful candidate will join a small, hard-working team at the Embassy in Moscow who deliver consular services across Russia. This role will have a specific remit to cover the areas formerly covered by the British Consulate General in St Petersburg, which is closing on 1 August 2018.  St Petersburg is arguably Russia’s premier destination for British tourists – and is a popular cruise ship stop. 

The main purpose of the job is to provide modern and efficient consular assistance and fee-bearing services to British Nationals in Russia and to contribute to the delivery of the regional consular business plan including on crisis preparedness. This can range from replacing lost passports and assisting their departure from Russia, to conducting prison visits with the British Consul.  The role requires an individual with strong inter-personal and empathy skills. There will be occasions when British nationals will be in distress and require sympathetic and appropriate handling by consular officers.

The successful candidate should be prepared to travel, sometimes at short notice. This will include international travel, for training (in the UK for instance) or to support British consular operations in other countries where necessary.

The role is a very interesting and challenging one. We will train you if you are new to consular work. You will work in a supportive team with a management structure that prefers and advocates giving responsibility to staff members. The British Embassy is located in central Moscow, is a modern office environment with a progressive attitude towards its staff.

In more detail, main responsibilities will include:

Consular Assistance - to provide consular assistance to British Nationals (BN) in the Russian Federation to include (not an exclusive list):

• Issue temporary passports where full versions are lost. Assist BNs comply with Russian immigration regulations;
• Issue certificate of no impediments to facilitate marriages involving BNs;
• Work with families of deceased BNs, and the return of remains and personal effects;
• Visit BNs in detention and to support engagement with the Russian Government where rights are viewed to be at risk;
• Visit BNs in hospital when in medical distress;
• Be a key team member for major events such as international football matches where large numbers of British nationals are expected to attend.

St Petersburg Consular District - to build and maintain contacts in the St Petersburg Consular District with a focus on:

• The appropriate Governments – state, city and other levels;
• The tourism sector – airlines, cruise ship companies etc.;
• Support services such as undertakers;
• Consular representatives of other nations in St Petersburg or elsewhere in the district (i.e Mumansk).

Crisis Management

• Support the British Embassy’s crisis preparedness, with a particular focus on ensuring the consular team is ready to deploy and react at short notice to consular emergencies.

British Embassy Environment

• Play a positive role in making the British Embassy a better place to work by undertaking voluntary corporate roles such as helping to support efforts to eradicate bullying, harassment and discrimination, to green the Embassy or to remove single-use plastics by June 2019;
• Community initiatives such as these needs dedicated colleagues to lead them.

• Fluency in English and Russian (both oral and written);
• A good understanding of IT issues. We will provide training;
• Good organisational skills and customer service experience.