View Vacancy - Community Liaison Officer (Part-Time), Grade – EO, New Delhi (Internal Only)
Note: All applicants are required to mandatorily fill the complete online application form including the employment and educational details, experience segment and the behaviour-based questions. We will be thoroughly reviewing the application forms only for all the required details. Forms that are incomplete in any respect will not be considered while shortlisting for the next stage.
Main purpose of job:
The British High Commission Delhi is one of the Foreign Commonwealth and Development Office’s (FCDO) largest overseas operations with around 130 UK Based (UKB) staff plus families from 15 UK Government Departments working from the FCDO run platform and around 50 officers and their families transitioning in and out of post annually.
The Community Liaison Officer (CLO) must therefore work closely with Post Management to ensure that new staff are properly prepared for their arrival and appropriately supported through the period of their posting. Although working alongside Post Management, the role has a very large degree of autonomy with limited direct supervision. The ability to operate without day-to-day supervision, discretion, empathy and resilience are key requirements for the role. The CLO will usually be the first point of contact for members of staff and their families to approach with any family concerns or welfare issues. The CLO has responsibility for the well-being of all staff at Post, with a primary function as advocate for and provision of support to all UK-based staff and families on family and community issues. The CLO’s ability to gather information across a wide range of issues and be able to impart that knowledge effectively and often sensitively will require excellent communication skills.
Operating within such a large overseas mission this is a challenging role and not for the faint hearted. The successful applicant will need to be resilient and assertive; have strong interpersonal skills to develop a network of useful contacts as well as have a knowledge of how India works and ensure that new arrivals are aware of the culture, traditions and any possible sensitivities.
We reserve the right to review, revise or amend the roles and responsibilities from time to time reflecting the changing needs of business.
Roles and responsibilities / what will the jobholder be expected to achieve:
Information management: Management of the Post Welcome Pack and input to update and review of Post Report and Fact Sheet will require proactive research to seek out relevant information. As one of the first points of contact for new arrivals the CLO will need to be aware of their impact on others; the CLO will need to 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. Working largely independently the CLO will need to be able to develop a wide range of external contacts and proactively seek out the information for the benefit of UK-Based officers and their spouses/partners and families. This will include, but not be limited to, information on children's education (through completion of separate HR School and Nursery Information Sheets of authorised schools at Post); a comprehensive information pack on childcare at post, post health report; 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; COLA and Hardship surveys, etc.
Welfare at Post: The CLO will often be the first point of contact welcoming staff and accompanying families to post. The CLO will need to display a sense of enthusiasm show an interest in new arrivals and any issues that they may face and confidently handle challenging questions and issues in an effort to ensure as smooth an integration as possible into the life of the Post community; following up with individuals to check that the settling in process is working and listening attentively to any concerns; being a source of referral and support where questions, problems and difficulties arise; providing short post community induction.
Advocate: The CLO will act as the advocate for UK-based staff and families in addressing issues of importance with Post Management, including as their representative on Post Management Committee, housing, crisis and security committees, and as the chief link between Post and DSFA in London.
Communicating: The CLO will need to be able to communicate effectively on community and social matters across Post using social media to ensure as broad a spread of communication as possible. The CLO should advertise details of DSFA 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 WhatsApp groups, in accordance with the FCO social media policy.
Emergency Preparedness: the CLO must be aware of and involved in any crisis, contingency and evacuation plans and crisis exercises. CLOS will need to be part of the Crisis team (welfare team) and attend relevant trainings and events to be prepared for undertaking this role as and when needed.
Language requirements:
Language: English
Level of language required: Fluent spoken and written.
Learning and development opportunities (and any specific training courses to be completed):
- Introduction to CLO course run and organised by DSFA
- Crisis Preparedness Training
- Mandatory eLearnings such as GDPR, SEAH etc.
Working patterns:
Please note: It is a part time position for 32 hours in a week.
The CLO role is offered on a job share basis ideally covered by two individuals working 32 hours each per week. Although we do expect an overlap of working hours to ensure the smooth transition of ongoing business and appropriate cover, flexibility and the ability to work together as a team are the key requirements of this role rather than a prescriptive approach to hours.
