View Vacancy – Deputy Head of Visits, B3, New Delhi

Note : All applicants are required to mandatorily fill the complete online application form including the employment and educational details, motivational segment and the competency based questions. We will be thoroughly reviewing the application forms only for all the required details. Forms that are incomplete in any respect will not be considered while shortlisting for the next stage.

Please note that due to Covid-19 outbreak, the start date of employment mentioned in the advert is tentative, subject to normal business of British High Commission. All recruitment campaigns will remain open for applications, we will progress the recruitment process as swiftly as possible and continue to review all applications, monitor progress and developments. We will be in touch with you for the interviews/ should there be further updates on the application, however given the circumstances, kindly expect some delay in response and please reach out to if you have any further questions.

Main purpose of job:

This role is at the heart of the Political section and High Commission, working to plan and deliver high quality VIP and senior visits that further UK / High Commission objectives and meet customer expectations.  The Delhi visits schedule is one of the most varied and high profile in our overseas network – calmness under pressure, creativity, confidence in dealing with senior stakeholders and decision-making skills are crucial. In return, you will get a high level of exposure to senior leadership and witness diplomacy in action.

You will also be responsible for managing our Immersion programme, which provides an opportunity for incoming UK colleagues to undertake an immersive experience across the country and enhance their understanding and appreciation of the rich cultural and social diversity of India. You will work with our network of Deputy High Commissions to ensure a sustainable approach to immersion programmes which meets the objectives of post and HMG. You will also work as part of a small team supporting visits, events and business management for the political team.

Roles & Responsibilities:

Visits, Events and projects

• Work with the Head of the Visits and across the Mission to plan and deliver VIP visit programmes that support wider High Commission objectives, including through innovative visit events and site visits.
• Provide on the ground support and act as visit lead during visits when necessary, managing logistics and programme.
• Commission briefing for visits and quality control the standard of briefings from across the mission.
• Provide administrative support (e.g. write official correspondence, book travel, process payments) for Ministerial and other official VIP visits and events.

Immersion Programme

• Coordinate high quality cross-India immersion programmes for UK-based diplomats joining the India network.
• Review and update the immersion guidance, processes and promotional material, by developing sustainable relationships and partnerships with external contacts and providers (e.g. language schools and voluntary schemes) ensuring that these meet procurement guidelines and demonstrate value for money.
• Quality control: monitor and ensure a high standard of programme content and logistics.
• Liaise directly with senior incoming staff and the immersion coordinator in London.
• Manage a budget of INR 1,300,000 per year and provide regular reporting on immersion spend accounting for value for money

Financial and Office Management

• Manage the immersion budget – tracking spend against forecast and regularly reporting to team heads
• Process payments for the Political Team
• Maintain the team’s IT filing system and ensure folders are correctly set up, labelled and archived as required.
• Update and maintain the visits calendar, visits statistics and visits archive
• Assist the Political Team with other ad-hoc administrative tasks such as scanning, travel/transport bookings etc.
• Flexible support to the Department on priority projects/goals.

What we do:

This position will provide the successful candidate with excellent experience in a pivotal role in the Political team, one of the busiest teams in the mission. A large number of VIP and official visits are managed by the Political Team each year, as well as regular high profile events and ongoing bilateral projects and programmes.

What we want from you:

This is a fascinating role working at the heart of the British High Commission. The successful candidate will work on a range of high profile tasks, including delivering creative visits, immersion programmes and supporting the political team delivering across a range of interesting objectives. There will be opportunities for the job holder to develop their own and use their initiative and creativity to meet their goals.

The successful candidate will be a key part in a large team, and must establish relationships with colleagues in both the High Commission and the network across India, as well as external contacts.  Therefore strong interpersonal skills are essential. This will be especially important in managing the Immersion Programme where the candidate will be required to use their own initiative in setting up interesting and useful programme elements for new UK staff with a range of external organisations and contacts.

The candidate will need to manage administrative, budgetary and logistics processes to the highest possible standard. The successful candidate will need to be systematic and thorough in their approach to tasks, have strong initiative and excellent attention to detail, a ‘can do’ attitude and resilience under pressure. They should have a strong focus on achieving value for money and efficiency. 

Strong IT skills will be essential for the candidate to perform their role effectively as well as supporting other members of the team.

The successful candidate will also be fully involved in many of our high profile VIP visits, providing crucial admin and budget management support, as well as being involved in delivering various elements of the visit programme. The successful candidate will need to have strong problem-solving skills and be able to deliver at pace to provide effective on the ground support to VIP visits.

We are looking for someone who is enthusiastic, a good team-player, a self-starter who is keen to use their initiative, deliver quickly and efficiently, and can produce a high quality immersion programme.

Working at the heart of the British High Commission, the job will particularly suit someone with a strong interest in politics, international affairs and the UK.

The British High Commission offers an excellent package of structured training, mentoring, job-shadowing and supports staff to have a good work/life balance.

Essential on arrival:

Microsoft Excel, Word and PowerPoint experience.

Previous office skills – including experience of working in a busy office environment and team working.

Experience of prioritising and using own initiative to deliver work in an office environment.

Experience managing budgets and processing payments.