View Vacancy – AUH – Vice Consul B3(L)

The British Embassy in Abu Dhabi has a vacancy for a Vice Consul.

The Consular Team supports British people living, travelling, and working in our region: by providing high-quality, accessible consular services, focused on those most in need; responding rapidly to all crises, leading cross-government action; reducing preventable incidents affecting British people through collaboration with partners and governments.

The successful candidate will be responsible for ensuring British nationals in Abu Dhabi receive a professional service that is effective, timely, consistent, and in line with Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office (FCDO) guidance. This will include providing direct advice and support to distressed British nationals and leading on high-level and sensitive assistance cases.

The jobholder will be responsible for the local delivery of the Consular Network Business Plan and global consular initiatives, as well as the consular elements of the Country Business Plan. Reporting to the Head of Consular Operations (UAE) based in Dubai, he/ she will be required to lead, motivate, and encourage a team of two (2) Pro Consuls to participate in global and regional consular activities and proactively deliver consular prevention and outreach work.

The job holder will need to be a self-starter and highly motivated, with excellent interpersonal skills. He/ She must be able to work independently with minimal supervision and make operational judgements in consultation with senior management locally and in London.

In response to a local or regional crisis, the jobholder will also play a key role in managerial responsibility for the Consular team’s response and deployment.

Consular work can sometimes be emotionally challenging, distressing, and of a sensitive nature. The jobholder will therefore be expected to demonstrate high levels of personal resilience and maintain absolute consular confidentiality and impartiality.

Duties and responsibilities:

– Leadership and resources

• Provide effective leadership to the Consular team with direct line management of two (2) Pro Consuls; set objectives in line with FCDO strategic priorities and the Consular Network Business Plan; ensure robust Performance Development Plans are in place and regular Appraisals are conducted.
• Manage day-to-day consular operations; ensure updates to consular guidance and policies are understood and implemented; ownership of formal response to public correspondence.
• Promote a learning culture within the team; ensure all mandatory learning is completed; identify training and development opportunities.
• Represent the Consular Section internally and externally; participate in relevant committees and working groups; help formulate Post management policies; coordinate with key stakeholders in the British community; promote cross-mission working to achieve objectives; prepare written briefings and reports for seniors, up to and including ministerial level.
• Coordinate absences to ensure sufficient service coverage; manage working stocks of accountable assets such as Emergency Travel Documents (ETD) and cash reserves; oversee the consular appointment system and reconcile consular fee payments promptly and accurately.

– Consular assistance

• Manage the team’s provision of consular assistance to British nationals and their families, including providing guidance and support in difficult cases such as: arrests/ detention, hospitalisations, dealing with bereaved families, mental health, child custody issues, debt and employment issues, and other sensitive cases such as rape or forced marriage.
• Identifying areas of potential high-level interest and briefing seniors and others accordingly. Preparing written briefing and updates on cases and issues.
• Ensure assistance provided is best practice and case notes are well-written and concise; monitor caseloads to ensure effective service delivery and quality assurance.
• Manage ETD processing, working with the ETD hub in Malaga and provision of various notarial and documentary services.
• Be prepared to work out of hours, occasionally anti-social hours, as required.

– Prevention and partnerships

• Monitor and react to trends in order to identify prevention objectives; develop and deliver prevention and outreach projects aimed at local partners or the British community; ensure prevention trackers and methods of evaluation are in place; use a variety of channels and work closely with partners internally and externally to increase impact and reach of prevention materials.
• Build and develop relationships with key strategic and operational partners, including local authorities and other diplomatic missions; work strategically with partners to tackle issues and improve access to services; ensure cross-mission cooperation and sharing of contacts to solve problems.
• Deliver sustained engagement with the British community; effective networking and use of contacts in key sectors such as business and education; monitor the local environment and react to any changes which may affect British nationals living in or visiting Abu Dhabi; contribute to the formulation of Travel Advice and ensure updates are cleared and acted on in a timely manner.
• Build and maintain relationships with key internal partners, including frontline Call Centres, ETD hub, Consular Directorate, Political/ Press, Immigration Enforcement International (IEI), Corporate Services Teams and Senior Management Team.

