Business Support Officer and Assistant to the Justice and Home Affairs Counsellor (BEL26-013196)

Business Support Officer and Assistant to the Justice and Home Affairs Counsellor (BEL26-013196)

FCDO – Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office

Brussels, Belgium

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. The FCDO operates an agile workforce and to facilitate this, you may be required to undertake other duties from time to time, as we may reasonably require.

Job Category: UK Mission
Job Subcategory: UKMIS (UK Mission to the European Union)

Job Description (Roles and Responsibilities)

Who are we?

The UK Mission to the European Union (UKMis), based in Brussels, is part of a worldwide network of nearly 270 Diplomatic Posts, representing British political, economic and consular interests overseas.  UKMis works across the full range of UK Government business, ensuring the UK’s interests are promoted and explained to EU Member States and the EU institutions, as well as monitoring and reporting on key developments within the EU. Its staff are drawn from a wide range of UK Government departments, agencies across Whitehall and Country Based colleagues.

The Justice and Home Affairs (JHA) Section is now looking to recruit a Business Support Officer and Assistant to the JHA Counsellor to assist in the delivery of its work. This is an excellent opportunity to provide high-quality business support to a busy policy team working across a broad range of justice, policing, migration and security issues.

Our daily work relies on the input of dedicated individuals who engage on many different topics and activities. We seek to employ a diverse range of candidates who bring their own talents and perspectives to the role, and we particularly welcome applications from people in traditionally under-represented groups. We have a strong corporate agenda that ensures we create a positive and inclusive working environment where everyone is valued for their contribution.

Main Purpose of Role:

The successful candidate will provide a high-quality business support function to the Justice and Home Affairs Section. The role will help the team and wider organisation function effectively by ensuring colleagues are supported, organised and able to deliver their work efficiently.

The job holder will need to be highly organised, forward-thinking and able to work accurately under time pressure. They will be expected to work flexibly as part of a team, including assisting other sections in UKMis on an ad hoc basis and contributing to UKMis’ wider corporate life.

While the focus of this role is business support, coordination and administration, it offers excellent opportunities to gain insight into a broad range of Justice and Home Affairs issues and to develop knowledge of the work of UKMis and the EU institutions.

Roles and Responsibilities:

The job holder will support and lead on tasks that help the team operate smoothly and effectively. Responsibilities will include, but are not limited to:

• Team administration: organising internal team meetings, office management, internal team-building sessions and away days, and coordinating team-wide briefings and products;
• Support to the Head of Section: managing the diary of the Justice and Home Affairs Counsellor, handling visitors, arranging travel, supporting visit programmes, printing documents, organising meetings and hospitality, and handling other administrative tasks as required;
• Induction: ensuring team members are aware of and follow UKMis induction procedures, both as staff members and line managers;
• Corporate compliance: reviewing completion rates for mandatory FCDO training and maintaining accurate compliance records and databases;
• Budget management: monitoring and forecasting local budget allocation;
• IT and digital support: ensuring distribution lists and Microsoft Teams storage are reviewed regularly, and that colleagues’ Outlook, MS Teams and UKMis intranet profiles are kept up to date. The job holder will also help team members run effective meetings, including hybrid meetings, by supporting the use of technology;
• Internal communications: supporting smooth internal communications by proactively signposting colleagues to relevant content and helping ensure content is up to date;
• Visits and events: coordinating programmes and providing logistical support for visits and events;
• Stakeholder management and event support: attending stakeholder and EU institution events where appropriate, providing targeted read-outs for Desk Officers, and maintaining accurate and up-to-date stakeholder databases in line with data protection rules;
• Participate in wider UKMis’ initiatives as required, including engaging in a corporate role.

Why Apply?

This role offers the opportunity to play an important part in the smooth running of a busy and high-profile section within UKMis. You will work across a varied portfolio of business support activity, including administration, diary management, budget coordination, events, visits, stakeholder records, internal communications and corporate compliance.

The position would suit someone who enjoys bringing structure, pace and accuracy to a busy team environment, and who is motivated by helping colleagues deliver effectively. The role also offers exposure to a broad range of Justice and Home Affairs issues, while remaining focused on business support and coordination.

