Foreign & Commonwealth Office Hiring for Administration Officer to the Defence Section Job at Doha Full Time

The British Embassy in Doha is part of a worldwide network that represents political, economic, security and consular interests overseas and is now looking for an Administration Officer to the Defence Section to start as soon as possible.

Duties and responsibilities:

To support the Defence Attaché and the Defence Section staff, through good electronic administrative procedures and housekeeping, thereby enhancing the efficiency and effectiveness of a busy Defence Section.

Support delivery of British Embassy objectives by contributing to an efficient Defence Section. The successful applicant will have the skills to meet a variety of demands including office IT support and general administration using Microsoft applications, management of visits both internal and external, and visa facilitation. In addition, the successful applicant will be responsible for diplomatic submissions to Qatar authorities in support of UK military activity in Qatar, and maintaining training records, hospitality records and contributing as part of the team to delivering key Defence Section events.

Achieve all key duties and responsibilities as detailed above.

This will be through existing knowledge and skills as well as the opportunity to learn whilst in the job. The jobholder will receive a detailed Terms of Reference once in Post, as well as agreeing to deliverable SMART objectives with their line manager, in pursuit of supporting successful outcomes for the Defence Section and Defence Attaché.

The successful candidate is expected to take part in all Embassy preparations for World Cup 2022 (WC22), and to contribute with all other members of staff to making the Embassy a great place to work.

The above list is not exhaustive and the jobholder will be required to be flexible and take on other ad hoc tasks as required.

Key Behaviours:

• Managing a Quality Service: Effectiveness in this area is about being organised to deliver service objectives and striving to improve the quality of service, taking account of diverse customer needs and requirements. People who are effective plan, organise and manage their time and activities to deliver a high quality and efficient service, applying programme and project management approaches to support service delivery.
• 
  Delivering at Pace: Effectiveness in this area means focusing on delivering timely performance with energy and taking responsibility and accountability for quality outcomes. It’s about working to agreed goals and activities and dealing with challenges in a responsive and constructive way.
• 
  Changing and Improving: People who are effective in this area are responsive, innovative and seek out opportunities to create effective change. It’s about being open to change, suggesting ideas for improvements to the way things are done, and working in ‘smarter’, more focused ways.
• 
  Working Together: People skilled in this area create and maintain positive, professional and trusting working relationships with a wide range of people within and outside the Civil Service to help get business done. It requires working effectively, sharing information and building supportive, responsive relationships with colleagues and stakeholders, whilst having the confidence to challenge assumptions.
• 
  Communicating and Influencing: Effectiveness in this area is about communicating purpose and direction with clarity, integrity and enthusiasm. It’s about respecting the needs, responses and opinions of others.
• 
  Developing self and others: Effectiveness in this area is having a strong focus on continuous learning for oneself, others and the organisation. It’s being open to learning, about keeping one’s own knowledge and skill set current and evolving.

• Fluent standard of English. Able to express ideas and messages clearly and concisely, both orally and in written communication.
• Ability to work in a high pressure, high workload environment.
• Administration skills, including computer, telephone and clerical skills, this should include high levels of attention to detail
• Self-motivation, self-confidence, forward thinking, good organisational skills and a positive outlook, this must include the ability to work closely with a wide variety of people and a flexible approach to achieving tasks.

• Embassy security clearances already in place or previous security checks (police/FCO/military).
• Embassy or military background/experience.
• Arabic language skills.
• A good understanding of Qatari processes and ways of working.
• An ability to understand and handle appropriately marked classified material (up to Official Sensitive).
• An understanding of UK visa regulations, for foreigners travelling to the UK for business, study, training and medical reasons.
• Enhanced computer skills (typing, MS Word, e-mail, MS Excel, MS Teams, OneNote).

Eligibility:

Applicants must already reside in Qatar and hold the right to live and work there, including those either under spouse sponsorship or be able to transfer an existing sponsorship to the British Embassy. If sponsorship transfer is required, all sponsorship incurred fees shall be borne by the successful applicant. The Embassy cannot guarantee how much cost or time it may take for the process to complete.

The successful applicant will be required to obtain security clearance. Higher clearances can be granted only to certain nationalities. For this reason, candidates must be of British, American, Australian, Canadian or New Zealand nationality in order to gain the level of clearance required.

Working Hours and Remuneration:

The British Embassy offers a competitive remuneration package, including non-negotiable salary of QR 11,785 per calendar month and transportation allowance of QR 800 per calendar month, paid in arrears. No accommodation and relocation expenses are payable in connection with this position.

The contract will be for a full-time employment, on a fixed-term basis for 2 years subject to 6 months’ probation period. There is a possibility of an extension subject to mutual agreement.

Conditioned working hours are 38 hours per week. Embassy working hours are 7.30 a.m. to 3.30 p.m. Sunday to Wednesday and 7.30 a.m. to 1.30 p.m. on Thursday. Due to the nature of the work, jobholder should be flexible in their approach to hours worked as these will be dictated by operational needs and may involve working out-of-hours.

The Embassy supports flexible working including working from home for some part of the working week. This flexibility will vary depending on the department’s commitments and requirements, hence the jobholder will be expected to be able to make last minute changes to their work plans and work location accordingly. Some out of hours work, including evenings and weekends, may be required from time to time to support events, conferences and other business engagement.

Regular Embassy L&D opportunity with both online and distance learning modules open to all staff as priorities permit. Finance training will be provided (e-learning) and on the job coaching and mentoring by experienced colleagues within the Mission and the wider HMG platform in Doha.

The jobholder will conduct additional online learning and training as mandated by the FCDO, this includes but is not limited to;

• Safeguarding
• Security, including documentary security
• Crisis Management roles

The successful candidate will need to commence security clearance procedures through the Embassy and will be required to have or obtain the appropriate security clearance before employment commences and maintain this throughout period of employment.

How to Apply:

Interested candidates must complete the:

• Online application form;
• Answer the why you have applied to this role section and
• Behaviours questions

** (Your application must include examples of when you have demonstrated the experience and behaviours outlined above in your online application form. Applications that are not complete will be rejected).

The closing date for applications will be 29 May 2022 by 23:55 Doha local time.

Applications received after the stated deadline will not be considered.

Process:

The recruitment process, including security clearance, is expected to take around two months.

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.

Personal data collected will be treated in strictest confidence under the terms of the UK Data Protection Act and used for recruitment purposes only.

The British Embassy Doha is an equal opportunities employer, dedicated to inclusivity, a diverse workforce and valuing difference. Staff recruited locally by the British Embassy is subject to Terms and Conditions of service according to local Qatari employment law.