View Vacancy – British Army Staff Team Support Officer – BDSUS, British Embassy Washington

Main purpose of job

The British Government’s Embassy in DC has an exciting opportunity for a methodical and enthusiastic person to join the British Army Staff Team as the Team Support Officer. This opportunity is a rewarding role which supports the cooperation of the British and US Armies, working towards the strategic partnership of the two nations.  

Your daily duties will be varied and will include providing executive assistance to the Military Attaché, liaising with internal and external stakeholders, carrying out general administrative duties (including Salesforce for events), and providing logistical support to enable the smooth running of the team. 

The ideal candidate will be a team player, proactive and methodical with exceptional organisational skills.

The US Network offers a unique career enhancing opportunity and is committed to supporting its staff through a variety of benefits including generous leave, insurance packages and a highly competitive 401k programme. It also promotes a culture of flexibility which enables people to better maintain wellness through an excellent work/life balance approach. In this role you would be working in a diverse international environment alongside, armed forces personnel, UK Diplomats and other country-based staff operating across the British Government’s network of Consulates and Government Offices in the United States. This network provides a platform for approximately 30 Government departments and agencies to conduct their work in the United States and is made up of over 900 staff with a rich and diverse background, skill sets, and experiences. 

Roles and responsibilities

Team effectiveness

• Managing diaries for the principal and central team, anticipating requirements as well as identifying and seeking to resolve conflicts in advance.
• Liaising with other defence departments within the embassy for coordination and deconfliction, assisting with project coordination when required.
• Booking rooms, arranging IT facilities, and setting-up presentations or other media for meetings as required, ensuring the relevant data protection and security protocols are followed.
• Assisting in the organisation of the team’s official functions, including large scale annual defence engagement events. This will include assisting in preparing business cases, arranging suitable venues and catering, maintaining guest data, managing invitations, and meeting/greeting guests.
• Maintaining historic records of events, speakers and gifts.
• Acting as a point of contact for external visitors into the Embassy, including arranging access and providing an escort if required.
• Researching and arranging accommodation, travel and transport for the principal and team members in support of team activities, adhering to spending guidelines and limits.

Administrative Support

• Supporting the team in a variety of administration duties, which includes the controlling, filling, and recording of information (emails, electronic documents, paper documents) onto the MOD computer systems.
• Attending meetings, producing agendas and recording information to produce draft minutes of meetings or records of decisions.
• Managing the FCDO event management system (Salesforce) for events as required.
• Being prepared to provide administrative support to wider defence projects / teams as capacity allows.
• Maintaining competence in data protection policies and acting as the focal point for data protection issues in regard to team output.
• Supporting the Washington Association of Military Attachés for events, meetings and other events as required, on behalf of the AMA.

Relationship Management

• Maintaining desk-level contacts in key Government Departments, Congress, the Department of Defence, the Washington Association of Military Attachés executive committee and foreign embassy offices in support of the team’s objectives.

Budget Management

• Controlling and tracking authorised expenditure on behalf of the team principals to ensure timely completion of annual budget requests and quarterly returns. Assisting with yearly financial planning, in year financial tracking, and raising business cases throughout the year as required.
• Keeping up to date with monthly Electronic Procurement Card (ePC) form submissions, as well as assisting with reclaiming processes.

Resources managed

May be required to hold and run a Government Procurement card.

• Demonstrated relevant working experience.
• Working knowledge of Microsoft Office Applications including Microsoft Outlook.  
• Strong interpersonal skills; including the ability to be professional, confident, and to work with interlocutors at a senior level.
• Strong independent judgement with a proven ability to problem solve.
• An ability to multi-task and use judgement to prioritise effectively.
• An ability to be discreet with the ability to handle sensitive material appropriately. Accordingly, the job holder must be able to attain the required security clearance.
• Ability to carry out administrative tasks.
• Excellent organisational skills and adaptability.
• Applicants for this position must be a national of one of the following countries: UK, US, Canada, Australia, or New Zealand.
• Legal status to live and work in the US in your own right, from time of application.