Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office (Policy & Political roles)
Political, Climate Diplomacy
Main purpose of job:
Increasing climate ambition towards achieving the commitment in the Paris Agreement is a key priority of the British Government. To contribute to achieving this end, the job holder, with oversight from the Political Counsellor External, will coordinate British High Commission Kuala Lumpur’s engagement on CoP26 climate diplomacy work, including promoting and supporting the delivery of the 26th Conference of the Parties (COP26) to the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change which will be hosted in the UK in November 2021. The job holder will also provide policy and programme oversight on our work related to CoP26 related outputs and broader environment work related to CoP deliverables e.g. nature and biodiversity.
The successful candidate will also make a contribution to the British High Commission KL’s corporate agenda, which includes promoting the mission’s CORE values (collaboration, opportunity, respect and excellence) and will work with other colleagues in the Policy, Programmes and Communications Section of the high commission, including the political, economic and communications officers, and with colleagues in the International Trade Section.
He/She will also coordinate with colleagues based in other British Missions in the region, and officials in the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office and other relevant Departments in London. She/he will work closely with the Climate Change and Energy Advisor as well with the Head of South East Asia COP26 Strategy and Sustainable Finance, based at the British High Commission in Singapore.
Roles and responsibilities / what will the jobholder be expected to achieve?:
This exciting and challenging role will include:
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Supporting the delivery of the British Government’s wider climate change objectives related to raising ambitions and finding progressive middle ground with state actors in Malaysia i.e. via the Nationally Determined Contribution, long-term strategy and CoP negotiation tracks.
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Refreshing effective communications and lobbying campaigns for CoP26 via the agreed Country Implementation Plan (CIP) and taking active roles in delivering some of these campaigns such as nature, green finance and energy transitions, working with colleagues and partners. This will include implementing an effective engagement and comms strategy in close coordination with the Climate Change and Energy Advisor and Communications Team. This task will also include building and enhancing relationships with working level contacts and networks in the government (especially at Federal, state and local government levels, both at executive and legislative levels), and non-state actors like development partners, representatives of businesses, think tanks, youth and civil societies.
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Pursuing programme-backed diplomacy and providing policy advice into the UK Government’s CoP26 climate related work. This also includes understanding other related UK-funded programme activity and maintaining headline messages and outputs of these projects working with programme and policy colleagues. It will also require providing input into relevant UK X-mission programme boards, attending and speaking roles in conferences/webinars, and other external stakeholder engagements.
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Supporting the planning and delivery of climate change events, especially COP 26, through inputs for high level visits, co-ordinating or arranging these visits, writing briefing and speeches, tasking high level meetings, delegation visits, events and workshops.
The candidate will need to be flexible and resilient to changes in his/her role to respond to changing needs within the Mission, whether to cover particularly acute work periods (such as a health or humanitarian crisis)
Resources managed (staff and expenditure):
Programme Funds from centrally held allocations, as bid for in support of COP26 objectives
Essential on arrival:
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Post-graduate or Bachelor’s Degree in a relevant field, for instance, Climate and Environment Science, Sustainable Development, Environmental Policy, Science Communication, etc.
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A minimum of 5+ years of experience working for an organisation in a relevant field, for example, working for/with national or regional government, international organizations or agencies, preferably in climate change and environment.
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Proven capability in communication, business writing and IT programmes and social media applications
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Events management experience to deliver relevant climate & energy events at the High Commission or with other partners.
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Experience of working with and through networks of representatives from government, the private sector, NGOs and international institutions.
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Strong interpersonal, representational and communication skills, with the ability to present convincing arguments in a public setting.
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Ability to work independently and as part of a team, under pressure and to meet tight deadlines.
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Knowledge of the governance in Malaysia and dealing with govt officials and environment stakeholders
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Knowledge or experience of project management and relevant skills.
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Experience of managing diverse and senior level relationships.
Seeing the Big Picture, Collaborating and Partnering, Managing a Quality Service, Engaging Internationally
20 May 2021
C4 (L)
Full-time, Fixed term, with possibility of renewal
36.25
Asia Pacific
Malaysia
Kuala Lumpur
British High Commission
1
RM 9,670
28 June 2021
The British High Commission offers a competitive remuneration package, benefits, leave entitlement of 20 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 specific 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.
Learning and development opportunities (and any specific training courses to be completed):
The Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office is committed to developing its staff, working hard to provide a comprehensive L&D offer. Staff have access to a wide variety of online resources and are strongly encouraged to take advantage of all the available opportunities. 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.
- Compulsory online training courses include diversity and inclusion.
- Courses offered on UK government climate change and sustainability
- The British High Commission has an active L&D Committee and offers a wide range of in-house training and funding for external training on policy, programme work and leadership skills
Working patterns:
The British High Commission encourages flexible working and is happy to consider proposals for working patterns that differ from standard core hours.
Work beyond regular working hours maybe required for specific events/occasions.
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.
This position is being advertised as a 9 months fixed-term position in Kuala Lumpur, and will be extended subject to performance and availability of funding.
Please note that your application must be submitted before 23:55 on the day mentioned in the above field “Application deadline”.
Incomplete application forms will not be taken into consideration, so please ensure you provide the information requested. We regret to advise that we will only be contacting short-listed candidates. Applicants called for an interview will be assessed on the core competencies listed above.
Indicated start date is provisional and subject to successful completion of reference and security checks.
Kindly check your application centre or email regularly for any update on the status of your application.
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