Corporate and Staffing Officer - United Kingdom Permanent Representation to the European Union

Introduction

The UK Permanent Representation to the EU (UKRep) works within the EU and its member states to maximise British influence on issues such as trade, the single market and economic growth and is now looking for an A2 (L) Corporate and Staffing Support Officer to provide administrative support to UKRep’s Deputy Head of Mission and practical support to UK secondees to the EU institutions.

This is an excellent opportunity for a confident, outgoing self-starter who enjoys working in a team, meeting and helping new people, and is comfortable working with financial data. You will enjoy a unique insight into how UKRep works, from the day to day running to the corporate oversight and decisions of the Ambassador and senior management teams. The position requires a high level of discretion given the sensitivity of some of the personal information with which you will be dealing. And you will play a key role in helping civil servants coming from the UK to find their feet in Brussels and settle into their new lives.

The nature of this job means that you will need to work closely with two teams, and develop contacts across UKRep as well as with the other UK diplomatic missions in Brussels.

The period up to and during the UK Presidency will be extremely busy where the Representation is at the heart of the Brussels based business. In reality this will involve some long-hours above and beyond the contracted weekly hours, including outside core hours. Exceptionally there may be a need to work at some point on a weekend. The successful candidate will be an integral member of UKRep and as such they will be expected to be flexible and adapt to help cover any potential shift in policy priorities and responsibilities within this busy time.

UKRep also has the advantage of offering Time off in Lieu (TOIL) for extra time worked and provides opportunities to take a good amount of time off at August, Christmas, and Easter when there is little activity in the European institutions. We are also exploring what options may exist for ad hoc flexible working, whilst recognising the Presidency period will create limitations on what is possible on a regular basis. UKRep is a great place to work. Our ground-breaking programme ‘UKRep Excellence’ and our in house training hub offers interesting and valuable learning opportunities.

Main Duties/Responsibilities

• Corporate: You will play a leading role in the co-ordination and running of senior management meetings at UKRep. Through liaising with the Ambassadors’ Private Offices and collaborating closely with the Deputy Head of Mission on some business-critical corporate projects, you will gain an insight into how decisions are made in the UK Representation at the highest levels. In particular, you will be responsible for delivering improvements to UKRep’s internal comms – including revising induction processes for the many new colleagues arriving ahead of the UK Presidency;
• Staffing: You will act as the first point of call for UK civil servants during their postings to the EU Institutions in Brussels. You will be responsible for delivering a high quality service to UK secondees including organising events, learning and development opportunities and communications and outreach. You will also be responsible for making sure that EU secondees develop and use their EU skills to best effect during and on return from the posting; an important project for the job holder will be the establishment of a new UK SNE Alumni network. You will also have a role in liaising with DG HR (European Commission) and the UK Government HR Departments to ensure the timely processing of SNE contractual arrangements;
• Other administrative and general support for the EU Central Staffing Unit and the UKRep Political and Staffing team as required, including helping to advertise SNE positions, process SNE applications and to cover for other team members during absences.

Required Experience & Skills

Essential

• Fluent command of English and French (both oral and written);
• Excellent organisational skills;
• Able to demonstrate a high level of initiative and attention to detail;
• Good IT skills, including Microsoft Excel;
• Flexibility and discretion;
• Demonstrated ability in the following competences: Collaborating and Partnering, Delivering at Pace, Making Effective Decisions, Managing a Quality Service.

Desirable

• Good command of Flemish (both oral and written);
• Experience with budget management;
• Knowledge of the EU institutions. An awareness of the EU internal staffing rules and procedures/willingness to get up to speed on them quickly would also be advantageous.

Terms and Conditions

This is a full-time, four year fixed-term contract for 5 working days (36.25 hours net) per week.

The monthly salary for this position is €2.286,10, A2 (L) level (The British Diplomatic Missions in Belgium salaries are not subject to annual indexation).

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

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

Applications

All applicants should have the right to live and work in Belgium. The British Diplomatic Missions in Belgium does not sponsor work permits.

All applicants should submit their CV (in English, up to 3 pages) and Covering Letter (in English, no more than 1 page of A4, Arial11) setting out their motivation for the role and how they meet the above criteria.

Applications should be sent to jobapplications.BEL@fco.gov.uk and the email subject line must be formatted as follows: BEL698.

The closing date for applications is the 12^th June 2016.

Kindly note that your application will only be considered if:

1. Your application has been sent within the time frame requested;
2. Your application documents are fully in English;
3. Your applications documents are in .pdf format.

Please note that, because of the volume of applications we receive, we will only contact candidates selected for interview. If you do not hear from us you should assume that your application has not been successful.

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 job.

British Diplomatic Missions are equal opportunities employers, dedicated to inclusivity, a diverse workforce and valuing difference.