View Vacancy - Community Liaison Officer EO - (51/22 PTA)
Main purpose of job: The British High Commission to South Africa oversees the UK Government’s operations in South Africa across the following locations:
The Corporate Services Team, based largely in Pretoria with some staff in the locations above, is responsible for delivering corporate services to support the work of both British diplomatic staff and locally employed staff at all these locations. The Community Liaison Officer (CLO) will work under the supervision of the Counsellor for Corporate Services and the Deputy High Commissioner, depending on specific tasks. The jobholder will help ensure high quality support, service and advice in respect of British diplomatic staff, their families, where they live, the schools and health facilities they use and the community in which they live. The CLO will also help with wider work that: supports overall staff wellbeing, healthcare and welfare; helps deliver social, community and charitable events with staff; and, promotes effective communications on all these topics to staff across the British High Commission Offices. The CLO will be an integral part of the Corporate Services team and will work closely with colleagues across the breadth of corporate services functions, especially in areas related to supporting Diplomatic staff - notably their arrival to and departure from South Africa, as well as their preparation for arriving and Corporate initiatives that relate to wellbeing, community, staff support and advice and other relevant areas. The jobholder will work closely with other senior managers, especially on support for British diplomatic staff and their families, as well as wider staff wellbeing. The CLO will also develop a strong network of important contacts across a wide range of organisations including other Diplomatic Missions; healthcare establishments; schools; community groups and forums; charities; Expat communities and other contacts in organisations that work in areas of employee support, wellbeing and advice. The CLO builds the trust and confidence of staff across the Mission, though the jobholder’s integral position within the Corporate Services team and close work with senior managers means that the role is an advocate of the organisation, its policies, and principles and values. This means the jobholder needs to be able to communicate, explain and promote sometimes challenging policies or decisions that relate to staff. The jobholder will need to be willing to occasionally work flexibly to support staff in emergencies and / or events in the evenings and potentially the occasional weekend as well - although the CLO is never ‘on-call’ to staff. The CLO is expected to travel periodically to the High Commission’s other offices in South Africa. The CLO will be under pressure frequently with many competing priorities, some of which will be of a personal and stressful nature among staff. The jobholder therefore needs exceptional self-management and organisational skills to manage the workload and competing demands; very strong resilience and the ability to communicate with colleagues in challenging situations, demonstrating skill in empathy.
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Learning and development opportunities (and any specific training courses to be completed): Full training is provided to the successful applicant for all job-related skills. The British High Commission also offers a huge range of learning and development opportunities, including financial support through study grants.
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- Please complete the application form in full as the information provided is used during screening.
- Please check your application carefully before you submit, as no changes can be made once submitted.
- The British High Commission will never request any payment or fees to apply for a position.
- Employees recruited locally by the British High Commission in Pretoria are subject to Terms and Conditions of Service according to local employment law in South Africa.
- All candidates must be legally able to work and reside in the country of the vacancy with the correct visa/work permit status or demonstrate eligibility to obtain the relevant permit.
- The responsibility lies on the successful candidate to:
- Obtain the relevant permit
- Pay fees for the permit
- Make arrangements to relocate
- Meet the costs to relocate
- The British High Commission do not sponsor visas/work permits except where it may be local practice to do so.
- 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.
- Information about the Civil Service Success Profiles can be found on this link: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/success-profiles. Please note: AA=A1, AO=A2, EO=B3, HEO=C4, SEO=C5
- Reference checking and security clearances will be conducted on successful candidates.
This opportunity is closed to applications.