AUS (Sydney) - Consular Services Officer, AO

View Vacancy - AUS (Sydney) - Consular Services Officer, AO

The British Government is an inclusive and diversity-friendly employer. We value difference, promote equality and challenge discrimination, enhancing our organisational capability. We welcome and encourage applications from people of all backgrounds. We do not discriminate on the basis of disability, race, colour, ethnicity, gender identity, religion, sexual orientation, age, veteran status or other category protected by law. We promote family-friendly flexible working opportunities, where operational and security needs allow.Job Category

Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office (Consular Roles)Job Subcategory

ConsularJob Description (Roles and Responsibilities)

Main purpose of job:As a member of the Consular Team in Sydney, you will provide high quality consular services to British nationals visiting or residing throughout New South Wales and the Australian Capital Territory in line with our public guide: Support for British nationals abroad.You will work in an immediate team of 3 caseworkers to independently manage a range of consular assistance cases. You will report directly to the Consular Manager NSW/ACT located at the British Consulate-General in Sydney who will support you to deliver consular work and lead on more complex matters requiring escalation. You may also be expected to support consular service delivery in other parts of Australia and/or the Oceania region, where consular work can be complex due to differences in local contexts.Consular officers could make a direct difference to people’s lives in challenging circumstances. The job includes dealing with sensitive issues and may involve responding to crises and stressful events. The successful candidate will be working in a fast-paced and complex environment where the ability to work under pressure and with difficult subject matter is vital.Those shortlisted can expect to be interviewed on 24 or 25 June.Roles and responsibilities:Consular assistance service deliverySensitively deliver accurate advice, information and case management services to British nationals and their families (mostly remotely via telephone or email) on a range of issues such as imprisonment and detention; financial hardship and destitution; hospitalisations; supporting bereaved families; missing persons; mental health needs; child custody and other sensitive issuesProvide occasional face-to-face support, including visiting British nationals in prison, immigration detention facilities, hospitals etc.Manage our Emergency Travel Document (ETD) service by printing ETDs, maintaining our collection appointment booking system, occasionally facilitating interviews, and escalating any complex issues to our ETD CentreOrganise citizenship ceremonies, and occasionally other consular stakeholder or public-facing eventsRespond to customer correspondence in a timely and efficient mannerMaintain accurate and concise case records on consular case management systemsPartnerships, communication and preventionAssist the team to build and maintain relationships with local authorities, including state and federal government agencies (the Australian Border Force and Corrective Services NSW) and non-government organisations to support case managementWork collaboratively with internal teams, including colleagues and senior leaders in Australia, Oceania, consular casework teams in the UK and the FCDO overseas networkParticipate in team planning and delivery of consular prevention and stakeholder engagement activitiesMonitor changes in local procedures and practices, ensuring that all information and guidance given to British nationals reflects changes and is up to date, e.g. service provider lists, travel advice, web content on GOV.UKCrisisAs part of our whole-of-mission approach to crisis, participate in crisis preparation and response duties in the event of a crisis affecting a significant number of British nationals, including crisis events outside of Australia. Although rare, crisis work may involve working beyond your normal remit and outside your contracted hoursThe formal job description may be subject to amendment in the future. The consular team in Australia is spread across four locations and 13 people. You may be expected to work flexibly and collaboratively with other team members, sometimes covering for periods of absence or other business needs.

Essential qualifications, skills and experience

Strong customer service delivery, including sound problem solving skills and the ability to manage customer expectationsStrong written and verbal communication skills, including communicating with empathy when working with distressed peopleStrong teamwork skills, including working collaboratively and supporting others in a small team environmentStrong self-awareness with a high degree of emotional intelligence and personal resilienceConfident user of Microsoft Office softwareLanguage requirements:Language: EnglishLevel of language required: Fluent written and spoken English

Desirable qualifications, skills and experience

Prior experience working in a consular or similar professional frontline customer service delivery environmentPrior experience working with vulnerable client groupsGood understanding of local systems and support organisations in NSW/ACT and/or the UK