Essential qualifications, skills and experience

• Full professional proficiency in English, including excellent written and spoken communication skills, minimum C1 level according to the CEFR framework*;
• At least 1 year of experience in a business support, administrative, executive assistant, team coordinator or operations support role;
• Experience managing competing administrative priorities for a team or senior colleague, including diary coordination, meeting logistics and follow-up actions;
• Excellent planning and organisational skills, with proven ability to manage, plan and prioritise tasks and workload;
• Proactive approach, with strong attention to detail and an interest in continuous improvement;
• Flexible and collaborative team player, able to support a wide range of tasks;
• Discretion and good judgement;
• Good IT skills, including Microsoft Office suite, such as Word, Excel, MS Teams and PowerPoint, and Office 365/Outlook;
• Confidence in using digital tools to improve efficiency and productivity, including an ability to learn and use AI-enabled tools responsibly to support administrative, drafting and organisational tasks;
• Ability to carry out occasional work outside normal office hours, with time off in lieu operated where applicable.

Desirable qualifications, skills and experience

• Good knowledge of the EU and its institutions;
• Ability to grasp issues quickly and communicate them effectively;
• Ability to work accurately and deliver results under pressure;
• Experience working on events.

Required behaviours

Changing and Improving, Communicating and Influencing, Managing a Quality Service, Working Together

Application deadline: 3 September 2026
Grade: Administrative Officer (AO)
Type of Position: Full-time, Permanent
Working hours per week: 36.25
Region: Europe, Eastern Europe & Central Asia
Type of Post: UK Delegation
Number of vacancies: 1
Salary Currency: EUR
Salary: 4,750.70
Type of Salary: monthly
Start Date: 1 December 2026

Other benefits and conditions of employment

This is a permanent full-time contract for 5 working days (36.25 hours net) per week.

The monthly gross salary for this position is € 4,750.70, at Administrative Officer (AO) level. In addition, we offer an extensive salary package, which includes a 13^th month, luncheon vouchers, pension scheme, optional hospitalisation insurance (subject to monthly employee contribution), reimbursement of public transport and a lot more. We offer more days of annual leave than the Belgian requirements.

Please note that Belgian nationals will be paid their salary gross and are expected to comply with their tax obligations through completion of a tax return to the Belgian authorities. Non-Belgian nationals will receive their salary net, minus the deduction of an equivalent level of Belgian tax retained at source. Further information on this will be given to candidates during the recruitment process.

The starting date will be agreed between the parties.

Staff recruited locally by the British Diplomatic Missions in Belgium are subject to Terms and Conditions of Service according to local Belgian employment law.

The successful candidates will be subject to professional background checks and security clearance.

Passport: Officers are expected to be in possession of a passport due to the possibility that they may be asked to undertake business travel.
Visa/work permit requirements: Candidates must currently hold the independent right to live and work in Belgium and be prepared to ensure that right remains throughout the scope of the contract. Please note that it is your responsibility to ensure you meet the legal requirements to live and work in this country.
Working patterns: This is a full-time position (36.25 hours per week). UKMis promotes flexible working opportunities and, subject to agreement with the line manager, most staff can work from home one day per week. Normal working hours operate within a flexible bandwidth, with start times between 08:00 and 10:00 and finish times between 16:00 and 18:30, including a lunch break of at least 30 minutes. Occasional work outside these hours may be required to support visits, events or colleagues visiting from the UK. Where this occurs, time worked can be reclaimed through UKMis’ flexitime arrangements, subject to agreement and whitin legal limits.

Additional information

Please note that the deadline for applications is 23:55 on the day mentioned in the above field “Application deadline”.

We advise you to allow enough time to complete and submit your full application, since only applications completed and submitted before the deadline will be considered.

Please be aware that the deadline for submitting applications is considered to be the time zone for the country where the vacancy has arisen.

Please be advised that the British Diplomatic Missions in Belgium will not be able to meet the travel costs incurred when travelling to the interview, nor the costs connected with relocation if offered a position.

*Please note for more information on the Common European Framework of Reference for Languages: Learning, Teaching, Assessment levels please click on the following link CEFR.

Please bear in mind in case you are invited for an interview your language skill is going to be assessed.