View Vacancy - Personal Assistant to the Deputy Head of Mission

The Political Team at the British Embassy in Cairo is seeking a Personal Assistant to the Deputy Head of Mission grade B3 (L) to start as soon as possible.

Main purpose of the job:

The successful candidate will provide scheduling and administrative support to the Deputy Head of Mission; Interface with senior contacts in Ministries, Embassies and public life; Organisation and management of the DHM’s diary and workload; Responding to correspondence/invitations; Briefing including coordinating support to the DHM.

The job requires strong interpersonal and organisational skills. The successful candidate must be able to manage her/his own and the DHM’s time effectively. S/he must also be able to plan ahead, prioritise timelines, and organise a busy diary. Flexibility and team working are essential.

Main Duties and Responsibilities:

As a key member of the Senior Management Team, you will be expected to:

• Organise the DHM’s diary, in line with her/his priorities
• Co-ordinate and organise the DHM’s paperwork and briefings (for meetings, events, travel).
• Liaise with all other Embassy sections to ensure smooth running of the Embassy in line with senior leadership priorities.
• Write/send Notes Verbales to Ministry of Foreign Affairs to request senior level calls.
• Handle telephone enquiries, mail, invitations and correspondence, including liaising with senior contacts from the Egyptian government, other Embassies and public life, including Ministers and CEOs.      
• Manage and maintain a contacts database.
• Respond to staff queries and support the DHM in her/his management duties.
• Support the Ambassador’s diary and office management as required, including deputising for the Ambassador’s PA.
• Manage the embassy’s Arabic language training contract.
• Coordinate internal communications in the Embassy, in Arabic and English, including ensuring that Embassy committees, groups and campaigns are properly communicated to all staff in a timely and effective way. Act as Secretary to some of these committees, including the Senior Management Board
• Seek specific feedback on internal communications through targeted staff surveys.
• Organise a regular internal communications meeting to ensure integration of internal Embassy communications between meetings and newsletters.
• Direct line management of one staff.
• Help deliver significant technological improvements to manage resources and business processes, again taking much of the transactional tasks from the wider mission, modernising, delivering, managing and improving without supervision or prompting.
•  Identify risks and issues before they occur, consider and suggest ideas for improvements, and share recommendations for improvements with the SLT in a clear and constructive manner. Again, very much a proactive role as opposed to acting only on a set of defined instructions.
• Expect a change in the nature of their contact building locally with host government and local missions.
• Expect some level of relationship building which would help Post deliver on their objectives, rather than first “points of contact” used solely to obtain information.

The above list is not exhaustive and the jobholder will be required to be flexible and take on other ad hoc tasks as required. The job description may be reviewed to meet changes in business needs.

Key Competencies:

• Leading and Communicating - Effectiveness in this area is about leading from the front and communicating with clarity, conviction and enthusiasm. It’s about supporting principles of fairness of opportunity for all and a dedication to a diverse range of citizens.
• 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. 
• Managing a Quality Service - Effectiveness in this area is about being organised to deliver service objectives and striving to improve the quality of service, taking account of diverse customer needs and requirements.

This is a busy PA position with a varied workload. The job requires professional experience, strong interpersonal and organisational skills. Enthusiasm, a positive attitude and a willingness to learn are also essential.

The successful candidate must be able to manage her/his own and the DHM’s time effectively, to use initiative and be able to communicate clearly, both orally and in writing in English. S/he must also be able to plan ahead, prioritise, and organise a busy (and constantly changing) diary. Flexibility and team-working are essential.

The skills/attributes of the successful applicant will include:

• Excellent communications skills in English and Arabic both verbal and written
• Prioritising in a busy work environment, working alone with minimum supervision, delivering to deadlines
• Strong IT skills – in particular Microsoft Excel and Word
• Good knowledge of Foreign & Commonwealth Office (FCO) and British Civil Service an advantage but not essential.