View Vacancy - CPK - PA Minister Counsellor Prosperity, A2(L)

The British Government is an inclusive and diversity-friendly employer.  We value difference, promote equality and challenge discrimination, enhancing our organisational capability. We welcome and encourage applications from people of all backgrounds. We do not discriminate on the basis of disability, race, colour, ethnicity, gender identity, religion, sexual orientation, age, veteran status or other category protected by law. We promote family-friendly flexible working opportunities, where operational and security needs allow.
Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office (Policy & Political roles)
Chancery

To provide secretarial and PA support to the Minister-Counsellor and to support the broader prosperity cone, particularly on Science and Innovation, Chevening, and visits of British officials and politicians.

Beijing is a large Embassy at the centre of the Government’s priorities. It sees a large number of visiting Ministers and VIPs, and the interest from London is increasing by the day. The Minister-Counsellor covers a wide portfolio and oversees four busy teams;  the Prosperity Fund Programme team, the Outreach network, The Science and Innovation Network, and the Energy team. As a member of the China Board of Management, the Minister-Counsellor plays a wider corporate role in the running of the Embassy and of the China Network.

This PA role will provide support to the Minister-Counsellor and play a key role in managing his/her office by; effective management of their diary; inboxes; drafting emails and prioritising and preparing work.  In addition to having very good secretarial skills, the PA needs strong personal skills to act as an effective interface between the Minister-Counsellor, Embassy staff and outside contacts.  The PA will also need excellent logisitics skills in order to plan events and visits. Resilience, good organisation and understanding others are essential skills. The job holder will also be responsible for supporting the delivery of a wide range of exciting Science and Innovation initiatives, at certain peak times, providing additional support to the Chevening team and supporting major events for the wider team including conferences and receptions with external stakeholders. For the right candidate there is scope to take on broader responsibilities, eg. in support of Science and Innovation team delivery.

Allows the Minister-Counsellor and Counsellor Science and Innovation to operate effectively, being well prepared and on time for meetings by; Effective diary management; supporting papers for meetings; prioritisation and rescheduling as necessary; organising daily programmes (including cars and drivers); organising overseas travel; booking restaurants etc. 

Increased efficiency for the Minister-Counsellor, enabling him/her to concentrate on key issues and actions by; Pro-active management of the Minister-Counsellor’s in-box and office: telephone calls, messages, redirections; draft correspondence, high standard of secretarial support, including fast and accurate turnaround of documents, e-mails; filing sensitive and personal management papers; handling and escorting visitors; prioritising papers for the Minister-Counsellor to act on; photocopying and paper distribution; arrangements for official entertainment (placement cards, invitations etc); taking minutes of meetings; filing expenses claims etc

Effective contribution to wider running of the Prosperity cone by; providing support to the Science and Innovation team with eg information management, organising visits, events, contacts receptions/dinners etc, helping out with (and occasionally taking responsibility for) the arrangements for visitors; giving logistical support for major events; helping out other members of the political section on an ad hoc basis.

Good Budget Management by; Managing team budgets for travel and entertainment; profiling spend and ensuring best value for money; helping create excel spreadsheets and producing reports for budgetary activities.

  • Must have a good working knowledge of basic Microsoft Office software (Word, Outlook, Excel and Powerpoint)
  • Very good secretarial skills
  • With strong personal skills to act as an effective interface between the Minister-Counsellor, Embassy staff and outside contacts
  • Must have excellent logisitics skills in order to plan events and visits.
  • Resilient and with good organisational skills
  • Budget management skills
  • Excellent command of the English language
  • Previous PA experience would be a benefit, as would experience or interest in science & innovation and/or Chevening. But more important is the ability to work quickly and under pressure, have an eye for detail, and be able to handle people on the phone and in person effectively
  • Proficiency in Mandarin would be a distinct advantage
30 October 2018
Administrative Officer (AO)
Full-time, Permanent
35
Asia Pacific
China
Beijing
British Embassy
1
CNY
10, 348
3 December 2018

This would be an opportunity to get senior level cross-cutting overview of how an Embassy works. The Embassy also has a China Professional Development Programme for Band A staff. We also have opportunities to get involved in the running of cross Embassy issues eg the Wellbeing Group, People Matters Group, Local Staff Association etc. Budget management training and GDPR data management would also be offered.

We offer a competitive package, which includes basic salary, good leave entitlement, and insurance plan, etc. The gross salary (before all deductions) is CNY 10,348 month for Chinese Nationals and an abated monthly salary of CNY 14,559/ month for British Nationals and spouses/ partners (all nationalities) of diplomats who are ‘W’ (diplomatic) visa holders and meet passport criteria.

We also offer excellent development opportunities and a 22-day annual leave entitlement in pro rata.

Conditioned working hours is 35 hours/ week from Monday to Friday. Flexible working is possible so long as core hours are observed and / or by separate agreement with the Minister Counsellor.

For more details on our Total Rewards Package, please visit our website http://www.gov.uk/government/world/china.

Staff recruited locally by the British Embassy Beijing is subject to Terms and Conditions of Service according to local Chinese employment law.

All applications must be received before 11:55PM (China Standard Time) on 30 October 2018.

Incomplete application forms will not be taken into consideration, so please ensure you provide the information requested. We regret to advise that we will only be contacting short-listed candidates. Applicants called for an interview will be assessed on the core competencies listed above.

To those applicants not short-listed, we extend our appreciation for considering the British Government as a potential employer.

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.