View Vacancy - Political and Development Officer and Translator

The British Embassy in Baghdad is seeking an individual for the position of Political and Development Officer and Translator, Grade – B3 (L).

Objective: 

The British Embassy in Baghdad is looking for a highly motivated, proactive and enthusiastic individual to become our new political and development officer and translator.  This role is vital to the smooth running of the Embassy. The job holder will enable the political and development teams to engage effectively with a broad range of Iraqis by providing effective organizational, networking and translation support.  The post holder must be a flexible team player, able to deliver results quickly and accurately with great attention to detail and be able to quickly shift priorities between a varieties of different tasks, for example providing occasional administrative cover in the ambassador’s private office. About 70% of the job will be supporting the political team and about 30% of the job will be supporting the development team. This is an excellent opportunity to gain experience of working in an embassy, to help develop a career working with the international community.

Main Duties and Responsibilities: 

• Translation and interpretation (40%):  Including written translation from Arabic to English and oral translation during meetings.

• Political and Development team support (40%):  including arranging events and meetings, networking, arranging official travel, and information management.  Manage the political team budget and Post’s learning and development budget.

• Visits (10%):  Assist with visits, including by UK Ministers and senior officials.  Tasks include setting up programmes and organising logistics.

• Administrative Cover (10%): Periodically providing translation and administrative cover to the ambassadors private office, for example to help arrange and support meetings with Iraqi Ministers, Political Party leaders and other senior public figures when colleagues are on leave, or in response to urgent commissions.

Key Competencies: 

• Delivering at Pace - Effectiveness in this area means focusing on delivering timely performance with energy and taking responsibility and accountability for quality outcomes.
• Collaborating and Partnering - People skilled in this area create and maintain positive, professional and trusting working relationships with a wide range of people within and outside the Civil Service to help get business done. At all levels, it requires working collaboratively, sharing information and building supportive, responsive relationships with colleagues and stakeholders, whilst having the confidence to challenge assumptions.
• Making Effective Decisions - Effectiveness in this area is about using sound judgement, evidence and knowledge to provide accurate, expert and professional advice.  It means showing clarity of thought, setting priorities, analysing and using evidence to evaluate options before arriving at well-reasoned justifiable decisions.
• Delivering Value for Money - Delivering value for money involves the efficient, effective and economic use of taxpayers’ money in the delivery of public services.

Essential:

• Fluent communication skills in English and Arabic language (both spoken and written).
• Bachelor’s degree in a relevant subject (Example: Political Science, International Relations, Political Economy, Domestic Law, International Law, Human Rights, Government, Public Policy, Public Administration or History.)
• Minimum two years’ work experience in a similar role.
• Excellent translation skills between Arabic and English and vice-versa.
• Strong team-working and organisational skills.
• Ability to work in fast-paced, high profile environments, and deliver to deadlines.
• Proficiency with Microsoft Office programmes.