Who are we?

The British Consulate General in Istanbul is part of a worldwide network representing British political, economic and consular interests overseas and is looking for COP 31 Support Officers to enable a constructive UK contribution to COP31. We are looking for an Accommodation & Senior Visits Support Officer and a Transport & COP 31 Moments Support Officer.

Main purpose of the job:

The successful candidates will play a vital role in COP31 Cell – a team of 8 staff split across the British Embassy Ankara (2) and the British Consulate Istanbul (6) that will enable a constructive UK contribution to COP31:

• Overseeing seamless UK COP31 logistics delivery (working in close partnership with UK based Department for Energy Security & Net Zero – DESNZ – teams) to deliver the UK Pavilion, and multiple parallel ministerial visits, and ensuring the accommodation/transport/security requirements are met for the UK delegation to the largest annual diplomatic event on the global calendar.  
• Leveraging our contact base in Türkiye – with the COP Presidency Structure, Environment Ministry, President’s Office, MFA to support both the UK’s logistical and policy objectives for COP31.
• Overseeing parallel senior UK ministerial visits – including the policy and logistical elements of potential VVIP visits.
• Working in partnership with our Comms team to highlight the UK’s strength as a climate leader with a world leading green transition and clean energy industry. 
• Utilising COP as an opportunity to support Türkiye’s ambitious vision for Net Zero. 

The COP31 Cell will sit within a wider UK government Türkiye Network of ~400 staff. As COP approaches later in the year, the candidate should expect to be working with multiple teams and departments across the mission, and with multiple UK visitors (~200 visiting staff).

Roles and responsibilities:

Accommodation and Senior Visits Support Officers:

• Hotel bookings manager for the UK’s delegation for COP31 – for ministerial teams and UK delegation. Liaison with hoteliers in Antalya and on the ground airport/protocol/hotel/venue liaison during COP31 (50%)
• Logistics officer for pre-COP policy visitors to Türkiye, including helping to arrange ministerial visits (20%);
• HERA (FCDO’s Oracle based accounting system) budget lead, including wider support to the team’s project work on Growth Opportunities Fund and Climate Diplomacy Fund. Processing payments with a total budget of ~£1m (25%);
• Delivery of our COP surge team welfare offer (5%).

Transport & COP 31 Moments Support Officers:

• Planning and managing transport bookings for the UK’s delegation for COP31 – for ministerial teams and UK delegations. On the ground transport coordination in Antalya during COP31 (45%);
• Liaising with Turkish authorities and suppliers on the delivery of the UK’s COP31 Pavilion (35%);
• Diary support to team – managing scheduling of regular team meetings and catch-ups with FCDO Climate team / UK Department for Energy Security & Net Zero (DESNZ) / British Embassy Canberra / as well as supporting logistical arrangements for the wider UK climate interested NGOs, businesses, academic institutes and civil society (15%);
• Oversight of Teams site, filing structures and data / info management (3%);
• Meeting actions and minutes & Note Verbales (2%).

This role will likely involve travel to Antalya.

Our ideal candidate shows:

• Full professional proficiency in Turkish and English (both written and spoken, minimum of C1 level for CEFR*);
• A completed university degree at a minimum of a bachelor’s degree / undergraduate level;
• Ability to build constructive relationships with a range of stakeholders – whether government interlocutors in Türkiye; hoteliers or transport companies in Antalya; or cross UK government contacts with an interest in COP31;
• Ability to take own initiative – to plan logistics delivery methodically, but also be able to adapt at pace and remain flexible under pressure.