View Vacancy - Chief of Staff to the Tech Envoy and Consul General

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

Main purpose of job

This is a one of a kind role supporting the newly appointed Her Majesty’s (HM) Tech Envoy and Consul General San Francisco. It is a fascinating opportunity to work on some of the highest profile and cutting edge issues in tech and politics. Your role is to ensure that the Tech Envoy has all the support they need to operate with maximum effectiveness.

The Chief of Staff is the Tech Envoy’s first point of contact: everything goes through you. You will provide critical advice to the Tech Envoy/Consul General and will be the person your colleagues across the US network, and San Francisco consulate, will turn to first when it comes to anything to do with the Tech Envoy/Consul General. You will manage their workflow, make sure their visits and meetings run smoothly and to schedule, and ensure that actions and follow up are completed on time (this may include preparing drafts of documents on the Tech Envoy/Consul General’s behalf). This job requires a lot of cross-functional working. You will need to know the key contacts in the UK Government in Whitehall, in the consulate and across the US network (including the British Embassy in DC), as well as in tech companies. You will be happy working with seniors as well as with junior staff and be comfortable managing upwards.  

The Tech Envoy is a new, senior leadership position, which is combined with the role of HM Consul General San Francisco. The Tech Envoy/Consul General will lead a 30+ person staff at the Consulate-General, managing relationships and developing networks, including through public speaking and an active media profile, to influence local actors, public, private, and civil society sectors and support the Ambassador in influencing the US Administration’s policy on areas of shared UK-US interest including technology and entrepreneurship. The Envoy/CG will also work closely with HM Trade Commissioner in promoting and enhancing the UK as a partner of choice in trade, investment, and research and development. In addition, the Tech Envoy/CG will play an important role in Whitehall discussions, feeding into growing policy debates in London and building tech links between the UK and US across government, business, and academia.

The Consul General represents the UK in the northwest of the US, including in Northern California (including Sacramento for pan-California issues), Oregon, Washington, Alaska, Idaho, Montana, and Wyoming. It covers a geographical remit that covers a third of the US.


Roles and responsibilities

  • Lead and oversee the smooth operation of the Private Office. You will have one eye to the strategic direction of the office while keeping the day to day plates spinning. You will ensure that private office’s processes (as set out below) run smoothly, and that routine corporate responsibilities are maintained to the highest standard (this could range from legal compliance, engagement with the Office of Foreign Missions, through to budgetary oversight). And you will ensure that work going to and being produced by the Tech Envoy/CG’s staff is of the highest quality. You will be required to produce some material and commission others. You will need strong judgement and be comfortable dealing with ambiguity. Every day will be different.
  • Help colleagues understand the Tech Envoy/CG’s requirements and ensure that Private Office is accessible, reliable, and efficient.
  • Advise the Tech Envoy/CG on policy, operations, profile, and know when to bring in (and task) members of the wider team to support you and the Tech Envoy/CG. That means having a good strategic eye and being savvy to the requirements of a high profile figure in tech and in government. This is a new role which reaches into multiple teams across government and the US network, so flexibility and being comfortable with thinking on your feet are essential.
  • Provide strategic oversight of the Tech Envoy/CG’s calendar, ensuring that he and the wider team are prioritising the right meetings and engagements, and looking ahead at what travel and contact is required across the US, DC, and in the UK. While day to day the diary manager will fill the diary and book travel, you will have the long term view and be able to judge which meetings and visits are essential and when. In this new role the Tech Envoy will need to balance their time between San Francisco and Silicon Valley, other States, DC, and the UK. They’ll also need time to think, produce notes and advice, and have meetings with staff. You will work closely with the diary manager/scheduler to ensure that the balance is right, ensure that the envoy’s time is well managed, and that strategic objectives can therefore be met.
  • Manage the flow of information to the Tech Envoy/CG (including via a generic inbox), prioritising their in-tray and delegating tasks to other staff on their behalf as required. To do this you will need to quickly get to grips with the portfolio, understanding the issues and priorities. You will also quality control work, including speeches, submissions, briefing notes, and advice (and you’ll need to be comfortable pushing back on work that doesn’t meet the grade).
  • Track and manage all actions arising from the Tech Envoy/CG’s meetings, following up with colleagues and the Tech Envoy/CG as necessary, and/or taking them forward where appropriate
  • Attend and take records of some of the Tech Envoy/CG’s meetings and calls, working closely with policy and operational leads (at all levels) across the network, and be available to debrief after those meetings and calls you don’t attend but from which actions will arise. You will be comfortable engaging, briefing, and working side by side with senior officials (C-Suite equivalent) through to more junior staff.
  • Able to build strong relationships: you will be the conduit through which post, the US network and the embassy, as well as Whitehall and the tech community engage with the Tech Envoy/CG and their office. You must be comfortable engaging at a senior level as well as with a range of support and policy staff.
  • Other duties as assigned. 
  • 4+ years relevant work experience, a master’s degree, or a combination of both.
  • Demonstrable knowledge of the tech agenda: this could be from study, your own research, or work experience. You will be familiar with the big tech policy issues of the day (misinformation on social media platforms, for example), and/or with tech as a commercial opportunity.
  • Strong organisational skills. You will be proactive, adaptable, and able to take the lead on work (and follow through) through with minimal direction.
  • Ability to anticipate, prioritise and solve problems.
  • Strong oral and written communication skills.
  • Demonstrated experience in developing strong stakeholder relationships.

