View Vacancy – Head of Corporate Services, New York

Main purpose of job:

To ensure consistent delivery of quality and efficient Corporate Services to the UK’s Government Offices in New York – the UK’s Mission to the UN and the British Consulate-General, New York, comprising of 220 staff and 8 separate British Government Departments and partners.

To deliver this through: leadership of the Corporate Services Team of 30 staff;  membership of the Offices’ leadership teams providing strategic and operational advice to senior managers and ensuring the overall coherence of the Offices’ corporate leadership functions;  and,  collaboration and close working with UK Government colleagues in the British Embassy in Washington and headquarters in London.

The position is a challenging multi-disciplinary one with broad responsibilities across finance, HR, security, protocol, IT, business continuity, estates, facilities and corporate leadership.  The individual has to juggle multiple demands at all times to balance quality service delivery, with efficiency and applying rules and regulations, within a fast-paced political environment.  The successful applicant will be need to be able to learn, understand and implement fully many complex, bespoke and UK-centric rules and policies within a New York workplace setting and diplomatic environment.  They must be able to lead, motivate and constantly improve the corporate team as well as carry the confidence of senior managers through the advice and support they provide.

Roles and responsibilities / What will the jobholder be expected to achieve?:

• Lead 30-person Corporate Services Team, directly line managing 5 staff (4x C4, 1x A2), overseeing management of the whole team, setting direction and standards and by delivering through others to ensure a high performing and motivated team to deliver a quality and efficient service on all corporate issues in the Offices.
• Manage a $6.5mn budget, accountable to senior managers and London headquarters, ensuring effective budget management and implementation of financial processes, the availability of resources for priority and essential activity, and that financial risk is mitigated and compliance met.
• Oversee critical functions of security, business continuity, office facilities and other estates provision to ensure the UK Offices and all their staff, including diplomats, have the tools and support they need to operate and are safe and secure.
• Oversee the local delivery of human resources support, practice and management, ensuring HR policies and procedures are implemented fully and that managers have the staff and HR advice they need.
• Provide strategic and operational advice on all corporate issues to senior managers and the Offices’ collective leadership teams, prioritising competing demands, delivering solutions for managers and challenging approaches when necessary.
• Lead collaboration and close working with Corporate leadership colleagues at the British Embassy in Washington, in particular on implementing US Network-wide polices, and with resource and HR counterparts at headquarters offices in London.
• Lead work to implement a major overhaul of the UK’s Official Diplomatic Residences in New York, with the ability to provide strategic advice to senior managers, driver forward implementation including engaging with external contractors and private sector real estate professionals.
• Lead the development and implementation of new corporate policies and initiatives and drive improved corporate management across the UK Offices identifying best practice and areas to improve.
• Oversee Protocol and Diplomatic arrangements for the UK Offices in New York, in particular relating to UN activities, and by representing the UK at the UN’s Host Country Committee covering UN Protocol matters.

Essential characteristics are:

• Strong leadership, staff management and service delivery qualities in a corporate services environment.
• Proven track record of resource management, operational delivery and managing office facilities.
• Ability to learn, understand and champion complex and bespoke rules, regulations and policies, including relating to finance and human resources, in a fast-paced and changing office environment.
• Exceptional inter-personal and communication skills, with a strong ability to engage stakeholders, a broad range of staff and senior managers with confidence and authority.
• Ability to prioritise and deliver high quality results on multiple areas of competing work to tight deadlines.
• Must be fluent in English, written and oral.
• Must be UK, US, Canadian, Australian or New Zealand citizen.

Under US State Department requirements, the UK Government in the US may only employ, as non-diplomatic staff, persons who are US citizens, US Permanent Residents or A visa holders with EAD cards*. If you hold a visa other than an A visa you are not currently eligible to work at our office.  Please refer to our website for information on exceptions to this policy at www.gov.uk/government/world/usa.  All selected candidates are subject to background checks and will require a security clearance prior to starting work.  *A visas are acceptable at the Embassy and Consulates. The UK Mission to the UN (UKMIS) accepts G visas, and British Defence Staff (BDS) outposts accept A or NATO visas.