View Vacancy - PNG - Commonwealth Scholarships 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 (Policy & Political roles)
Political

Main Purpose of Job:

The Commonwealth Scholarship Commission in the UK (CSC) provides the UK’s contribution to the Commonwealth Scholarship and Fellowship Plan and provides the main UK government scholarship scheme led by international development objectives. 

Commonwealth Scholarships and Fellowships in the UK have to date supported over 31,000 individuals by extending life-transforming higher education opportunities, rewarding merit, and promoting equity and inclusion, especially among people from underrepresented groups.

The CSC is an arm’s length body of the FCDO.  The administration of the programme is carried out on behalf of the Commission by the Commonwealth Scholarship Commission Secretariat, which is hosted within the Association of Commonwealth Universities. 

Scholarships Officers at Post are responsible for delivery of the programme in-country, working closely with the Commonwealth Scholarship Commission Secretariat.  The duties and responsibilities set out below cover the work required to run the Commonwealth programme effectively at Post.  The structure for this delivery will vary based on the size of the programme in each country.

What the Jobholder will be Expected to Achieve:

Scholar and Fellow Recruitment (30%) 

  • Liaison with the Secretariat and promotion of the Commonwealth Scholarship and Fellowship application processes. 
  • Develop a detailed understanding of each of the Commonwealth’s schemes in detail.
  • Support the Secretariat in liaising with the national and other nominating agencies in-country to promote Commonwealth Scholarships and Fellowships raising/signposting issues or opportunities to the Secretariat. 

Programme Outreach and Marketing (20%) 

  • Contribute to designing written and visual content for social and traditional media, and other ways to promote Commonwealth Scholarships, including working with alumni to host information sessions, workshops, attendance at university fairs and other outreach events.
  • Monitor the Commonwealth Scholarships marketing budget, keeping records of promotional material, contacting suppliers for quotations and ensuring assets are produced according to the Commonwealth Scholarships branding guidelines.
  • Request and make use of marketing materials from the Secretariat.
  • Share information about Commonwealth Scholarships to colleagues in the High Commission to foster High Commission-wide engagement with the scholarship. 

Programme Administration (15%) 

  • Respond to deadlines and requests set by the Secretariat, such as submitting annual programme, marketing and alumni engagement plans, and country briefings.
  • Carry out administration of the programme in line with Commission policy
  • Respond to enquiries regarding the scheme and acting as point of contact with the High Commission team on Scholarships-related marketing activities, application process and alumni events
  • Respond to requests for information or insight from the Secretariat and the FCDO Scholarships Unit.
  • Provide positive customer service to applicants and award recipients before, during and after their awards.
  • Represent BHC at Chevening & Commonwealth bi-monthly calls. 

 Alumni Engagement (15%) 

  • Update and maintain the database of Commonwealth Alumni, using national level alumni data to engage alumni in relevant activities and opportunities, and report updates to the Secretariat.
  • Contribute to establishing and developing an effective and engaged national Commonwealth Alumni network, organising a series of alumni events from concept to delivery, including a pre-departure/farewell event and an annual welcome-home event, where relevant.
  • Maintain contact with the CSC Alumni Association in-country, where it exists, and where possible support association activities, such as providing meeting space for Annual General Meetings, inviting association leaders to pre-departure and welcome home events, Commonwealth Day celebrations, and other events as appropriate.
  • Participate in bidding for alumni engagement funding opportunities and manage budgets associated with these.
  • Keep the Secretariat and FCDO Scholarships Unit up to date with alumni engagement work in country on a quarterly basis. 

Partnerships (15%) 

  • Work with Post colleagues to seek new local partnerships and account-manage existing partnerships including outreach, engagement and data management.
  • Work with wider Post to get their input and support to develop partnerships.
  • Work with the Secretariat to ensure any existing partnerships are managed effectively. 

Finance (5%) 

  • Ensure all financial issues are dealt with effectively and in line with policy, including ensuring costs are charged to the correct budget and meeting policy guidelines.
  • Engage with the relevant policy teams at Post to ensure that maximum value is gained from the programme. 

Resources Managed (staff and expenditure):

  • No staff management
  • Responsibility for expenditure forecasting and monitoring for duty travel to Solomon Islands 
  • Strong interpersonal skills and experience working in an international environment
  • Bachelor’s degree in Communications, International Relations, Social Sciences, or related field
  • Experience in programme administration, stakeholder coordination, or outreach
  • Strong communication skills, with ability to produce written and visual content for marketing and social media
  • Proven ability to plan and deliver events and manage alumni or stakeholder networks
  • Proficiency in Microsoft Office and basic social media/digital content tools

Language requirements: English and Tok Pisin

Level of Language Required: Proficient

Experience of managing programmes and projects
Delivering at Pace, Managing a Quality Service, Seeing the Big Picture, Working Together
3 May 2026
Administrative Officer (AO)
Full-time, Fixed Term
39 hours
10 months
Asia Pacific
Papua New Guinea
Port Moresby
British High Commission
1
PGK
PGK 4,126.14 gross
monthly
13 July 2026
31 March 2027
  • Annual Leave Entitlement of 20 days per year
  • Superannuation contributions
  • Medical insurance
  • Access to extensive learning and development opportunities
  • For security reasons, transport is provided to and from work each day. 

Working Pattern: Full time – 39 hours per week inclusive of a 30-minute paid lunch break (Monday to Thursday: 0745 - 1615 | Friday: 0745 - 1245).

The successful candidate will be based at the British High Commission in Port Moresby. However, as the position also covers Solomon Islands, it is expected that the job holder will make quarterly visits to Honiara for up to a week at a time. 

The successful candidate must have or be able to obtain Work Authorisation for Papua New Guinea and valid Police Clearance Certificate. Any offer of employment will be subject to the candidate achieving suitable clearances.

No accommodation or relocation expenses are payable in connection with this position. All candidates must be legally able to work and reside in the country of the vacancy with the correct visa/work permit status or demonstrate eligibility to obtain the relevant permit. 

Employment offers are subject to successful clearance of pre-employment checks. Staff recruited locally by the British High Commission Port Moresby is subject to Terms and Conditions of Service according to local employment law. In relation to this, the successful candidate will need to arrange for his/her own Police Certificate.

Employees who are not liable to pay local income tax on their Mission salary may have their salaries reduced by the equivalent local income tax amount.

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 High Commission actively encourages staff to bid for training – both role specific and for wider development. 

The successful applicant will have access to a full range of online training to support them in their work, and the opportunity to attend specialised security and IT training.

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, 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.

Please ensure that your application is authentically written based on your own experiences. If AI tools are used, their usage must only be limited to specific tasks such as ensuring formatting consistency and keyword relevance. The core content, personal narratives, and responses to behaviour and skill-based questions must genuinely reflect your professional journey, experiences, and achievements. We place great importance on originality and individual effort throughout the application process. Any form of plagiarism will result in immediate disqualification.

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.