View Vacancy – Pro Consul

The British Embassy in Rabat is seeking a hard working team player to take up the position of Pro Consul grade A2 (L) to start as soon as possible.

Main purpose of the job:

The jobholder will report to the Vice Consul/Head of Morocco Consular Network and work as part of a two-person Pro Consul team at the British Embassy in Rabat. You will deliver high-quality consular services to British nationals mainly in the north of Morocco, but must also be willing to deploy temporarily and at short notice within Morocco or to other countries if operational requirements within the wider consular network call for this.

In addition to providing consular assistance to British nationals in need, the jobholder will build partnerships with the British community, Moroccan authorities and other stakeholders, and work to maintain high levels of consular and crisis preparedness.

Main duties and responsibilities:

Consular Assistance (50%)

• Provision of consular assistance to distressed or vulnerable British nationals. This will include:
  • Advising and assisting victims/families following the hospitalisation or bereavement of British nationals by liaising with local police, hospitals, funeral directors, courts, insurance companies and other local authorities and offering help and advice where required
  • Assisting British nationals (and their families) detained following their arrest and detention by liaising with courts, prisons, lawyers and other local authorities. Periodic prison visits
  • Advising and assisting British nationals and families in distress, including procedures for dealing with missing persons.
• Provide consular assistance by telephone, e-mail, in person or by visiting customers – sometimes (though very rarely) out-of-hours/at weekends if there is an emergency which requires local action.
• Support the consular team in Marrakech providing additional assistance to British nationals in the south of Morocco when required.
• Provide timely and accurate written records of case actions taken; and written and verbal updates to senior embassy and London staff.
• Administrative work, eg. filing, completing consular returns and updating consular information.

Consular Services (25%)

• Process requests for notarial services (e.g. marriage documentation).
• Process requests for Emergency Travel Documents and Emergency Passports.

Partnership and Communication (15%)

• Cultivate key external strategic partners.
• Assist in producing and developing prevention campaigns that help reduce the demand for consular services.
• Work closely, collaboratively and productively with consular colleagues and with the three Honorary Consuls in Morocco.
• Organise and take part in activities to increase the British community’s understanding and awareness of the role of the consular section.

Crisis Planning and Response (10%)

• Contribute to crisis planning work within Morocco, including helping to maintain parts of the Crisis Management Plan.
• Maintain readiness to respond to a declared crisis.
• Provide prompt and professional assistance to British nationals caught up in a crisis, including working outside of normal office hours and deploying to the scene of the incident where appropriate.
• Provide regional crisis cover both remotely and through deployment to other countries where required.

Resources managed:

• Fees taken in respect of consular services.
• Other consular assets.

The above list is not exhaustive and the jobholder will be required to be flexible and take on other ad hoc tasks as required. The job description may be reviewed to meet changes in business needs. 

Specific Considerations for Consular Roles:

Consular work can sometimes be stressful, distressing and of a sensitive nature. The successful applicant will therefore be expected to demonstrate high levels of personal resilience and maintain absolute consular confidentiality and impartiality, keeping in line with the Foreign Commonwealth and Development Office (FCDO) Consular Strategy, consular guidance and Customer Charter, business targets and local procedures.

Key Competences:

• Collaborating and Partnering: People skilled in this area create and maintain positive, professional and trusting working relationships with a wide range of people within and outside the Civil Service to help get business done.
• Managing a Quality Service: Effectiveness in this area is about being organised to deliver service objectives and striving to improve the quality of service, taking account of diverse customer needs and requirements.
• Demonstrating Resilience: This is about helping our people to build resilience in international roles, supporting their ability to adapt to working in difficult and varied international environments and to bounce back from crises and setbacks in these contexts.
• Leading and Communicating: Effectiveness in this area is about leading from the front and communicating with clarity, conviction and enthusiasm. It’s about supporting principles of fairness of opportunity for all and a dedication to a diverse range of citizens.

• Fluent in English (IELTS score of at least 7 or equivalent), both written and spoken. Able to express ideas and messages clearly and concisely, both orally and in written communication.
• Fluent in French and Arabic (Classical and Darija) both written and spoken.
• Customer service: Proven experience in a customer-facing role meeting the needs of a wide range of customer.
• Personal Resilience: Flexibility and patience to deal with often difficult and demanding situations, including the ability to sometimes work unsocial hours in a consular emergency or crisis.
• Networking skills: Proven track record of developing and maintaining a range of external contacts.
• IT skills: Able to effectively use Microsoft Office package, and other common IT software, to improve team communication and delivery.
• Mobility: Must be willing and able to travel, sometimes at short notice, in response to operational needs (full costs and expenses will be paid).