View Vacancy - BK - Consular Assistant, A1 (L)
The British Embassy in Bangkok is part of a global network providing a full range of consular assistance to British people in Thailand in line with the Foreign and Commonwealth Office’s (FCO) published Consular Guidance and Customer Charter, Consular Services Strategy, local procedures, guidance and performance standards. The successful candidate will be working in a fast-paced environment where the ability to work under pressure is vital.
As part of a small team of Consular Assistants, the main purpose of the job is to provide an efficient counter service for customers requiring notarial and documentary services and administrative support to the team in the delivery of consular assistance to British people. The jobholder will deal with enquiries from members of the public, public officials, and authorities by telephone or email. The jobholder will support the Assistance Team in their casework, handling documents as required. They will be responsible for maintaining statistical reports and other administrative tasks for the smooth running of the office, as well as providing support to project work.
Roles and Responsibilities:
Operations Delivery
- Provide a friendly and efficient counter service to British Nationals who book appointments for notarial and documentary services.
- Check, prepare and accept applications for notarial and documentary services.
- Take fees, provide receipts and reconcile fees on a daily basis; Maintain a cash float.
- Add cases and supporting documentation to Casebook.
- Maintain waiting room and back office, including forms, leaflets and notices etc.
- Day to day office admin and ad hoc support to consular section such as stationary orders, meeting management, flight, hotel or car reservations for officers and visitors, assisting with visitors and project work.
- Organise Citizenship Ceremonies for prospective British Nationals, including liaising with customer, room booking and post-ceremony admin
- Any other administrative duties as requested by line manager
Operations Support
- Assist the team with casework including making and receiving phone calls, relating to ongoing cases. (For non-Thai speakers).
- Make checks on the British national identity database as directed.
- Provide administaive support to wider consular team.This includes gathering information from local authorities,writing letters in local language and acting as informal interpreters under instruction from a more senior grade.
- Check and distribute incoming and outgoing mail for Consular section e.g. organise and arrange packing for outgoing mail as requested; distribute incoming mail to team members.
- Maintain section databases and data inputting e.g. correspondence data, sentencing register, prisoner’s relatives, health and medical information, list of volunteers, and customer survey information.
- Printing and delivery of ETDs at Post.
Teamwork and Learning
- Personal administration and management including participation in the annual appraisal system.
- Responsible for completing personal development plan and maintaining skills and knowledge proficiency.
- Team player providing support and understanding to colleagues dealing with traumatic events, distressed British people and complex cases.
Projects and Engagement
- Participate in projects in the Thailand Country Business Plan and Consular Team objectives.
- Offer support to ongoing prevention based projects.
Business Continuity and Resilience
- In crisis /emergency situations work as required to support Embassy response (sometimes on a shift pattern working unsociable hours).
- In times of peak operational demand, work flexibly within the section.
- Experience of working in a customer facing environment.
- Excellent communication skills, approachable, empathic with customers and good listening skills.
- Able to work on own under supervision, using procedures and guidance.
- Flexible, resilient, patient and able to deal with a range of situations, including working unsocial hours in an emergency.
- Proven experience of displaying a high level of discretion and confidentiality.
- Experience in completing timely and accurate written information in English.
- IT proficiency – Using MS Office, Outlook and ability to learn FCO systems.
- For candidates with English as a second language, certification at IELTS (or equivalent) level 6.5 minimum or higher within the last 2 years is required. All skill areas (Writing, Speaking, Listening and Reading) must be IELTS score 6.0 or higher
- Experience of living in or understanding of the United Kingdom, British people and culture.
- Previous experience in consular services or in another support providing organisation would be an advantage.
- Ability to write and speak Thai.
- Experience of dealing directly with customers.
- Team player providing support and understanding to colleagues dealing with traumatic events, distressed British people and complex cases
The British Embassy offers a competitive remuneration package, including salary (will be abated for those not liable to tax), benefits, a leave entitlement, Health Insurance and comprehensive development programme based upon business need and individual staff requirements.
The British Embassy Bangkok encourages all staff to develop their skills and capabilities, through formal training (courses) and informal (job-shadowing, coaching, on-the-job training etc.) The majority of our formal L&D opportunities are delivered through FCO resources.
All staff are encouraged to share their skills and experience with colleagues, through informal training (‘lunch & learn’) or coaching/mentoring. All staff are eligible for 5 L&D days a year.
There a number of mandatory Consular Training courses and E Learning, that must be successfully completed
Staff are expected to have a Personnel Development Plan and are actively encouraged to participate in development opportunities.
In crisis/emergency situations work as required to support the Embassy response (sometimes on a shift pattern working unsociable hours). Flexible working is available subject to operational needs (Embassy core hours are 1000-1600 Mon-Thurs and 1000-1300 Friday).
In late 2019 the British Embassy Bangkok will be moving from their current premises on Wireless Rd to new accommodation in the Sathorn area.
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, 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.
British Embassy Bangkok Vision and Values:
VISION: What do we want to build?
A better, safer, more prosperous world for Britons and Thais alike.
MISSION: How will we achieve this?
By championing UK values and delivering tangible benefits to individuals, businesses and society: through quality service, effective partnerships and local expertise.
VALUES: that underpin our work
Courage: In our approach to our work: supporting innovation, creativity and taking calculated risks in solving problems; encouraging challenge and welcoming diverse perspectives; honesty in acknowledging and learning from mistakes.
Ambition: In the challenge we set ourselves: Striving to be excellent in the quality of service we deliver; inspiring our teams, colleagues, customers and stakeholders; passionate about our purpose.
Generosity: Of spirit: kindness in our daily actions and conversations; openness to differing cultures, ideas and opinions; understanding of differing styles and honest mistakes to build a culture of support.
Employment offers are subject to successful clearance of pre-employment and security checks. Staff who are locally recruited by the British Embassy are subject to Terms and Conditions of Service according to local employment law.
No accommodation or relocation expenses are payable in connection with this position. You must have or be able to obtain work authorisation in Thailand in order to apply. Any costs related to obtaining or renewing permits and visas are the responsibility of the successful applicant.
Please note that your application must be submitted before 23:55 on the day mentioned in the above field “Application deadline”.
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.
Indicated start date is provisional and subject to successful completion of reference and security checks.
To those applicants not short-listed, we extend our appreciation for considering the British Government as a potential employer.
Reminder for existing Embassy staff who will be interested to apply:
Along with the completed online application form, candidates should upload their last two years End of Year Appraisals if applicable. If applicants have been employed for less than twelve months, they will need to provide permission from their Head of Section to apply and should attach this to their application.
Guidance on completing competency based application forms and sitting Interviews can be found on the BE Website and also on the Civil Service Learning portal, Virtual Ashridge portal and Goodpractice.net (both accessed through the CSL). Staff are strongly advised to refer to these.
We recommend all applicants to understand the Civil Service competences before applying for any role and in preparation for interviews. For more information, you can visit our website - https://www.gov.uk/government/world/organisations/british-embassy-bangkok/about/recruitment.
Kindly check your application centre or email regularly for any update on the status of your application.
This opportunity is closed to applications.