Under US State Department requirements, the UK Government in the US may only employ, as non-diplomatic staff, persons who are US citizens, US Permanent Residents or A visa holders with EAD cards*. If you hold a visa other than an A visa you are not currently eligible to work at our office. Please refer to our website for information on exceptions to this policy at www.gov.uk/government/world/usa. All selected candidates are subject to background checks and will require a security clearance prior to starting work.
*A visas are acceptable at the Embassy and Consulates. The UK Mission to the UN (UKMIS) accepts G visas, and British Defense Staff (BDS) outposts accept A or NATO visas.

  • Prior experience in an executive support role: supporting a C suite exec, or senior official in government.
  • Experience working in the public sector, government, or a diplomatic mission.
14 March 2021
Higher Executive Officer (HEO)
Fixed Term, Full-time
40
11 months
Americas, Caribbean & Overseas Territories
United States
San Francisco
British Consulate
1
USD
$78,090.00
3 May 2021
31 March 2022

Learning and development opportunities

The US Network is a flexible, innovative and diverse network, striving to demonstrate diplomatic excellence in everything we do. We have a strong “One Team” ethos and encourage working across boundaries with other groups and Government Departments. Many staff, including in our main policy groups, work flexibly. We promote an open, collegiate and informal working environment and are strong advocates of a learning environment.  While the US Network can be busy, we are committed to balancing this out effectively, ensuring you have the chance to take advantage of our Regional Learning and Development team staff and resources, and the wide-ranging opportunities to involve yourself in the corporate agenda.

Resources managed (staff and expenditure):

Lead and manage 1xB3L Diary Manager, and 1xA2L events and visits officer. This team is likely to grow over time.

The UK Government operating in the US offers a substantial benefits package including generous leave, a choice of medical insurance, 401(k) matching up to 7%, extensive learning opportunities and a great work/life balance.
Employees who are not liable to pay local income tax on their Mission salary, eg some non-local national staff and some spouses or partners of UK diplomatic staff, will have their salaries abated by an equivalent amount.
Internal candidates must inform their supervisor before they apply to a different position.
Only successful candidates will be contacted. Please no phone calls. Due to the high volume of resumes we receive, we cannot guarantee consideration of your application if the submission instructions are not properly followed.
The British Embassy is committed to a policy of equal opportunities and to creating a diverse working environment, free from discrimination, where everyone is included and treated fairly, based on merit alone. We are an equal opportunity employer, making all employment decisions without regard to race, gender, religion, national origin, citizenship, disability, age, sexual orientation, political affiliation or any other criterion protected by 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.