British High Commission
Other British Government Departments (Partners across Government, including UK Visas)
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MOD (Ministry of Defence)
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Main purpose of job:
To triage and offer appropriate response or referral to enquiries from Fijians serving in the British Army and their families, and veterans of the British Army in Fiji.
The role will fulfil a range of administrative and delivery functions critical to the Defence Section, exercising some judgement and acting under their own initiative, with support and oversight from the Defence Adviser and Support Staff.
This new role of Support Officer will engage with a wide range of stakeholders -from Fiji Government and Armed Forces, to support organisations and charities and Ministry of Defence in the UK. They will also be responsible for organising and coordinating meetings and project work for the section.
The Defence Section’s primary purpose is to advance the UK’s defence offer to Fiji. It is also the focal point in-country for those Fijians serving in the UK Armed Forces.
The Support Officer will have well-honed communication skills, sound judgement and ability to work off their own initiative with and without direct oversight, and excellent administrative skills to help drive forward, modernise and digitise office processes.
The defence section is all about team-work and collaboration. The successful candidate will join a caring and tight-knit team who look to deliver their function with respect, discretion and enthusiasm.
The British High Commission is a responsible and flexible employer that puts values of inclusion, respect and excellence at the heart of everything we do. The successful candidate can expect to join a supportive working environment that promotes learning, inclusion, welfare and prioritises creativity and development.
Roles and responsibilities / what will the jobholder be expected to achieve:
1. Provide support to Defence Section across all aspects of a hugely varied and interesting job remit. The particular focus will be:
- Arrange travel, transport, payment and manage information and office processes.
- Respond to requests and enquiries from service personnel and their families. Assist with problem solving and resolving issues collaboratively in line with extensive guidance, and within legal boundaries.
- Manage information in line with HMG regulation and best practice on privacy and data protection, such as veterans database / offers of training.
- Organise functions, events; issue guest lists; invitations and coordinate services such as catering and security.
- Communicate with a wide range of key external stakeholders (e.g. Government of Fiji, Republic of Fiji Armed Forces, corporate and international contacts).
2. Provide a local interface with families of Fijians serving in the British Armed Forces:
- Initial front-line focal point, able to operate with sympathy, discretion, objectivity and compassion.
- Provide cultural advice, interpretation, logistics and outreach in the event of bereavement.
3. Contribute to wider corporate and team objectives:
- Contribute to wider High Commission events (receptions, visit programmes, away days, conferences, etc.) as needed by joining organising committees, providing additional logistical admin support.
- Provide cover or support to colleagues under pressure or to assist with team absences and in crisis.
Resources managed (staff and expenditure):
The jobholder will assist the Support Staff with responsibility for processing and monitoring various expenses relating to the High Commission, HC/DHC.
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- Proficient in written and spoken English
- Self-starter – enthusiastic with strong judgement, integrity and interpersonal skills and a strong team player.
- Compassionate and able to interact with families / service personnel that may be having a difficult time, dealing with sensitive and emotional conversations with skill and resilience.
- Experience in Microsoft office management tools; e.g. Excel, Word, TEAMS, OneDrive
- Excellent and proven organisational skills and able to improve processes and work under pressure, including problem-solving.
- Proactive, flexible and confident communicator with experience communicating with senior figures, officials and service personnel, as well as families and support services .
- Familiarity with Fiji’s languages.
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- Recent experience of an office management role OR relevant transferable skills;
- Experience of working in or with international organisations;
- Understanding of Fiji’s people, politics and society.
- Some experience of/connection to the UK / armed forces.
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Changing and Improving, Communicating and Influencing, Delivering at Pace, Making Effective Decisions, Managing a Quality Service, Working Together
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4 November 2024
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Executive Officer (EO)
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Fixed term, with possibility of renewal
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38
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Asia Pacific
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Fiji
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Suva
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British High Commission
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1
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FJD
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FJD 36,208.79 annual / FJD 3,017.40 monthly
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monthly
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2 January 2025
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Open to Fiji citizens, permanent residents. Interstate applicants will be required to meet their own travel and relocation expenses.
No accommodation or relocation expenses are payable in connection with this position.
Staff recruited locally by the High Commission are subject to Terms and Conditions of Service according to local Fiji employment law.
Employees who are not liable to pay local income tax on their Mission salary may have their salaries reduced by the equivalent local income tax amount.
Learning and development opportunities:
The UK in Fiji and Oceania Network provides a variety of Learning and Development (L&D) opportunities for all staff to improve their skills and capabilities. We encourage staff to use their entitlement of a minimum of five L&D days per year and reward excellent L&D achievements.
We offer the International Academy and the Skills Framework to identify professional strengths, levels of capability and areas for development. We organise internal sharing sessions and provide a wide range of soft skills courses with regional training leads, reputable local trainers and from experienced officers within the Network.
Working patterns:
The jobholder will generally work full-time in the British High Commission with some outreach across Fiji and in the local area on occasion. Although some pre-planned flexibility can be agreed on an ad-hoc basis, and when personal and family commitments demand.
Other Information:
This is a fixed-term contract for 12 months initially, extendible to 3 years.
The British High Commission promotes family-friendly flexible working opportunities where operational and security needs allow. We do not discriminate and welcome people of all backgrounds.
We offer challenging and interesting work. We provide opportunities to staff to change jobs and apply for promotion through internal recruitment process. We support staff in developing for future careers within and outside of the network by providing a wide range of learning and development opportunities to develop skills and knowledge.
The FCDO also operates an agile workforce. To facilitate this, you may be required to undertake other duties from time to time as we may reasonably require.
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Please note that your application must be submitted before 23:55 on the day mentioned in the above field “Application deadline.”
Please be aware that the deadline for submitting applications is considered to be the time zone for the country where the vacancy has arisen.
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. Applicants called for an interview will be assessed on the core behaviours listed above.
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.
For inclusivity and diversity, please remove the following personal information when uploading your CV: name, address, email address, age, date of birth, gender, and nationality.
The start date mentioned in the job advert is a tentative start date and the successful candidate will be required to undergo security vetting procedures. Any offer of employment will be subject to the candidate achieving suitable clearances.
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To apply please copy and paste this link: https://fco.tal.net/vx/appcentre-ext/candidate/jobboard/vacancy/1/adv/
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