View Vacancy – Chief of Staff (Tech Envoy and Consul General San Francisco)

Main purpose of job:

This is a one of a kind role supporting the newly appointed Her Majesty’s (HM) Tech Envoy and Consul General San Francisco. It is a fascinating opportunity to work on some of the highest profile and cutting edge issues in tech and politics. Your role is to ensure that the Tech Envoy has all the support they need to operate with maximum effectiveness.

The Chief of Staff is the Tech Envoy’s first point of contact: everything goes through you. You’ll be the gate keeper and the advisor, and the person everyone in the US network, and consulate, will turn to first when it comes to anything to do with the Tech Envoy. You will manage their workflow, make sure their visits and meetings run smoothly and to schedule, and ensure that actions and follow up are completed on time (this may include preparing drafts of documents on the Tech Envoy’s behalf). This job requires a lot of cross-functional working. You will need to know the key contacts in Whitehall, in the consulate and in the network (including the Embassy in DC), as well as in tech companies. You will be happy working with seniors as well as with junior staff and be comfortable managing upwards.    

The Tech Envoy is a new, senior leadership position, which is combined with the role of HM Consul General San Francisco. The Tech Envoy will lead a 30+ person staff at the Consulate, managing relationships and developing networks, including through public speaking and an active media profile, to influence local actors, public, private, and civil society sectors and support the Ambassador in influencing the US Administration’s policy on areas of shared UK-US interest including technology and entrepreneurship. The Envoy will also work closely with HM Trade Commissioner in promoting and enhancing the UK as a partner of choice in trade, investment, and research and development. In addition, the Tech Envoy will play an important role in Whitehall discussions, feeding into growing policy debates in London and building tech links between the UK and US across government, business, and academia.

The Consul General represents the UK in the northwest of the US, including in Northern California (including Sacramento for pan-California issues), Oregon, Washington, Alaska, Idaho, Montana, and Wyoming. It covers a geographical remit that covers a third of the US.

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

• Lead and oversee the smooth operation of the Private Office. You will have one eye to the strategic direction of the office while keeping the day to day plates spinning. You will ensure that private office’s processes (as set out below) run smoothly, and that routine corporate responsibilities are maintained to the highest standard (this could range from legal compliance, engagement with the Office of Foreign Missions, through to budgetary oversight). And you will ensure that work going to and being produced by the tech envoy’s staff is of the highest quality. You will be required to produce some material and commission others. You will need strong judgement and be comfortable dealing with ambiguity. Every day will be different.
• Help colleagues understand the Tech Envoy’s requirements and ensure that Private Office is accessible, reliable, and efficient.
• Advise the Tech Envoy on policy, operations, profile, and know when to bring in (and task) members of the wider team to support you and the tech envoy. That means having a good strategic eye and being savvy to the requirements of a high profile figure in tech and in government. This is a new role which reaches into multiple teams across government and the US network, so flexibility and being comfortable with thinking on your feet are essential.
• Provide strategic oversight of the tech envoy’s calendar, ensuring that he and the wider team are prioritising the right meetings and engagements, and looking ahead at what travel and contact is required across the US, DC, and in the UK. While day to day the diary manager will fill the diary and book travel, you will have the long term view and be able to judge which meetings and visits are essential and when. In this new role the Tech Envoy will need to balance their time between San Francisco and Silicon Valley, other States, DC, and the UK. They’ll also need time to think, produce notes and advice, and have meetings with staff. You will work closely with the diary manager/scheduler to ensure that the balance is right, ensure that the envoy’s time is well managed, and that strategic objectives can therefore be met.
• Manage the flow of information to the Tech Envoy (including via a generic inbox), prioritising their in-tray and delegating tasks to other staff on their behalf as required. To do this you will need to quickly get to grips with the tech envoy’s portfolio, understanding the issues and priorities. You will also quality control work going to the Tech Envoy, including speeches, submissions, briefing notes, and advice (and you’ll need to be comfortable pushing back on work that doesn’t meet the grade).
• Track and manage all actions arising from the Tech Envoy’s meetings, following up with colleagues and the Tech Envoy as necessary, and/or taking them forward where appropriate
• Attend and take records of some of the Tech Envoy’s meetings and calls, working closely with policy and operational leads (at all levels) across the network, and be available to debrief after those meetings and calls you don’t attend but from which actions will arise. You will be comfortable engaging, briefing, and working side by side with senior officials (C-Suite equivalent) through to more junior staff.
• Able to build strong relationships: you will be the conduit through which post, the US network and the embassy, as well as Whitehall and the tech community engage with the Tech Envoy and their office. You must be comfortable engaging at a senior level as well as with a range of support and policy staff.
• Other duties as assigned.

Language requirements:

 Language: English

 Level of language required: Fluent

 Other skills / experience / qualifications:

• 4+ years relevant work experience, a master’s degree, or a combination of both.
• Demonstrable knowledge of the tech agenda: this could be from study, your own research, or work experience. You will be familiar with the big tech policy issues of the day (misinformation on social media platforms, for example), and/or with tech as a commercial opportunity.
• Strong organisational skills. You will be proactive, adaptable, and able to take the lead on work (and follow through) through with minimal direction.
• Ability to anticipate, prioritise and solve problems.
• Strong oral and written communication skills.
• Demonstrated experience in developing strong stakeholder relationships.

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 Defense Staff (BDS) outposts accept A or NATO visas.