Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office (Operations and Corporate Services)
Finance
Main purpose of job:
Lead a team that provides corporate services to a staff of about 150 UKB and LE. Work with regional hubs, managing finance, HR, IT, H&S, Transport and Procurement. Know central and Embassy policy and ensure it is adhered to. Proactively identify management issues at post, providing recommendations to the rest of the Senior Management Team. The jobholder is responsible for guiding overall corporate policy, setting out a vision for how corporate services should be provided, managing senior customers (including Heads of PAGs) and ensuring the team of 30+ people have the skills to do their jobs. He/she will lead on change management in services and platform, embracing new technology to support the delivery of the Embassy Strategy. He/she should encourage a culture of continuous improvement. They should demonstrate and encourage a 1HMG approach. They will be a core member of the Senior Management Team, sitting on the 1HMG leadership Committee, Housing and Appraisal Committees. They will also take on corporate responsibilities to assist on running of Embassy. They will manage a Post budget of about £2 million/annum. Embedding new and integrated FCDO systems and T&Cs will be an important part of the role.
Roles and responsibilities / what will the jobholder be expected to achieve?:
Platform
- Ensure consistent and effective delivery of platform services to all partners at post, acting as subject matter expert and providing leadership on all corporate issues.
- Create, and deliver against, the Corporate Services Charter.
- Provide clearly defined and regularly reviewed perimeters of service delivery, challenging expectations and resolving issues as required.
- Build effective and collaborative relationships with partners at Post and the UK, including regional hubs and across the Embassy’s policy teams. This will sometimes involve handling conflict.
- Ensure policy (central and Embassy) is adhered to.
Finance & Procurement
- Responsible for management of the Embassy admin budget including annual budgeting, monthly forecasting, cashflow. Drive change in quality of Embassy budget forecasting and reduction of cash usage.
- Lead on procurement at the Embassy, ensuring compliant P2P process; maximise efficiencies by identifying cost saving opportunities across suppliers.
- Ensure teams/ individual follow the correct financial processes and are compliant.
HR
- Full oversight of the HR function and proactive strategic planning to support ambitious approach to recruitment and retention of staff.
- Act as trusted advisor to leadership team and provide coaching/counsel to staff on performance management, line management and disciplinary matters, liaising with HR Hub in Manila and HRD in London, identifying gaps, risks and policy issues and advising on resolution. Lead on most challenging disciplinary and staff welfare issues.
- Advise on strategic L&D plans for the post, in conjunction with the Diplomatic Academy Regional Team, ensuring activities are tailored for post need and staff development. Delivery of broad range of corporate training and coaching.
- Implement FCDO policy on pay, benefits and policy, including reviews, benchmarking and analysis.
- Ensure local TACOS are in-line with internal and external legislation (seeking appropriate legal advice) and respond to changing requirements. Manage and communicate across PAG stakeholder to maintain alignment
- Manage high quality Post induction- design, implementation and regular review.
Health & Safety
- Responsibility for health and safety at the Embassy (delivering through Head of Estates Team), including occupational health; policy, processes audit and annual review.
- Ensure a culture of ownership is instilled in staff through training and education.
- Ensure annual training is completed for health & safety; fire training and first aid.
IT & Estates
- Oversee IT Team (through team leader), including project management and customer service delivery.
- Work with Post Information Management Officer to encourage knowledge management activities, including archives, record retention and training.
- Oversee estates projects (through Estates Team) including residence works and office moves, in consultation with ESD and FCDO / PAG staff.
- Deliver creative solutions for a modern, inclusive and flexible workplace and policies to support this.
Leadership & Change Management
- Set out a vision for the provision of corporate services within an expanding Embassy. Run change management programmes to transform Embassy Customer Perception Survey results. Establish other measures of success and continually monitor and evaluate progress. Work with heads of government departments on platform, managing occasionally robust interactions.
- Lead and manage the Embassy Corporate Services Team of 30+ staff who provide services to support 160+ staff across the embassy, including three government departments. Direct, support and coach team leaders; delegate tasks effectively. Drive use of feedback to continually improve standards.
- Identify opportunities for continuous improvement in corporate activity at Post.
Compliance
- Lead all audit requests and activity at the Embassy (all functions), advising senior management on actions and responses.
Learning & Development
- Ensure the team leaders and teams have a training plan in place and actively do L & D development.
- Complete appraisals and L & D plans for all team leaders.
Resources managed (staff and expenditure):
4 x EO, Counter Signing Officer for 13 staff. Annual budget of about £2 million.
Learning and development opportunities:
Will attend FCO Corporate Services Manager training. Opportunity to develop and demonstrate leadership skills. FCO leadership training may be available. Range of learning and development opportunities available within the Embassy, including good line management training. Opportunities to shadow other colleagues and find a coach or mentor to support your development.
Various forms of flexible working may be possible, including: compressed hours, some working from home (1 day per week) and non-standard hours.
- Excellent leadership and communication skills
- At least 3 years of corporate experience (preferably in Finance/HR or a related management role), in a managerial capacity, with at least 3 years’ experience of managing a team.
- Experience of budget management.
- Proficiency in Microsoft Office, with experience of Oracle systems and databases preferred.
- Fluent in English language
- Fluent in Burmese
Seeing the Big Picture, Changing and Improving, Leading and Communicating, Managing a Quality Service
28 October 2021
C5 (L)
Full-time, Permanent
35
Asia Pacific
Myanmar
Yangon
British Embassy
1
USD
2,437 USD per month
13 December 2021
The successful candidate will have to undergo a probation period, per local terms and conditions.
The British Embassy offers a competitive remuneration package, benefits, leave entitlement of 22 working days per annum (calculated on pro rata basis) and works hard to provide L&D opportunities to staff. There are a wide range of options available for personal development including training courses, coaching and mentoring, job-shadowing, presentations and learning sets. Staff have access to a wide variety of online resources through the Diplomatic Academy and Civil Service Learning. The jobholder will be required to take some mandatory training courses related to their role. All new staff undertake a workplace induction and there are a number of mandatory e-learning courses covering areas such as diversity, health and safety, and information management.
This job is suitable for some flexible working patterns subject to operational requirements.
Employment offers are subject to successful clearance of pre-employment and security checks. Staff recruited locally by the British Embassy Yangon is subject to Terms and Conditions of Service according to local employment law.
No accommodation or relocation expenses are payable in connection with this position. 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. Any costs related to obtaining or renewing permits and visas are the responsibility of the successful applicant.
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.
All applications must be received before 23:55 Myanmar Standard Time on the specified application deadline above. Please be aware that the deadline for submitting applications is considered to be the time zone for the country where the vacancy has arisen.
Incomplete application forms will not be taken into consideration, so please ensure you provide the information requested. Only shortlisted candidates for interview will be contacted. Interviewees will be assessed on the core competencies listed above. Unsuccessful candidates will be notified via the system in due time.
Indicated start date is provisional and subject to successful completion of reference and security checks.
To those applicants not shortlisted, we extend our appreciation for considering the British Government as a potential employer.
To help us track our recruitment effort, please indicate on the application form /in your cover letter where (ngotenders.net) you saw this job posting.