Essential on arrival:
- Good interpersonal and communication skills
- Good IT skills in MS Office - Excel, Word, Outlook and PowerPoint.
For British High Commission candidates, the Country Based Staff BHC Terms & Conditions will apply.
For other than BHC Candidates, salary will be all-inclusive of INR 60,287 month plus 12% Provident Fund and 6% Superannuation.
Additionally, the BHC offers a great benefits package that includes annual domiciliary medical cover, plus a Group Hospitalisation Scheme with INR 500,000 floater cover for your immediate family.
No relocation or any other related costs or assistance will be provided.
Please note - BHC does not deduct tax at source and employees are required to ensure that any requirements of local income-tax law are complied with in full. Employees who are not liable to pay local income tax on their Mission salary, e.g., some non-local national staff and some spouses or partners of UK diplomatic staff, will have their salaries abated by an equivalent amount.
The BHC is recognised as a good employer, with a robust, fair and transparent performance management & appraisal system linked to increments and staff bonuses. We have a 5-day working week, plus annual leave, public holidays, maternity leave provision, special leave, paid sick leave provision; ample development opportunities, travel opportunities, a good organisational culture, and excellent work/life balance.
Around half of our work forces are women. We treat people with respect and equality and have a policy of zero tolerance for any form of discrimination, bullying, or harassment.
This is a good opportunity to be part of a strong, diverse team, working in the biggest network that FCDO has anywhere across the globe. We are aiming to make it the best.
Note: All applicants are required to mandatorily fill the complete online application form including the employment and educational details, experience segment and the behaviour-based questions. We will be thoroughly reviewing the application forms only for all the required details. Forms that are incomplete in any respect will not be considered while shortlisting for the next stage.
Overseas Citizen of India (OCI) card holders will need have, or be able to obtain, a valid special work permit issued from Government of India (GOI) to work in the British High Commission (BHC). BHC will not be able to sponsor work visas or obtain/ assist with the special work permit from GOI. Offers of employment made to OCI card holders will be conditional upon candidates obtaining a special work permit.
Note: For requisite special permission to take up employment in any foreign Diplomatic Missions in India, OCI Cardholder must visit https://ociservices.gov.in
Please note – successful applicants will be offered employment on Country Based Staff (CBS) terms and conditions. This is not a permanent UK Civil Service position and does not attract diplomatic immunities and privileges (other than what an individual may already hold if they are a recognised partner/family member of a serving diplomat).
To Apply:
Please note applications without (a) and (b) will not be considered.
- Complete the Online Application Form
- Complete the Experience, Professional Skills and Behaviour based Segments in the Online Application Form
- Applicants need to answer the questions based on your professional experience. Refrain from use of AI based tools to avoid application from getting rejected/disqualified.
Internal candidates applying for this position need to inform their current line managers, else the applications will not be considered.
We will accept only online applications by 10 April 2024 (latest by 23:55 hours IST).
Please note that all the applicants will be required to strictly adhere to the security guidelines for British High Commission.
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.
Please note - Provident Fund Transfer in and out from EPFO is not possible as BHC PF is managed by a private PF trust governed by Indian Income Tax Act, 1961. The staff still has the option to transfer out and in from a privately held PF trust which are not governed by EPFO.
Applicants who do not have the required qualification & experience should kindly abstain from applying, as their applications will not be considered.
Only shortlisted candidates will be contacted, and no telephone enquires will be dealt with. Basis the scores, the candidate/s who did not score as highly as the successful candidate, might be placed on the reserve list. If during the reserve period of 6 months, the same or largely similar role becomes available, the role may be offered to the second or subsequent appointable candidates.
The appointment will be subject to Police Verification and other checks including references, medical, educational, and professional.
We welcome all applications irrespective of age, race, colour, gender, disability, sexual orientation, religion, belief, or creed. We are also open to applications from people who want to work flexibly.
This opportunity is closed to applications.
