View Vacancy – Communications, Clearances and Accreditations Officer (FRA21.043)

Note: Due to COVID-19, you may experience some delay in the progress of this recruitment campaign. We are working hard to minimise any disruption. You may find more information in the Additional Information section below.

The British Embassy in Paris is part of a worldwide network, representing British political, economic and consular interests overseas. The British Defence Staff (BDS) – France plays a key role in developing, maintaining and promoting the UK-French defence and security relationship. Its mission is to build enduring strategic relationships with a wide range of French partners in order to further the objectives outlined in the UK Defence Strategy for France.

The core requirement for the Communications, Clearances and Accreditations Officer is maintaining close working relations with French government offices in order to enable processing of clearances and accreditations for all UK MOD activities in France. Alongside handling the process of assorted visas with France based embassies and engagement in supporting a range of other administrative functions in running a busy office with oversight of UK Defence activities across France. There is a growing requirement to dedicate some time each week to coordinate wider communications work including limited drafting and editing of short articles for in house and wider platforms.

The BDS team consists of 17 people. You will be working in a fast paced, varied and professional office alongside finance HR and Executive Assistant staff. Applications from British Nationals are preferred.

Main roles and responsibilities:

       COMMUNICATIONS

• Communicating the BDS profile and newsworthy work from the Network of UK military personnel across France via the BDS and Embassy social media platforms, and internal and external communication channels and publications.

• Highlighting Franco-British cooperation in all Defence domains.

• Working closely with the Embassy Media Team on larger events with Defence links.

• Creating and maintaining links with UK MOD media outputs (DDC) and FMOD and French single Services media outlets.

• Horizon scanning and using forward thinking to identify media opportunities of interest to the wider French public. Use initiative to identify and exploit novel opportunities and mechanisms for broadening the multi-media exposure of UK Defence in France.

  VISITS AND CLEARANCES

• Through the FMOD, providing clearance of British military exercises in France.

• Processing, and maintaining a record of, all diplomatic clearance applications from British military units for adventurous training, winter sports activities and staff rides in France. Providing guidance to units and forwarding applications to the FMOD as required.

• Maintaining detailed statistics of the numbers and composition of visits, military exercises, adventurous training, staff rides, and sporting activities.

  ADMINISTRATION

• Applying for and tracking the accreditations of Exchange and Liaison Officers (ELOs); liaising with the Personnel Departments of the single Services on the nomination of officers; preparing and sending accreditation request letters to the FMOD; replying to queries on the subject from the FMOD; Liaising with FMOD over the details of French personnel attending residential UK career courses.

• Procuring Visas for British Military personnel for travel outside of the EU.

• Providing admin support, tracking and maintaining a record of the new post-EU Exit visa and residency applications for the ELO network and their dependants.

• Supporting the wider-team and completing general administrative tasks when required.

• Undertaking the duties of the SNCO i/c Overflights during absences on duty, leave or illness.

  EVENTS AND REPRESENTATION

• Assisting with the planning and organisation of the annual D-Day, Thiepval and 11 November commemorative ceremonies. This includes some overnight stays away from Paris to attend/assist at these events.

• Assisting with the planning and execution of major Embassy events such as the Queen’s Birthday Party and the Defence and Armaments Reception.

• Assisting with the planning and execution of the annual Exchange and Liaison Officers’ Network Conference.

  OTHER ACTIVITIES

• Undertaking other tasks as directed by the Defence Attaché or Line Management chain.

• Act as on-call Duty Officer providing out of hours support on a rotational basis – this attracts an additional on-call allowance.

• Working with others in BDS and Embassy staff on common tasks as required such as a crisis response or a cross Embassy task.

• Full professional proficiency in English and French, including excellent writing skills* (C1 Level)- assessed at interview;

• Able to multi-task and prioritise urgent work while ensuring that routine tasks are not overlooked;

• Security cleared to work within the Embassy security zone;

• Previous experience in an office administration role;

• Able to present a professional image of the BDS – France;

• Able to communicate clearly and to liaise closely with contacts at all levels;

• Computer literate (Outlook, Excel, Word, Powerpoint, Sharepoint);

• Previous experience of using various social media platforms and creating professional content.