View Vacancy - Regional Crisis Adviser

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 (Operations and Corporate Services)
Corporate Services Support

British diplomatic posts overseas are at the frontline of a UK government response to an overseas crisis affecting British people and interests. 
This role focuses on ensuring that they have the right, plans and skills to be able to respond to a range of different crisis scenarios.

Within your region you will be responsible for understanding the risks that different posts face and their overall preparedness and providing support and advice to help them improve their ability to respond. You will be expected to champion the Foreign and Commonwealth Office’s (FCO) clear crisis management methodology and training products, supported and directed by the FCO Crisis Management department in London and working closely with our regional consular staff. Although this role is based in Washington DC you will need to be able to form close working relationships with the posts in your region, prioritizing those with the greatest need for support and travelling to deliver training and advice. You will benefit from excellent learning and development opportunities, which will allow you to deepen your crisis management skills as well as a supportive network of colleagues both in London and overseas. 

Role:

  • Crisis Preparedness: Develop a coherent approach to crisis management across the region by supporting crisis preparedness for UK diplomatic posts providing high quality guidance, and training so that posts are well prepared to effectively respond to a crisis, in line with FCO London Crisis Management Department (CMD) policy and guidance.
  • Crisis Response: To provide support and advice to posts experiencing or approaching a crisis to ensure the most effective response.

  • Crisis Improvement: To maintain a good understanding of the crisis risks within your region, providing input to and quality assurance of post crisis management plans, highlighting key risks to Consular Regional Directors (CRDs) and CMD and applying lessons from crises and exercises. Maintain good relationships with both internal and external crisis management stakeholders in order to enhance regional risk assessment and horizon scanning

Responsabilities:

  • Network and Post Support: To prioritise crisis preparedness work in your region based on an understanding of risk and horizon scanning. To act as expert adviser to Post Crisis Management Committees making recommendations to ensure policy and guidance is followed by Posts. To encourage and help embed a ‘whole of mission approach’ to planning and crisis preparedness.
  • Quality Assurance: To advise posts on development of their crisis management plans (CMPs), and crisis preparedness working to achieve a consistent quality across the region, merging local knowledge with central crisis management guidance. Work with CMD’s Planning Team to indentify risks, capability and capacity gaps and to helps posts take steps to improve their preparedness.
  • Training & Exercising: Deliver effective crisis workshops, tabletop and design semi-live exercises in your region liaising closely with the CMD Training & Exercising Team and using the latest training approaches and materials. Identify any potential learning/skills gaps in crisis management techniques and work with CMD to address them. Help CMD to coordinate and prioritise regional exercises, and assist in the delivery of overseas training events. Support crisis managers to encourage colleagues to complete the crisis content of the Diplomatic Academy’s foundation level. Champion the various learning methods to help promote and develop crisis management learning in region.   
  • Stakeholder Engagement: to actively support Posts’ engagement with host governments and major UK crisis management stakeholders to ensure good understanding of host country and regional crisis structures and maintain up-to-date liaison contacts.
  • Lessons Learned: participate in, and facilitate where appropriate (e.g. for locally managed crises), the crisis lessons learned process. To identify, record and share best practice regionally. Working with CMD to ensure lessons learned are taken forward and incorporated back into CMPs across the region.
  • Crisis Hub: act as a champion for our Crisis IT system Crisis Hub and ensure relevant staff across the region keep their skills and access up-to-date to reflect latest developments of Crisis Hub.
  • Crisis Response: working with CMD and the CRD provide advice and support to posts in crisis.
  • College degree in a related field and 4 years experience or 6 to 8 years of related experience. 
  • Excellent English language skills (written and oral)
  • Understanding of and an ability to work in an international or governmental organisation.
  • Excellent inter-personal, communication and team working skills.
  • Excellent organizational skills and a proactive approach.
  • Resilience, with ability to work unsupervised and innovate.
  • Self starter with strong time management skills - able to work to deadlines and targets and manage a sometimes heavy workload.
  • Excellent IT skills (Outlook, PowerPoint, Word and Excel)


Under US State Department requirements, the Embassy may only employ, as non-diplomatic staff, persons who are US citizens, US Green Card holders or A or NATO visa holders with EAD cards*. If you hold a visa other than an A or NATO visa you are not currently eligible to work at the Embassy.  Please refer to our website for information on exceptions to this policy at www.gov.uk/government/world/usaAll candidates will be subject to background checks and security clearance. 



*A visas or NATO visas with EAD cards are acceptable at the Embassy, Consulates, and British Defence Staff (BDS) outposts.  The UK Mission to the UN (UKMIS) accepts G visas.


  • Familiarity with Foreign Office Crisis Management policy and procedures would be helpful. The successful candidate will benefit from training and development through the FCO’s Diplomatic Academy Consular and Crisis faculty. This includes the opportunity to develop skills along a number of different crisis management ‘learning pathways’.
  • The ability to deliver training in a professional environment, ideally with an externally validated professional accreditation, such as CIPD.
  • Familiarity with crisis management issues and techniques and an ability to understand risks across a range issues
  • Familiarity with UK consular procedures
1 October 2017
Executive Officer (EO)
Full-time, Permanent
40
Americas, Caribbean & Overseas Territories
United States
Washington
British Consulate General
1
USD
67,186.00
20 November 2017

The British Embassy Network offers a strong benefits package. This package includes medical, dental, vision, life, long term and short term disability insurance, a 401(k) retirement savings plan, generous vacation and leave time, and an enriching training package.

Staff recruited locally by the British Embassy are subject to terms and conditions of service according to local American employment law.

This role will be line managed by a crisis planning officer based in London, with oversight provided by the relevant Consular Regional Director. 
 
Given the regional nature of this role you will need to be available to travel across the region.

Resume and a cover letter should be submitted by 1 October 2017. Please identify in your cover letter whether you are currently eligible to work at the Embassy.

Internal candidates must inform their Head of Group before applying.

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 and its Consulates are an equal opportunity employer, dedicated to a diverse workforce. We do not discriminate on the basis of race, color, religion, sex, disability, age, veteran status, or other category 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.