View Vacancy - INTERNAL VACANCY: Vice Consul

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Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office (Consular Roles)
Consular

The British Consulate General in Jeddah has a vacancy for a Vice Consul, Grade B3 (L) position.

Role:

The successful candidate will ensure British nationals in KSA receive a professional service that is effective, timely, consistent and in line with Foreign and Commonwealth Office guidance.  They will be required to provide direct advice and support to distressed British nationals including leading on sensitive assistance cases.

The job holder will be based in the British Consular General in Jeddah, but work to the Consular Regional Operations Manager and  will enjoy a high degree of autonomy and the authority to manage the KSA operation on a day to day basis. The job holder will need to be a self-starter and highly motivated, with excellent interpersonal skills.

The job holder will lead on the local delivery of the Consular Regional Business Plan and global consular initiatives as well as the consular elements of the Country Business Plan.  They will be required to manage, and encourage the 1 x Pro Consul, to participate in global, regional consular activities and proactively deliver consular prevention and outreach work.

In response to a local or regional crisis, the job holder will play a key role in managerial responsibility for the Section’s response and deployment. 

The successful candidate will also play an important regional role providing Vice Consul support remotely to other small teams in the region as needed and providing regional resilience across the Middle East, North Africa and South Asia (MENASA) network. They will be required to travel, sometimes at short notice, to provide resilience at posts across the MENASA network for period of up to two weeks at a time.

Main duties and responsibilities:

-       To lead, motivate and develop the Consular Team with direct line management of two Pro Consuls. 

-       Manage the Team’s provision of Consular Assistance to distressed British nationals, including providing guidance and support in difficult cases:

  • Detainees, including visiting police stations and prisons
  • Hospitalisations
  • Dealing with bereaved families
  • Child custody issues
  • Other sensitive cases such as rape, child abduction, forced marriage.
  • Notarial and documentary services

-  Ownership of formal response to public correspondence.  Ownership of returns and forms that are required by Foreign and Commonwealth Office (FCO) London.

- Identifying areas of potential high level interest and briefing seniors and others accordingly. Preparing written briefing and updates on cases and issues

- Monitoring changes in local procedures and practices and ensuring that our information and guidance for British nationals reflects any changes and is up to date.

- Monitoring changes in consular processes and FCO corporate issues and keeping team updated

- Managing emergency travel document processing, and the notarial/legalisation operation ensuring consistent customer service to British nationals.

- Key role in Post Emergency response to crises including planning, exercising  and any response to a crisis affecting UK citizens.

- Participation in formulating Embassy management policies. Representing section at Embassy and corporate events

- Identify training and developmental opportunities. Manage section cover and other operational issues.

- Manage Team budget

- To be prepared to work out of hours, occasionally anti-social hours, as required.

 Prevention Communications and Outreach

- Proactively plan and deliver high quality Saudi prevention and outreach projects in support of the Consular Strategy, working closely with the post press/communications team and other senior stakeholders

Regional:

- To be prepared to provide at short notice resilience at other posts across MENASA for periods of up to two weeks at a time - around 12 weeks in a 12 month period.

- To be prepared to deploy on a short term basis another post in the region as part of a regional resilience response for a crisis or other emergency scenario. Travel to the UK will be required for training purposes.

Key Competencies:

  • Leading and Communicating - Display enthusiasm around goals and activities – adopting a positive approach when interacting with others.
  • Making Effective Decisions - Demonstrate accountability and make unbiased decisions. Examine complex information and obtain further information to make accurate decisions.
  • Managing a Quality Service- Effectiveness in this area is about being organized to deliver service objectives and striving to improve the quality of service, taking account of diverse customer needs and requirements.
  • Delivering at Pace- Effectiveness in this area means focusing on delivering timely performance with energy and taking responsibility and accountability for quality outcomes.

Essential:

  • Adaptable to changing priorities.  Must be able to work and act without close supervision.
  • Previous experience of working in an Embassy or International Organisation.
  • A minimum of 2 years consular experience or experience in a customer service role.
  • Experience of managing a team.
  • Good interpersonal skills and an ability to cultivate and maintain a range of contacts at all levels.
  • Experience of working strategically and of project development and management.
  • Ability to bring a flexible and creative approach to your work. 
  • Ability to talk to large groups of people as part of Prevention and Communication work.
  • Excellent customer care skills and the ability to respond to a broad range of customers needs.
  • The successful candidate will need to be a native English and Arabic speaker.

Desirable:

  • Knowledge of Urdu language. 
28 November 2017
Executive Officer (EO)
Full-time, Permanent
35
Middle East & North Africa
Saudi Arabia
Jeddah
British Consulate General
1
SAR
10,353.12/- inclusive of all allowances
15 December 2017

Working Hours and Remuneration:

The Embassy aims to offer an attractive working environment and remuneration package for this role including:

Salary details:

  • Base Salary including Eid Bonus – SAR. 7,962.50/-
  • * Housing Allowance – SAR. 1,990.62/- (subject to eligibility)*
  • * Travel Allowance- SAR. 400/-(subject to eligibility)*

*Allowances are not payable to staff who receive official provision for such expenditure in some other form.

No accommodation and relocation expenses are payable in connection with this position.

Normal working hours for the Embassy are 08.00 to 15.00 Sunday to Thursday.  This position is full-time, based on 35 hours per week.

The successful candidate will be subject to a 90 day probationary period. 

Nature of work:

Consular work can sometimes be stressful and of a sensitive nature. The successful applicant will therefore be expected to maintain absolute consular confidentiality and impartiality. 

Eligibility:

The position is only available to holders of Saudi residence permits or transferable Iqamas, and successful candidates will be required to transfer their sponsorship to the British Embassy.

How to Apply:

Interested candidates must attach the following documents when applying online:

  1. A covering letter.
  2. An updated Curriculum Vitae (CV)

** (Your application must include examples of when you have demonstrated the competencies outlined above in the cover letter. Applications that do not include this information will be rejected).

The closing date for applications is 28 November 2017 before 23:55 KSA time.

Applications received after the stated deadline will not be considered.

Potential candidates will be invited to take a short assessment; those who pass the assessment will be invited for an interview.

Due to the large amount of applications we receive only those shortlisted for assessment will be contacted.

The successful candidate will be required to undergo security vetting procedures.  Any offer of employment will be subject to the candidate achieving suitable clearances, medical clearance and reference checks.

The British Consulate General in Jeddah is an equal opportunities employer, dedicated to inclusivity, a diverse workforce and valuing difference.  Staff recruited locally by the British Consulate is subject to Terms and Conditions of service according to local Saudi Arabian employment 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.