View Vacancy - AUH - Senior Political Officer (HEO)

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Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office (Policy & Political roles)
Chancery

The British Embassy Abu Dhabi has a vacancy for a Senior Political Officer on a fixed-term contract for three (3) years.

This is an interesting and stretching role where the jobholder will make a direct contribution at the heart of the UK’s work in the UAE. It requires excellent communication, collaboration, and the ability to shape the Embassy’s approach through detailed knowledge, analysis and understanding.

The successful candidate will take on a broad portfolio, working on high priority issues for the UK’s co-operation with the UAE. This includes working on shared objectives in International Development, Regional Priorities (such as in Asia), and taking ownership of the Embassy’s approach to stakeholder management.

The role sits at the centre of the Embassy’s Political Team, which leads on the key government-to-government relationship between the UK and the UAE. This includes providing strategic leadership on how the UK can take forward shared priorities with the UAE government on high profile activity and objectives. Supporting the engagement of very senior UK government stakeholders with their equally senior counterparts in the UAE government requires a high level of professionalism, strategic thinking and attention to detail.

The jobholder will need to build a strong network of contacts within the UAE to support their understanding and analysis of the local context and political dynamics. 

Duties and responsibilities:

- Political analysis

  • Provide insight and political analysis to support senior engagements and strategic priorities on areas of UK-UAE collaboration.
  • This includes providing high quality oral and written briefing as well as analytical products on both UAE international and domestic priorities.
  • Work collaboratively with other colleagues across the UK Embassy in the UAE to share understanding and insight.

- Stakeholder management

  • Develop a strong network of stakeholders within the UAE to support the UK’s understanding of priorities and opportunities.
  • Lead on a stakeholder management approach to support senior engagement with UAE decision makers.

- Leadership on regional collaboration

  • Take ownership for specific geographic areas of shared UK-UAE priorities to support joint collaboration on delivery.
  • The specific areas are to be agreed with the jobholder, dependent on their expertise and the strategic priorities, but are likely to include for example, support to UK’s engagement on UAE’s approach in Asia, and the Indo-Pacific.

- Support on thematic priorities

  • Develop a strong understanding of the UK’s approach to international development to support on UK-UAE shared development priorities and humanitarians responses.

- Support on wider Embassy delivery

  •  Play an active and supportive role to the wider Embassy delivery, taking on responsibility for key activities – such as supporting visits by senior stakeholders, and in support of wider Embassy events – as required.

The above list is not exhaustive, and the jobholder will be required to be flexible and take on other ad hoc tasks as required, including participating in the Embassy’s emergency planning and any other response to a crisis affecting UK citizens. 

Key behaviours required:

  • Seeing the Big Picture - Understand how your role fits with and supports organisational objectives. Recognise the wider Civil Service priorities and ensure work is in the national interest.
  • Making Effective Decisions - Use evidence and knowledge to support accurate, expert decisions and advice. Carefully consider alternative options, implications and risks of decisions.
  • Working Together - Forming effective partnerships and relationships with people both internally and externally, from a range of diverse backgrounds; sharing information, resources, and support.
  • Communicating and Influencing - Communicate purpose and direction with clarity, integrity and enthusiasm. Respect the needs, responses and opinions of others.  

Eligibility:

The successful applicant will be required to obtain the necessary security clearance. Higher clearances can be granted only to certain nationalities. For this reason, candidates must be of British, American, Australian, Canadian, or New Zealand nationality in order to gain the level of clearance required for this role.

  • Previous experience of carrying out high quality political analysis to inform strategic decision-making.
  • Substantive (more than 3 years) experience of working in, or on, politics in the Middle East, with a UK or international organisation.
  • University degree in International Relations or related subject.
  • Strong understanding of Middle Eastern Political dynamics.
  • Excellent interpersonal, organisational, customer handling, and communication skills.
  • Ability to work autonomously and have strong planning and self-management skills.
  • Excellent organisational skills, with proven ability to plan and prioritise tasks.
  • Customer-focused approach and confidence to interact effectively with a range of stakeholders.
  • Excellent communication skills in English, both written and spoken. Able to express ideas and messages clearly and concisely.
  • Strong IT skills, including proficiency in MS Office applications (Outlook, Word, Excel, PowerPoint, Teams).
  • Master’s degree or higher in International Relations or related subject.
  • Arabic language skills (both written and spoken).
Seeing the Big Picture, Making Effective Decisions, Communicating and Influencing, Working Together
13 June 2023
Higher Executive Officer (HEO)
Fixed Term, Full-time
35
36 months
Middle East & North Africa
United Arab Emirates
Abu Dhabi
British Embassy
1
AED
23,238
1 August 2023

The Embassy aims to offer an attractive working environment and remuneration package for this role which includes 25 days of leave per annum (calculated pro-rata).

Salary is at AED 23,238 per month.

There are no other allowances payable as part of this package. No accommodation and relocation expenses are payable in connection with this position.

The Embassy is open from Monday to Friday, from 07:30 to 18:00. Conditioned working hours are 35 hours per week and specific working hours for this role will be confirmed at a later time. The successful candidate may need to occasionally work outside of normal Embassy hours.

The successful candidate will be required to transfer their visa under the Embassy's sponsorship.

How to apply:

Interested candidates must attach the following in their online application form: 

  • an updated Curriculum Vitae (CV)
  • a covering letter/ motivation essay stating how you meet the requirements of the role.
  • Examples in the relevant sections of the online application form of how you meet the key behaviours and skills required.

Applications that do not include this information will not be considered.

Closing date for applications is at 23:55 (local time) on 13th June 2023.

Applications received after the stated deadline will not be considered.

Process:

The recruitment process, including security clearance, is expected to take around two - three months. The security clearance process includes checks available in country and with UK, dependant on the security level required for the role and the candidate's profile and UK footprint. You may experience some delay in the progress of this recruitment campaign, and we are working hard to minimise any disruption.

Due to the large number of applications, we receive, only those shortlisted for the next step of the recruitment process will be contacted.

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.

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”.

The British Embassies Abu Dhabi / Dubai is an equal opportunities employer, dedicated to inclusivity, a diverse workforce and valuing difference.

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.