View Vacancy – DXB – Consular Assistant A1(L)

The British Embassy Dubai has a vacancy for a Consular Assistant under the Consular Team.

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

Currently, the UAE is the home of choice to over 100,000 British people (pre-COVID) and with 1.4 million British visitors annually. The UAE is a designated consular prevention priority country—this year’s EXPO (running from October 2021 to March 2022), the first in the region, will provide much opportunity to innovate and increase our prevention and outreach work.

The successful candidate will support the work of the two (2) consular teams based in Dubai (11 staff) and Abu Dhabi (three staff). They must have the ability to deliver professional and efficient Consular services to British people in the UAE by email, telephone, and in person whilst providing office support for the UAE Consular team.

In response to local or regional crisis, the jobholder will play a key role in the section’s response and deployment.

The successful candidate will need to be a self-starter, highly motivated, and have excellent interpersonal, organisational, and office management skills. Consular work can sometimes be stressful and of a sensitive nature. The successful applicant will therefore be expected to maintain absolute consular confidentiality and impartiality. 

Duties and responsibilities:

• Respond to written and telephone enquiries in a timely manner.
• Be the main point of contact for the Emergency Travel Document (ETD) Hub. Assist and update the Emergency Travel Document Hub with relevant information when required.
• Ensure all consular documentation is filed accurately. Ensure the team’s files are organised on Microsoft Teams.
• Manage the consular online appointment system including checking documentation.
• For the first six (6) months, take ownership of appointments and provide high quality service to customers.
• Support on arrangements for marriages and citizenship ceremonies.
• Management of Consular stores, office machinery, and stationery supplies.
• Provide support to ensure updates and information on consular website and guidance for customers is appropriate and up to date.
• Occasional event management.
• Act as back up for colleagues in their absence including dealing with straightforward assistance cases.
• Assist with prevention activities and outreach work.
• Process Service of Process documents.
• Highlight trends and escalate enquiries when needed.
• Maintain a readiness to respond to a declared crisis, based on named roles within the Crisis Management Plan; provide regional resilience support where required.
• Carrying out any other reasonable ad hoc duties to support the consular function.

Key competencies required:

• 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.
• 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.
• 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.
• Leading and Communicating – Showing our 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.

• Ability to maintain absolute consular confidentiality and impartiality.
• Good interpersonal skills and demonstrates courtesy and consideration in dealing with all stakeholders. Able to show discretion in handling any sensitive matters, with the trust of all involved.
• A team player who is capable of working on their own initiative, and is adaptable to changing priorities. Must be able to work and act without close supervision.
• Excellent customer care skills and the ability to respond to a range of customer needs.
• Exceptional organisational skills with the ability to easily prioritise tasks.
• Proven ability to communicate fluently in English, both written and spoken. Able to express ideas and messages clearly and concisely.
• IT literate and confident with all Microsoft Office applications (Word, Excel, PowerPoint, Outlook, Teams) and with accurate typing skills.