– Crisis planning

• Take an active role in Post’s Crisis Committee, participating in drills, tests, and exercises related to crisis and contingency planning; ensure Field Deployment Officers are aware of roles and responsibilities in a crisis.
• Regularly maintain and update the consular elements of Post’s Crisis Management Plan; ensure consular staff have access to and are familiar with the Crisis Hub.
• Work with the Lead on the provision of consular skills training to non-consular staff within the Embassy to improve Post’s capability to respond to any crises in UAE.
• Maintain a readiness to respond to a declared crisis, based on named roles within the Crisis Management Plan; provide regional resilience support where required.

The above list is not exhaustive and the jobholder will be required to be flexible and take on other ad hoc tasks as required.

Key competencies required:

• Leading and Communicating – Showing pride and passion for public service, leading from the front and communicating with clarity, conviction, integrity, and enthusiasm. Championing difference and external experience, supporting principles of fairness of opportunity for all and a dedication to a diverse range of citizens. Managing and engaging with people in a straightforward, truthful and candid way, and upholding the reputation of the organisation.
• Delivering at Pace – Focusing on delivering timely performance with energy and taking responsibility and accountability for quality outcomes. Working to agreed goals and activities and dealing with challenges in a responsive and constructive way. Building a performance culture where staff are given space, authority, and support to deliver outcomes; and keeping a firm focus on priorities and addressing performance issues resolutely, fairly, and promptly.
• Collaborating and Partnering – Being a team player who creates and maintains positive, professional, and trusting working relationships with a wide range of people within and outside the organisation to help get business done. Working collaboratively, sharing information appropriately, and building supportive, responsive relationships with colleagues and stakeholders, whilst having the confidence to challenge assumptions. Being approachable, delivering objectives through creating an inclusive environment, encouraging collaboration and building effective partnerships and welcoming challenge however uncomfortable.
• Changing and Improving – Being responsive and innovative, and seeking out opportunities to create effective change. Learning from what has worked well and what has not; being open to change, suggesting ideas for improvements to the way things are done; and working in ’smarter’, more focused ways. Seeking out ways to improve policy implementation and making use of alternative delivery models including digital and shared service approaches wherever possible.
• Making Effective Decisions – Using sound judgement, evidence, and knowledge to arrive at accurate, expert and professional decisions and advice. Being careful and thoughtful about the use and protection of government and public information to ensure it is handled securely and with care. Reaching evidence-based strategies, evaluating options, impacts, risks and solutions and creating a secure culture around the handling of information; and aiming to maximise return while minimising risk and balancing a range of considerations such as social, political, financial, economic, legal and environmental to provide sustainable outcomes.
• Managing a Quality Service – Valuing and modelling professional excellence and expertise to deliver service objectives and striving to improve the quality of service, taking account of diverse customer needs and requirements. Effectively planning, organising, and managing time and activities to deliver a high-quality, secure, reliable, and efficient service, applying programme and project and risk management approaches to support service delivery.

• Experience of leading and motivating a team. Demonstrates excellent staff management skills and effective communication skills.
• Excellent customer care skills and the ability to respond to a range of customer needs.
• A team player who is capable of working on their initiative and who is adaptable to changing priorities. Must be able to work and act without close supervision and react calmly to situations which may arise.
• Excellent interpersonal and active listening skills, with the ability to cultivate and maintain a range of contacts at all levels.
• Experience of working strategically and of project development and management. Excellent organisational skills and with a keen eye for detail.
• Ability to bring flexible and creative approach to your work.
• Ability to talk to large groups of people as part of our prevention and communication work.
• Excellent communication skills in English, both verbal and spoken. Able to express ideas and messages clearly and concisely, both orally and in written communication.
• IT literate and well versed in the use of Microsoft Office applications (Word, Excel, PowerPoint, and Teams).