Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office (Policy & Political roles)
Political
Main purpose of job:
The UK Embassy Office in N’Djamena is part of a worldwide network representing British political, economic, development and consular interests overseas. The UK has been present in Chad since 2017, when we first opened an office in N’Djamena. In April 2021 this office became a UK Embassy Office when we welcomed our first resident Ambassador. We are now building a new Embassy and scaling up our presence in N’Djamena. Our aim is for the UK to become an energetic presence in the region, working together with the Government of Chad, diplomatic partners, the United Nations, civil society and other partners to help support Chad’s development and stability.
Supporting Chadians through development and humanitarian policy and programmes is at the centre of the UK’s mission in Chad. We are among the top humanitarian donors in the country and support a wide range of development programmes directly and indirectly through our funding of multilateral institutions, including the UN, the World Bank, the IMF and the African Development Bank. In 2020/21 the UK spent £26.4 million in Chad in bilateral aid, and in 2018 the UK spent £45.2 million in Chad through multilateral channels.
The UK’s development and humanitarian work in the Sahel is managed by a team spread across London, our regional hub in Dakar and embassies in Niger, Mali, Chad and Mauritania. The Chad Development team sit within the Embassy Office in N’Djamena and play a critical role by representing the UK in Chad on all development and humanitarian issues, advising on policy and programming priorities, and monitoring and evaluating existing programmes.
This is an exciting and rewarding opportunity to work at the heart of development and humanitarian issues at a time when needs have never been greater in Chad. You will have the opportunity to influence the UK’s priorities in Chad, providing vital input on the local context to inform the UK’s decisions and strategic engagement in the region. You can expect to work closely with the Ambassador and wider embassy team, as well as with UN agencies, international financial institutions, NGOs and the wider international community. You will also be required to build effective relationships with the Chadian government and civil society
Roles and responsibilities:
Deliver UK policy and strategic objectives in Chad – Represent the UK at development and humanitarian-related meetings and events such as coordination groups, delivering messaging on UK objectives and feeding back to the team. Provide analysis and input to help inform the UK government’s policy on development, humanitarian and stabilisation assistance in Chad. The postholder may lead on a specific thematic priority such as humanitarian assistance, health or education.
Support management of UK programmes – Help to manage and monitor UK development, humanitarian and stabilisation programmes to maximise the impact of UK funding in Chad, ensuring value for money. Help to manage relationships with key delivery partners such as UN agencies. Use local insights and information to provide constructive feedback on existing UK programmes and to help develop future programmes. The postholder may help to manage small UK-funded projects.
Communications – Ensure maximum visibility and impact from UK aid spending, raising the profile of UK Aid in Chad with international and national partners. Draft press releases, tweets and other communications materials. Contribute to internal reporting on development and humanitarian issues. Where necessary, support translation between French and English on technical development and humanitarian topics. Build effective working relationships and influence key stakeholders on UK priorities, especially government and multilateral partners.
Deputising for the Development Counsellor – When the Development Counsellor is on leave, the postholder will lead on development and humanitarian issues for the UK Embassy Office, standing in for the Development Counsellor in internal and external meetings.
Wider embassy support – As a full member of the embassy team, the post holder will contribute to making the embassy a friendly and supportive environment to work in. Where necessary, the post holder must be ready to support any other embassy business (e.g. emergency consular, political or corporate work). The post holder will also lead on arranging development and humanitarian related field visits.
- Development and/or humanitarian experience.
- Strong oral and written communication skills in French. Strong oral and written communication skills in English, or a willingness to learn rapidly.
- Strong critical thinking skills – an ability to think independently, critically analyse information (including numerical information) and draw out conclusions.
- Strong organisational skills with the ability to work at pace on multiple priorities at the same time, taking initiative where required.
- Ability to work independently and unsupervised, and as part of a wider team.
- Bachelor’s degree in a relevant subject.
- Level of language required: French (fluent or extensive); English (extensive)
- Experience of working on development and/or humanitarian programming.
- Experience of working with the development/humanitarian community in Chad or the Sahel, such as the UN, international financial institutions and NGOs.
Seeing the Big Picture, Making Effective Decisions, Collaborating and Partnering, Delivering at Pace
20 July 2021
C4 (L)
Fixed Term, Fixed term, with possibility of renewal
12 months
Africa
Chad
N’Djamena
British Embassy
XOF 944, 930 plus Housing allowance XOF 423, 397 and Transport Allowance XOF 143, 399
1 October 2021
Learning and development opportunities (and any specific training courses to be completed):
In addition to on-the-job learning, there is a wealth of Learning and Development (L&D) opportunities (on-line and in person) available to help staff pursue their professional development. The successful applicant will be required to undertake a number of mandatory trainings and will have access to a range of L&D opportunities both in-house and overseas.
Language training in English could be available for the right candidate.
Working hours are from 0800 to 1615 Monday to Thursday and 0800 to 1300 on Friday. Staff work 34 conditioned hours per week (with a 60 minute break for lunch , making the total gross hours 38 hours per week).
- The British Embassy will never request any payment or fees to apply for a position.
- Employees recruited locally by the UK Embassy Office in Chad are subject to Terms and Conditions of Service according to local employment law in Chad .
- 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.
- 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.
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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 Foreign and Commonwealth Office Competency Framework can be found on this link: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/civil-service-competency-framework Please note: Job grade AA=A1, AO=A2, EO=B3, HEO=C4, SEO=C5
- Reference checking and security clearances will be conducted on successful candidates.
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