View Vacancy - AUS (Canberra) - Vice Consul, B3 (L)

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

As the Vice Consul in Canberra, you will be responsible for delivering high quality consular services to British Nationals visiting and resident in Canberra. You will lead on complex and high profile cases, usually remotely, in support of other consular teams in the Australia network.

You will report directly to and work closely with, the Consular Regional Operations Manager (CROM) also located in Canberra, assisting in delivering our objectives under the Consular Strategy and Australia-wide business plans.

The role encompasses a range of modern consular work including assisting vulnerable British Nationals, delivering Consular prevention strategies and contributes to the co-ordination of crisis management planning.

You will support the management, administration and guidance of 5 regional Honorary Consuls in the Australian network.

You will develop and maintain strong working relationships with Australian government departments and other missions to support consular operations across Australia.

As the Vice Consul Canberra, you will engage with internal HMG departments providing a link between consular and the broader mission.

You will be responsible for the local post’s consular budget and oversee the collection of fees for consular services.


Roles and responsibilities:

Assistance and services

  • Lead on high profile and complex assistance cases, often remotely, ensuring that an appropriate level of assistance is provided to customers, prioritised to those most vulnerable.  Undertake prison, detention centre and hospital visits as required, and liaise with bereaved families.  Ensure the provision of accurate and efficient processing of Emergency Travel Documents in line with Foreign Commonwealth Office guidance. Deploy political resources, including HC and DHC, where needed.

Prevention

  • Develop and lead a programme of nationally focussed prevention activity coordinated across all Australian posts. Build and maintain a strong network of key contacts and stakeholders including local officials and authorities, friendly missions, British associations, ex-patriate groups and NGOs.

Crisis management

  • Regularly update and test the consular responsibilities of Post’s Crisis Management Plan and ensure that the Consular team is properly prepared to respond appropriately to crisis.  Contribute effectively to the Crisis Committee and to training and exercising.

Team management

  • Support the management, guidance and administration of five regional Honorary Consuls providing regular communications and effective feedback.
  • In partnership with other Vice Consuls, effectively prioritise assistance on high profile and complex cases.
  • Assist posts in the recruitment and induction of new consular staff in line with FCO guidance. Ensure that the Canberra consular office operates in line with Consular Strategy, business priorities and new developments.

Partnerships/Communications and Project work

  • Contact making, networking and outreach with a range of key stakeholders, authorities and partner organisations such as Federal Police, Border Force, immigrations, hospitals and government agencies to build partnerships, share local knowledge and enhance delivery of consular services.

Budget management

  • Manage Canberra’s consular budget so that it is on track to deliver a year-end spend aligned with allocation.  Provide accurate monthly forecasts and maintain an up-to-date record of actual and planned expenditure.
  • Effective in communicating persuasively and with influence at all levels
  • Strong organisational skills and ability to lead, providing motivation, support and development for consular officers
  • Flexible, decisive and resilient under pressure – with a track record of delivering results
  • Ability to display sound judgement and an analytical approach in decision making
  • Experience leading diverse teams across multiple locations
  • Able to interpret and apply policy and guidance to meet compliance objectives
  • High levels of resilience and ability to cope with exposure to persons in vulnerable and traumatic situations.
  • Proven experience of displaying a high level of discretion and responsibility
  • Previous experience in consular service operations, consular management or FCO will be highly regarded.
27 May 2018
Executive Officer (EO)
Fixed Term, Part-Time
33
24 months
Asia Pacific
Australia
Canberra
British High Commission
1
AUD
$70,890 per annum pro rata to up to 33 hours per week ($61,562.36 pa for 33 hours per week)
2 July 2018

Annual Salary is at AU$61,562.36 (pro rata for 33 hours per week) paid out monthly, plus 11% superannuation.

Initial appointment is for two years. The formal job description may be subject to amendment in the future.

Appointment is subject to an AFP records check and UK security clearance.


Due to the unplanned nature of some consular work, a flexible approach to working hours and patterns is essential.

Consideration for flexible start / finish times is available.

Some capacity exists for balanced work from home opportunities. It is important to note that often, work hours need to align to assist with customer needs and those of our partners.

This role may require occasional travel to support other posts, regional activities, prison visits and or training purposes.

These can often include overnight stays.



The role of a consular officer can often be challenging and complex. For the right person, it can also be greatly rewarding. The successful candidate will need to engage with highly distressed customers including families following the loss of loved ones, detainees and customers facing a range of other welfare concerns. A high level of tolerance to trauma and emergency situations is paramount to be successful in this role.


Open only to Australian citizens, permanent residents, and partners/ dependents of UK-based diplomatic staff currently posted in Australia.

Staff recruited locally by the British High Commission and its Consulates is subject to Terms and Conditions of Service according to local Australian employment law.

The British Government supports flexible working practices. Interstate applicants will be required to meet their own travel and relocation expenses. 

All applications must be received before 11:55PM AEST-Australian Eastern Standard Time (UTC/ GMT +10) on 27 May 2018.

Incomplete application forms will not be taken into consideration, so please ensure you provide the information requested. We regret to advise that we will only be contacting short-listed candidates. Applicants called for an interview will be assessed on the core competencies listed above.

To those applicants not short-listed, we extend our appreciation for considering the British Government as a potential employer.

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.