View Vacancy - Community Liaison Officer (16/22 ADD)

Main purpose of job:

The CLO works closely with the Corporate Services Section and Senior Post Management to ensure the well-being of all staff at Post, with the primary function as  advocate for all UK-based staff and families (across HMG) on family and community issues, principally in the areas of information gathering, welfare and communication.
The successful candidate must be willing to undergo security clearance.

Roles and responsibilities:

Information gathering for UK-based officers and their spouses/partners and families (including for those not yet in Addis). This may include: information on possibilities for spouse/partner employment in Ethiopia and completion of an annual Spouse and Partner Employment Report for FCDO; children's education (through completion of separate School and Nursery Information Sheets of authorised schools); feedback on adult education; career and training opportunities; advice on foreign-born spouse/partner issues; recreational facilities and social matters. Biannual completion of the Cost of Living report.

Welfare at Post: welcoming all staff on posting/temporary duty/flexible deployment and accompanying families to ensure as smooth an integration as possible into the life of the Embassy community; following up to check that staff and families are settling in; being a source of referral and support where questions or problems arise; providing short Post community induction.

Advocate for UK-based staff and families in addressing issues of importance with Post Management, including as their representative on the post housing committee, working with Corporate Services Team to identify appropriate accommodation, and as the chief link between the Embassy and the Diplomatic Staff Families’ Association in London.

Communication and Information Management: Communicate effectively on community and social matters across Post to all staff and responsibility for information management such as the CLO homepage on Post’s Intranet/SharePoint site and newsletter; input to update and review of the Post Report, Post Fact Sheet and One HMG Induction Pack.

Management: Management of domestic equipment float and arrival pack in partnership with Estates Team.
BE Addis Ababa is a large, busy Post. The types of families and officers posted to Addis range widely, from families with very young children to single officers on first posting. The successful candidate will need to flex their style and approach to ensure all demographics are treated equally and everyone is pointed towards the information and support they need.  

Once settled in to the role there will also be opportunities to work with the various Embassy Committees to deliver welfare enhancing social activities for all staff (UKB and CBS) and families. 

• Must have a sound understanding of expatriate (and preferably diplomatic) life
• You must be able to demonstrate excellent written and spoken English
• Must be comfortable using Word, Excel and Outlook
• You will need to be able to work independently, using initiative and problem solving skills
• The successful candidate must be sympathetic, discrete and a good listener