View Vacancy - FJS - Community Liaison and Protocol Officer, AO

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 (Operations and Corporate Services)
Corporate Services Support

Main purpose of job:

The Community Liaison Officer is an essential role in supporting officers and their families move to, settle, and succeed in a new city and country. The role has great autonomy with a focus on making the British High Commission a great, supportive community, where the processes of the FCDO are clear and explained, the particular considerations of moving to Fiji are understood, and staff and families have a smooth experience before, during and after their move to Suva. The CLO is usually the first person to whom the High Commission community turns for help, advice and support; will be the constant during the process of moving to a new country; and have the freedom and encouragement to explore ways to bring our community and families together and thrive during their time in Fiji. 

The CLO will work closely with High Commission's leadership for the well-being of all staff at Post, with primary function as advocate for and provision of support to UK-based (British diplomats) staff and families (FCDO and government partner departments) on family and community issues, principally in the areas of information gathering, welfare and communication.

Working in a High Commission is unique in its exposure and opportunity, and being part of the UK Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office’s global network brings great opportunities and rare insights into geopolitical issues and the strong partnership between Fiji and the United Kingdom.

This job is available on a full or part-time (minimum 3 days a week) basis. Please express your preferred working pattern in the application. All patterns will be considered equally.

Roles and responsibilities/what will the jobholder be expected to achieve:

1. Welfare at Post:

Welcoming all staff on posting/temporary duty/flexible deployment and accompanying families to ensure as smooth an integration as possible into the life of the Post community; following up to check that the settling in process is working; being a source of referral and support where questions, problems and difficulties arise; providing short Post community induction. 

2. Advocate for UK-based staff and families in addressing issues of importance with Post Management, including as their representative on Post Management Boards, crisis and contingency planning and as the chief link between Post and DSFA in London.

3. Protocol lead on transportation of heavy baggage/UAF, ID cards, TIN, visas, work permits and exemptions.

4. Information gathering for UK-Based officers and their spouses/partners and families. To include information primarily on spouse/partner employment at Post; children's education (through completion of separate School and Nursery Information Sheets of authorised schools at Post); a comprehensive information pack at post, feedback on adult education; career and training opportunities; single officer and foreign born spouse/partner issues; recreational facilities; social matters; and completion of DSFA Spouse and Partner Annual Employment Report and Cost of Living Allowance report.

5. Communicating effectively on community and social matters across Post to all staff and receive notification of staff arrivals/departures. The CLO should participate in the Joint Management Board (JMB); Post Security Committee, Post Housing Committee and other committees where appropriate. The CLO should advertise details of DSFA (Diplomatic Service Families Association) career support services and courses to eligible UK-Based spouses/partners at Post. CLO is expected to establish some form of communication for staff and spouses/partners across Post, such as a WhatsApp group, in accordance with the FCDO social media policy.

6. Information management of Post Welcome Pack, CLO Teams site, input to update and review of Post Report and Factsheet; management of domestic equipment float. CLOs should be accessible and able to provide information in areas including pre-Posting information, spouse/partner employment at Post; child and adult education, childcare, recreation facilities and training opportunities. 

7. Emergency Planning: the CLO must be aware of and involved in any Post contingency and evacuation plans. 

Essential on arrival:

  • Excellent communication and interpersonal skills, able to build and maintain relationships;
  • Holds one of the following passports: UK, US, Canada, Australia, New Zealand

It is essential that you understand (likely from experience) the challenges and considerations involved in moving to and living in a new country. You will not necessarily need to have worked in an High Commission to succeed in this role. We encourage a broad range of backgrounds and experiences, where the key attributes are empathy, anticipating needs, and excellent communication skills.

Changing and Improving, Managing a Quality Service, Communicating and Influencing, Working Together
13 June 2023
Administrative Officer (AO)
Full-time, Fixed term, with possibility of renewal
38
Asia Pacific
Fiji
Suva
British High Commission
1
FJD
28,655.04 annual
7 August 2023

Open to Fiji citizens, permanent residents. Interstate applicants will be required to meet their own travel and relocation expenses.

No accommodation or relocation expenses are payable in connection with this position.

Staff recruited locally by the High Commission are subject to Terms and Conditions of Service according to local Fiji employment law.

Employees who are not liable to pay local income tax on their Mission salary may have their salaries reduced by the equivalent local income tax amount.

Learning and development opportunities:

All CLOs should try to attend the CLO Course as soon as possible after completing probation to help them fully meet the demands of the job.

We offer support for the successful candidate to take advantage of professional learning and development opportunities inside and outside of the organisation.

The BHC has an active Learning & Development Committee which works hard to provide a comprehensive L&D offer. There is a wide range of options available for personal development including training courses, coaching and mentoring, job-shadowing, presentations and learning sets. Staff have access to a wide variety of online resources through the International Academy and Civil Service Learning. Staff are strongly encouraged to take advantage of all available opportunities.

All new hires undertake a workplace induction and there are a number of mandatory e-learning courses that must be completed in order to pass probation.

Working Hours:

This job is available on a full or part-time (minimum 3 days a week) basis. Please express your preferred working pattern in the application. All patterns will be considered equally.

Normal working hours are from 08:00 - 16:15 from Mon-Thurs and 08:00 - 13:00 on Fridays. 

Occasionally, in line with operational duties or travel, we might ask you to work outside normal working hours and would expect flexibility.

Other Information:

The How We Work Statement (below) sets out the ambition we share across the FCDO for how we lead and behave towards each other, how we make decisions, and how we get the job done. 

  • We put respect and kindness first. We are inclusive, we get to know each other, and value our diversity and the contribution we each bring. We are fair, act with integrity, and tackle inequality and unacceptable behaviour. We work together and take responsibility to solve problems.
  • We draw on the expertise, insight and diverse perspectives of people across the FCDO, HMG, and beyond. We use the best available data and evidence. We are open to challenge and take a sustainable, long-term approach. We are transparent about the rationale for decisions and smart about taking and managing risks.  
  • We are agile and alert to emerging opportunities. We encourage learning, innovation and use of data and digital. We are all clear on what we are expected to deliver and support each other in doing so. We look to reduce duplication and unnecessary process. We are committed to transforming both the FCDO and the way HMG delivers international policy.

Please note that the deadline for applications is 23:55 on the day mentioned in the above field “Application deadline."

Please be aware that the deadline for submitting applications is considered to be the time zone for the country where the vacancy has arisen.

We advise you to allow enough time to complete and submit your full application since only applications completed and submitted before the deadline will be considered.

All applicants are required to mandatorily fill the online application form completely including the employment and educational details, experience, professional skills and behaviour based questions. We will be thoroughly reviewing the applications and incomplete form in any respect may not be considered while shortlisting for the next stage.

For inclusivity and diversity, please remove the following personal information when uploading your CV: name, address, email address, age, date of birth, gender, and nationality.

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.

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.