View Vacancy - JPN (Tokyo) - EXPO 2025 Visits and Events Officer, AO

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. The FCDO operates an agile workforce and to facilitate this, you may be required to undertake other duties from time to time, as we may reasonably require.
Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office (Operations and Corporate Services)
Protocol, Visits and Events

Main Purpose of Job:

Ensure the smooth delivery of impactful events and visits to Japan (and specifically to EXPO2025 Osaka) that enable the Japan Network to deliver on UK Government priorities in a way that is efficient, collaborative and provides good value for money, as well as strengthening Network consistency and capacity in events and visits planning.

A particular focus of this role will be supporting efforts to deliver successful visits and events linked to the objectives of the Department for Business and Trade, which maximise the impact of Expo 2025 for the UK.

What the Jobholder will be Expected to Achieve:

This is an exciting opportunity to be part of a busy programme of visits and events around Osaka EXPO2025 in the Japan Network (which includes the British Embassy in Tokyo and the Consulate General in Osaka).  Delivering smooth visits by VIPs, ministers and senior officials and impactful events is a core part of our work and crucial in enabling the Network to deliver on UK Government priorities, never more so than during the World Expo. 

We are a busy Network, which reflects the excellent state of the UK-Japan relationship, the strongest it has been in decades. In any one year, we have a wide variety of high-level visitors and dynamic events, and we expect even more to visit in the run-up to and during the Expo in Osaka in 2025. The successful candidate will be responsible for overseeing the planning and delivery of high-quality visit programmes, as well as the logistics, for the visits of Ministers, senior officials and trade missions. This will require working with the wider Japan Network Visit & Events and team and with the Department of Business and Trade in London and Tokyo. There will be an extensive programme of other events in Tokyo and elsewhere in Japan during the period of Expo, and you will also play a support role in these. 

The successful candidate will be based at the British Embassy in Tokyo but work with all sections within the Network as well as a wide range of external contacts. You will be based in the Japan Network Visits and Events Team but will link in closely with the Department for Business and Trade to ensure their requirements are fully supported by the team. This is a new role so you will have an opportunity to help shape how it works to ensure effective delivery. 

In the role, you will be expected to:

  • Support the planning and delivery of impactful, cost-effective events and (logistical elements of) smooth visits that deliver against UK objectives. You will work with colleagues across the Network and in the UK to ensure they are delivering on UKG policy priorities.
  • For visits, this means ensuring smooth visits by overseeing and delivering all logistical elements, including arrival/departure (including visa application), transport, security (where necessary), budget administration and accommodation. This involves advance planning for those visits with long lead-in times, but also delivering quickly for last-minute visits.
  • For events, this will include leading on all of the logistics elements that underpin a successful event, from budget tracking to catering and venue hire. You will also evaluate each event, drawing on feedback from guests and other organisers, to inform assessments on whether the event achieved its objectives and to help identify any lessons learned.
  • Work closely with colleagues throughout the Network, particularly visit policy leads, the transport team, Corporate Services Team and Private Office(s), and in the UK to share information in support of smooth logistical planning. Contribute to the work of the V&E team to Strengthen visits and events organisation capability across the Network, including providing feedback on central visits and events guidance and promoting best practice among staff.  Build productive relationships with key external contacts in Japan and in the UK (including DBT Expo teams).
  • Actively contribute to the Embassy’s corporate work, including taking responsibility for a specific role as part of the Embassy’s crisis response team.

The successful candidate will be an organised self-starter, calm under pressure, and team player with flexibility, strong communications skills and enthusiasm for the international working environment of the Network.

They will also need to be prepared to work long hours and potentially at weekends close to some events, receiving time off in lieu of extra hours worked. 

Resources Managed (Staff and Expenditure): None – although the successful candidate will have oversight of relevant spend for individual events.

