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 identity, 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.
About us and the role:
The Consulate-General Dusseldorf is part of a worldwide network, representing British political, economic and consular interests overseas. We are seeking an independent, dynamic and detail-oriented Pro-Consul with prior experience in customer service, at the Consulate-General Dusseldorf. The jobholder will play a key role in providing modern and efficient consular assistance and services to British people living and visiting Germany. The successful applicant will be working as part of a Germany-wide consular team alongside colleagues based at the British Embassy Berlin and Consulate-General Munich, also supporting consular officers at other German speaking posts when needed.
The jobholder will furthermore be expected to contribute to wider Consular objectives and the British Government’s Germany Network priorities and to support its positive working environment and actively participate in Learning and Development efforts. The Consular team in Germany is part of the wider Euro Asia Consular region that includes twenty-nine countries.
The role will involve interaction with members of the public, local and UK authorities. It will also require building and maintaining relationships with external stakeholders and agencies and deliver targeted prevention campaigns to advise and inform the British public. You will also be asked to prepare for accidents and incidents as part of our crisis preparation work and respond where necessary. As well as being a fully engaged member of the DACH (Germany, Austria, and Switzerland) consular sub-region and wider Euro Asia Network the jobholder will support the delivery of the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office’s (FCDO’s) Consular Strategy.
You will join a supportive, diverse team with a culture of continuous improvement and taking responsibility for personal learning and development. We value a diverse range of skills and backgrounds. Consular Assistance is a challenging and very rewarding job. Our work is constantly evolving providing us with exciting opportunities. We look forward to working with someone who would like to further shape the future with us.
THE JOB HOLDER WILL:
- Support British people and their families, in cases such as- bereavement; providing assistance to destitute British people; supporting victims of crime and people who have been hospitalised; as well as assisting victims of rape & sexual assault, domestic violence, prisoners and people with mental health needs.
- Carry out vulnerability assessments. This could require visits in challenging environments; some cases will have media/parliamentary interest.
- Develop and maintain positive, professional and trusting working relationships with all external stakeholders in Germany to support the delivery of day-to-day consular assistance and crisis response, such as funeral companies, law enforcement authorities, courts, prisons, charities and support organisations.
- Plan and deliver consular prevention initiatives and communication campaigns, engaging with the Embassy’s communication team and feeding consular messages through Embassy social media channels where appropriate.
- Provide consular services, such as issuing Emergency Travel Documents to British Nationals, and notarial and documentary services in Germany. Manage the online appointments booking system as well as perform administrative duties.
- Take part in the whole of mission response to a crisis or incident in Germany, including crisis preparedness activities such as liaising with authorities and updating the Crisis Management Plan with the Regional Crisis Advisor and Consular Regional Operations Manager. Work closely with colleagues across our three posts and be prepared to deploy to the scene if needed.
- Provide resilience and support with case handling to colleagues in the DACH and EuroAsia Consular region; providing remote cover for other posts on an ad hoc basis, and possibly deploying to provide physical services at the request of the Consular Regional Operations Manager.
- This position will require travel meeting key stakeholders and consular customers throughout the year.
- Provide out of hours assistance in emergency consular cases as appropriate.
The ideal candidate will have:
- Excellent oral and written English and German (To at least a C1 level as per CEFR)
- Previous experience in a customer facing role and the ability to respond to a wide range of customer needs
- Proven ability to prioritise, effectively manage and execute multiple tasks
- Excellent communication skills; both written and oral, including the ability to communicate at all levels
- Good interpersonal and team working skills
- Adaptability and a positive mindset towards change
- Self-motivated and able to work effectively and proactively without close supervision
- Flexibility, resilience, patience and the ability to confidently deal with difficult situations, including out of hours and in an emergency or crisis
- Ability to display a high level of discretion and responsibility
- Excellent organisational and time management skills
- Proficient IT skills, in particularly Office 365 applications
- Relevant work experience (to include working with the public).
Good to have:
- Experience in a similar role
Knowledge of the German administrative, justice and legal systems and social services - A good knowledge of multicultural Britain, its language and geography