View Vacancy – Community Liaison and Staff Welfare Officer

Main purpose of job:

To provide a broad range of support services and advice to staff across the British High Commission offices, including both diplomats from the UK and country based staff, and their families/ partners/ dependants; contribute to management policy and staff initiatives on staff welfare issues; support the High Commission’s Senior Leadership Team in contributing towards the overall well-being of all staff (UK diplomats and locally engaged) in the High Commission.

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

The Community Liaison Officer (CLO) has an important and independent role, working closely with Post Management, for the well-being of all staff at Post. A skilled and dedicated CLO makes a real difference to welfare and morale across the Mission.

The primary function of the CLO is to support all UK-Based officers and their families at Post, including Partners Across Government, to help them prepare for, settle into and face challenges of life in a new environment. This support can be extended to Local Staff including those on short-term or permanent deployments (flexible deployment) from elsewhere in the global network. The CLO should keep abreast of both UK-Based staff and Local Staff Management Policy developments and disseminate information as appropriate.

Key responsibilities include:

• Providing a broad range of support services and advice to Kingston staff (UK diplomats and country based staff), and their families/ partners/ dependents, including on:
• pre-posting information, including maintaining the Kingston Post Report and other internal staff information documents;
• preparation for UK Based postings to and arrival in Kingston, including advice on housing, education and healthcare options, and membership of the Mission’s Housing Committee;
• support for staff arrivals in Kingston, covering both life in the city, accessing schools, healthcare providers and community benefits (including support to families), and induction to the Office;
• terms & conditions, benefits, including processing Education & Overseas Allowances returns to HQ, and advice on social/ community life and activities, and membership of the High Commission Social Committee;
•   visas and immigration status rules and procedures.
• To research, develop and maintain relations with external contacts and service providers in support of delivering the best service and advice possible in the above areas.
• Contribute to management policy and staff initiatives on diversity, inclusion, working practices, working environment, and family friendly policies, including tying into the work of the Office on diversity and inclusion and on greening the High Commission.
• To support the Mission’s Senior Leadership Team in contributing towards the overall well-being of all staff in the High Commission, and their families/ partners/ dependents.
• To liaise with other Community Liaison Officers in the Caribbean and Americas regions, the FCO’s global CLO Network, the CLO and Diplomatic Service Families Association teams at HQ in London, and others as necessary, to bring best practice, new thinking & innovation and lessons learned to the Mission’s work and policies on staff welfare.

Essential on arrival:

•  Excellent written and oral communication skills in English.  First-rate inter-personal skills, with exceptional ability to deal empathetically with people in a positive, proactive and supportive manner, even under pressure.  Strong networking, collaborative and teamwork skills with colleagues, managers and a broad range of external contacts and partners.

• Presenting and speaking confidently at meetings, including with senior staff.
• 2-4 years of related work experience.
• Proficient with Microsoft Office.