EU Policy Officer - United Kingdom Permanent Representation to the European Union

UKREP - United Kingdom Permanent Representation to the European Union

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, 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 and Commonwealth Office (Policy & Political roles)
Job Subcategory: UKREP (UK Representation to the EU)

Job Description (Roles and Responsibilities)

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 a capable and highly motivated EU Policy Officer to work in the Political Section on a range of high priority issues.

The successful applicant will lead on a range of political, staffing and corporate issues, giving them a unique insight into UK policy formulation, our human resource strategy, and the internal workings of one of the UK’s biggest and most high profile diplomatic missions.

It is a challenging job at the heart of the UK Representation so the successful applicant will need to prove that they have good judgement, a solid track record in delivering results and that they are, above all, a genuine team player. A sound understanding of the EU Institutions will be essential and previous policy experience would be an asset.

Main responsibilities will include:

• EU Institutions Policy: desk-level lead for inter-institutional relations, working with the First Secretary Political, the Legal Team and others in UKRep, as well as contacts across the Institutions and other PermReps, to inform and advise the policy makers in London, and build support for UK positions and ideas. The jobholder will need to be able to work across the full range of Inter-Institutional issues, but can expect to have a particular focus on the Council and the European Council;
• Management: the jobholder will also work to deliver increased UKRep support on British secondees to the EU institutions through leadership of a small (3 person) staffing team. You will collaborate with the Central EU staffing unit to increase the number of UK secondees in the EU Institutions, driving forward various improvements to our existing practices and procedures, and to monitor progress over time;
• Corporate: the jobholder will act as the Corporate Secretary to UKRep Senior Management Board and Brussels Corporate Board, where the Ambassadors and senior staff take the important decisions about how UKRep and other UK Missions in Brussels are run. This will involve preparing agendas, producing minutes and assisting in the timely implementation of decisions taken by the Board. It will also mean assisting the Senior Management team on internal corporate processes and projects, and delivering UKRep's internal communications strategy;
• Gibraltar: oversee UK-Gibraltar EU relations, working with the Gibraltar team in London and Gibraltar House in Brussels. This will involve working across a range of policy areas to ensure Gibraltar interests are factored into wider policy making and defended within the EU. It will also mean assisting in preparations for visits by members of the Government of Gibraltar and ensuring formal representations are submitted to the EU Institutions.

Essential qualifications and experience

• Fluent written and spoken English;
• Knowledge of the EU Institutions and the EU legislative process;
• Experience of working in a policy field;
• Line management experience, or the ability to develop quickly strong line management skills.

Desirable qualifications and experience

• Good/basic level written and spoken French.

Required competencies

Seeing the Big Picture, Making Effective Decisions, Leading and Communicating, Collaborating and Partnering, Delivering at Pace.

Application deadline: 16 June 2016
Grade: C4 (L)
Type of Position: Fixed Term, Full-time
Working hours per week: 36.25
Region: Europe, Eastern Europe & Central Asia
Country/Territory: Belgium
Location (City): UK Permanent Representation to the European Union, Brussels
Type of Post: Political Office
Number of vacancies: 1
Starting monthly salary (EUR): 3,444.87 gross
Start Date: 15 July 2016

Other benefits and conditions of employment

This is a full-time, fixed-term contract until March 2018, for 5 working days (36.25 hours net) per week.

The monthly salary for this position is €3,444.87, C4 (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.

Additional information

The period up to and during the UK Presidency will be extremely busy where the Permanent Representation is at the heart of the Brussels based business.　

This job will involve some long-hours above and beyond the contracted weekly hours, including outside core hours and including some weekend work. 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. 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.

We kindly advise you to allow enough time to complete and submit your full application before the deadline.

Only applications submitted by 16th June 2016 at 11:55 pm will be accepted.