View Vacancy - Political and Visits Officer (Maternity Cover)

The British Embassy in Amman is seeking a highly motivated and enthusiastic individual for the position of Political and Visits Officer (Maternity Cover), Grade – B3 (L).

Main Purpose of the job:

Working for the Embassy in Amman, the successful candidate will primarily be responsible for political reporting on internal issues in Jordan including the Government’s response to Covid-19; designing and delivering all logistics around senior visits to Jordan as well as outreach visits for the Ambassador. Pre-Covid, this included the jobholder leading on delivery of visits by British Ministers, senior officials, members of the Royal family, and other VIPs to Jordan. The current circumstances mean any visits during this period may be virtual but will still require delivery with an even greater emphasis on attention to detail.

Main Responsibilities:

Working closely with the Ambassador, Deputy Head of Mission (DHM), Political Section, Corporate Services (CS) Section, and colleagues across the Embassy, as well as Government Departments in the UK, the jobholder will need to engage confidently and effectively with people at all levels, including key contacts within the Jordanian Government. Excellent problem solving and judgement skills, a keen eye for detail and the ability to deliver results quickly, including under pressure, are essential, as the jobholder will frequently need to respond to unforeseen obstacles, including last minute changes to visit programmes.

This role also involves working on some areas of Political Team policy work, including reporting on the Covid-19 situation in Jordan and working on climate and energy issues including COP26. The jobholder will support delivery against these policy objectives, responding to tasking and providing updates to London as required. There may also be an element of project management during this period.

1.     Visits management (50%): Logistics lead for VIP visits and coordination of ministerial programmes, and embassy outreach visits to areas outside Amman, specifically:

• Developing individual visit programmes, including providing advice on locations, meetings, project visits, and media opportunities.
• Management of logistics and protocol arrangements around visits including preparation of Note Verbales (in English and Arabic), the creation of transport schedules and arranging accommodation;
• Liaison with the Jordanian Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MFA) and other government departments to secure host invitation letters, set up meetings and agree protocol and security arrangements, which may, on occasion, require working outside normal office hours.
• Working closely with the Embassy Protocol Team on arrival logistics to ensure they can facilitate a smooth arrival process at the Airport VIP Lounge.
• Working closely with HMA/DHM Outer office, with regular communication to keep them informed of visit arrangements and development of the programme;
• Liaison with other Embassy teams regarding visit arrangements, particularly Security, Transport and Comms teams;
• Develop contacts and ideas, and arrange programmes and logistics for regular embassy visits to towns and governorates in Jordan outside Amman.
• Monitoring and managing the budget for visits ensuring arrangements stay in line with expenditure guidelines;
• Monitor and improve Embassy visit policy, liaising with and agreeing our assistance with London Protocol Department.

2.     Policy (40%): Supporting the Political Section on priority policy-related issues:

• Working closely with the Head of Chancery, Political colleagues and the Development Team on climate change issues including COP26, a UK policy priority. Lead engagement with relevant Jordanian Ministries on GoJ progress on climate change commitments, in particular Jordan’s NDC for COP26 as well as energy and water.
• Provide weekly political reporting on the Covid-19 situation in Jordan that feeds into wider political reporting for FCDO colleagues in London.
• Project management of political related projects including maintaining the relationship with external project providers.

3.     Information management (5%):

• Responsibility for overall Embassy Information Management handling and best practice as Information Management Officer.
• Maintaining contact database.

4.     Finance (5%) – Lead on all external payments for political team and ensure the team’s compliance with our Purchase to Pay (P2P) process.

Resources Managed:

• NA

Key Competencies:

• Managing a Quality Service - Effectiveness in this area is about being organised to deliver service objectives and striving to improve the quality of service, taking account of diverse customer needs and requirements.
• Collaborating and Partnering – People skilled in this area create and maintain positive, professional and trusting working relationships with a wide range of people within and outside the Civil Service to help get business done.
• Delivering at Pace - Effectiveness in this area means focusing on delivering timely performance with energy and taking responsibility and accountability for quality outcomes.
• Making Effective Decisions – Effectiveness in being objective; using sound judgement, evidence and knowledge to provide accurate, expert and professional advice.

Essential:

• Fluent communication skills in English and Arabic (both spoken and written).
• Minimum 3 years of experience of managing events/visits or office administration.
• Bachelor’s degree in a relevant field (example – Business Administration etc.).
• Experience of working in a non-profit sector/NGOs.
• High-level organisational and coordination skills, including the ability to prioritise, meet deadlines, proactively identify and resolve potential problems.
• Strong interpersonal skills and proven ability to work both autonomously and in a team, and to work effectively with clients, including at senior levels.
• Literacy in Microsoft Office packages (Excel, Word, Outlook, Microsoft Teams and PowerPoint).