Required behaviours

Delivering at Pace, Making Effective Decisions, Working Together

Grade

Administrative Officer (AO)Type of Position

Full-time, PermanentWorking hours per week

38Region

Asia PacificCountry/Territory

AustraliaLocation (City)

SydneyType of Post

British Consulate GeneralNumber of vacancies

1Salary Currency

AUDAUD 75,540Start Date

29 July 2024Other benefits and conditions of employment

Salary is at AU$ 75,540 per annum (paid out monthly), plus 11% superannuation.Appointment is subject to an AFP records check and UK security clearance.Open to Australian citizens, permanent residents, and partners/ dependents of UK-based diplomatic staff currently posted in Australia.The Australia network offers a wide range of learning and development opportunities, including job-specific training as necessary and broader learning linked to the FCO Diplomatic Academy. There are opportunities to job-shadow other staff, and the successful applicant will be encouraged to take part in broader British High Commission activities. The British High Commission is committed to providing all staff with learning and development (L&D) opportunities and we will work with you to develop your own L&D plan.Specific considerations for consular roles:

You should be aware that consular work can involve difficult conversations with distressed individuals. Emotional intelligence and personal resilience are essential. You will be well supported by your line manager, your team and colleagues across the UK in Australia network. You will have access to quarterly wellbeing sessions with a wellbeing supervisor and other wellbeing support resources.The successful applicant will be expected 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.Learning and development opportunities (and any specific training courses to be completed):You will be joining an enthusiastic and supportive team that takes continuous learning and development seriously and that values a diverse range of skills and backgrounds. When you start the role, you’ll be supported to become familiar with consular policy, as well as the structures of the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office (FCDO) and the operation of the British Consulate-General in Sydney and the UK in Australia Network.Mandatory coursesIn your first year, you will be required to complete the following courses:Online FCDO learning modules relating to processing Emergency Travel Documents, consular case management and crisis managementConsular Fundamentals Course (delivered virtually)Developing Consular Expertise (face-to-face in the UK)Further opportunitiesWhen you are settled in the role, you will be supported to seek out further opportunities (both formal and informal) to deepen your expertise of consular work, and to develop wider skilled tailored to your personal interests and development needs. Opportunities can also include attending regional conferences, joining skills courses and applying to volunteer for crisis training and deployment.Working patterns:Location: This role must be based at the British Consulate-General in Sydney.Working hours: Our core office hours are 09:00-17:00 Monday-Friday. Due to the unplanned nature of some consular work, a flexible approach to working hours and patterns is essential.Leave entitlements: Full-time staff benefit from an annual leave entitlement of 22 days per calendar year plus additional office closures for some UK public holidays.Travel: Some travel may be required for regional activities, such as prison visits, providing resilience to other teams, and for training purposes. This may include interstate and/or overseas travel.Flexible working: This role is suitable for some hybrid and/or flexible working patterns, subject to operational demands. The importance of in-person consular services, relationship building, learning and collaboration mean that this role is not suitable for exclusive remote working.

Additional information

Your application must be submitted before 23:55 AEST-Australian Eastern Standard Time (UTC/ GMT +10) on the day mentioned in the above field “Application deadline”Applications must include a current CV and kindly omit any personal information such as Name, Contact Details, Birthday and Gender.All applicants are required to mandatorily fill the online application form completely including the employment and educational details, experience, professional skills and behaviour-based questions. We will be thoroughly reviewing the applications and incomplete form in any respect may not be considered while shortlisting for the next stage.

Only shortlisted candidates for interview will be contacted. Interviewees will be assessed on the core behaviours/qualifications listed above. Unsuccessful candidates will be notified via the system in due time. Appointable candidates who were unsuccessful may be placed on a ‘reserve list’. If during the reserve period of 6 months the same or a largely similar role becomes available, that role may be offered to the second or subsequent candidate”.Advertised start date is provisional and subject to completion of reference and security checks.Kindly check your application centre or email regularly for any update on the status of your application.Please be aware that you will only be able to apply to vacancies for Country Based Staff roles with the British Government through this official tal.net site (operated by Oleeo). Jobs may be advertised on third party websites, however our adverts will always link back to the official tal.net site. If you complete and send an application through any other site, we will not receive it.

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