  • Professional event organisation experience
  • Experience of project management or logistical planning
  • Strong IT skills, including experience with Microsoft Excel (and desirable: with Access database)

Language Requirements: Fluent Japanese and English

  • Experience of work in an Embassy or similar
  • Experience of working in an English and Japanese speaking environment
  • Experience of working with Ministerial or similar private offices
  • Administrative and budget management
  • Experience living in the UK. And/or Knowledge of or strong interest in British business, culture, sports and lifestyle
Communicating and Influencing, Delivering at Pace, Managing a Quality Service, Working Together
23 September 2024
Administrative Officer (AO)
Full-time, Fixed Term
37.5
12 months
Asia Pacific
Japan
Tokyo
British Embassy
1
JPY
JPY 410,279 per month
monthly
2 December 2024
  • 1 month salary bonus equivalents payable in June and December
    (Note: Salary may be reduced due to tax status)
  • Commuting allowance of up to JPY35,000 per month (paid on an actual cost basis)
  • 25 days paid annual leave (calculated pro rata)
  • Health Insurance and Employee pension (kenko hoken/kosei nenkin)
  • Employment Insurance (koyou hoken)

Working Patterns:

Full time and office based. 37.5 hours per week. Occasional out of hours working is required to support Embassy events or visits.

The Japan Network supports and promotes flexible working as a crucial part of our inclusive offering. This particular role allows for flexibility in start and end times, working compressed hours, remote working (for agreed periods), and the possibility of a job share arrangement, subject to agreement with management.

However, any successful candidate would need to be willing to flex to work for longer hours and potentially at weekends in the run up to a visit. The Embassy operates a TOIL (Time off in lieu) system to compensate for additional hours worked during busy periods.

Applicants must possess or be able to secure a local work permit.

The FCDO also operates an agile workforce. To facilitate this, you may be required to undertake other duties from time to time as we may reasonably require.

Learning and Development Opportunities (and any specific training courses to be completed):

The Japan network offers comprehensive learning and development opportunities that will be fully available to the jobholder. We regularly run both work area specific training, as well as more general skills development in project management, finance, and leadership. Each year the job holder will be encouraged to use five development days to pursue job related and personal development goals.

All staff are required to take a role in the embassy’s crisis preparation and response. Full training will be provided for this, and regular opportunities will be available to test and develop your skills.

Please note that the deadline for applications is 23:55 on the day mentioned in the above field “Application deadline”.

Please be aware that the deadline for submitting applications is considered to be the time zone for the country where the vacancy has arisen.

We advise you to allow enough time to complete and submit your full application, since only applications completed and submitted before the deadline will be considered.

Note: All applicants are required to mandatorily fill the online application form completely including the employment and educational details, experience, professional skills and behaviour-based questions. We will be thoroughly reviewing the applications and incomplete form in any respect may not be considered while shortlisting for the next stage.
 
Only shortlisted candidates for interview will be contacted. Interviewees will be assessed on the core behaviours/qualifications listed above. Unsuccessful candidates will be notified via the system in due time. Appointable candidates who were unsuccessful may be placed on a ‘reserve list’. If during the reserve period of 6 months the same or a largely similar role becomes available, that role may be offered to the second or subsequent candidate.

To ensure a successful application it is important that you explain how you demonstrate these behaviours, including through your experience. You are strongly advised to read the Success Profiles Civil Service Behaviours Framework, which provides detailed guidance on how the behaviours are defined.

Applicants are encouraged to use the STAR (Situation, Task, Action, Result) format to prepare specific examples of when they have demonstrated these behaviours in their application. Using the STAR format to provide evidence of your skills and experience in your application and at interview helps to give a structure. You briefly describe the situation in which you showed the behaviour, and then explain your task in addressing the situation, what action you took and the result of this.

For inclusivity and diversity, please remove the following personal information when uploading your CV: name, address, email address, age, date of birth, gender and nationality. 

The start date mentioned in the job advert is a tentative start date and the successful candidate will be required to undergo security vetting procedures. Any offer of employment will be subject to the candidate achieving suitable clearances.

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.