Pro Consul (CZE25.297)

Job Description (Roles and Responsibilities)

The British Embassy in Prague is part of a world-wide network, representing British political, economic and consular interests overseas. We are seeking a dynamic and customer-oriented individual to join an experienced, busy consular team, providing consular assistance to British Nationals in Czechia.

The main function of the Pro Consul role is to provide a high level of consular assistance and support to British Nationals in Czechia, with special attention on the most vulnerable. The role will also require delivery of documentary and notarial services. The successful candidate will be expected to fulfil these aspects of the role whilst also contributing to the Wider Consular Network objectives and whilst actively seeking opportunities to work with wider teams in the British Embassy Prague to support a positive work environment.

Candidates should note that the different functions of the role will require the candidate to adapt to shifting priorities and operational objectives, whilst maintaining a commitment to excellent customer service.

Roles and responsibilities

Assistance:

• To provide a high level of consular assistance and support to British Nationals, in a range of situations, with special attention to the most vulnerable, such as in cases of hospitalisations, deaths, arrests, rape and sexual assault, financial difficulties, missing persons, child welfare cases.
• To liaise with local contacts, such as police, funeral directors, health professionals, social workers, charities, organisations and town hall officials in order to support casework.
• To update information on case management systems relating to consular cases.
• To process appointments for consular services and manage the online appointment booking system.
• To handle consular correspondence, telephone enquiries and counter enquiries/services in a professional manner.
• To support the Emergency Travel Document Centre by printing Emergency Travel Documents for collection.
• To work alongside internal departments of Consular Directorate, such as Contact Centres, ETD Centres, Global Response Centre to deliver assistance to British Nationals.

Prevention:

• Identify and escalate trends and issues to support prevention initiatives, collaborating closely with colleagues on projects.
• Identify services available from local organisations and professionals to make it easier for British nationals to obtain help and engage with services to solve issues and reduce negative impact.
• To assist in the organisation of outreach events/meetings with key external stakeholders.

Crisis:

• To assist with Post preparation in for crisis situations and to respond to major events, including participating in crisis exercises.
• To assist with crises which require a consular response i.e deployment and support Vice Consul in a crisis.

Corporate:

• To actively participate in the life of the Embassy both to contribute corporately and to further personal development.
• To participate in delivering the Regional Consular Business Plan and to engage with the Embassy Business Plan.

Essential qualifications, skills and experience

• Fluency in English and Czech (oral and written, minimum C1 level CEFR ).
• Excellent communication, and customer service skills, including an ability to support customers in difficult and traumatic situations.
• Excellent interpersonal skills, ability to work collaboratively with colleagues and external contacts.
• Self-motivated and able to work effectively and proactively without close supervision.
• Ability to display a high level of discretion and responsibility.
• Attention to detail, strong analytical perspective and problem-solving skills.
• Flexibility, resilience, patience, and the ability to deal with difficult situations, including the ability to work unsocial hours in an emergency or crisis.
• Occasional travel may be required.
• Experience in customer service (tourism, public service, etc.).

Other benefits and conditions of employment

This is a 12 month full-time temporary position of 5 working days (37.5 hours net) per week. Working hours are Monday to Friday from 9:00am to 17:00pm with a flexible working hours arrangement. Staff are entitled to time-off-in-lieu for extra hours worked. The annual leave entitlement is 25 days per year pro rata and the Embassy enjoys an average of 14 Czech/UK public holidays per year.

The monthly salary is 55,000 CZK (gross). In addition, staff receive a meal vouchers contribution.

The successful candidate will be subject to professional background check, security clearance and 3-months probationary period.

The successful candidate must have pre-existing work authorisation for the Czech Republic to apply.

Staff recruited locally by the British Embassy in Czech Republic are subject to Terms and Conditions of Service according to local Czech Republic employment law.

Visa/work permit requirements: Candidates must currently hold the independent right to live and work in Czech Republic and be prepared to ensure that right remains throughout the scope of the contract.

Please note that it is your responsibility to ensure you meet the legal requirements to live and work in this country. The British Embassy does not sponsor for work permits.

Additional information

Please be advised that Consular positions at the FCDO entail dealing with crisis and casework in situations that may involve death, detention, rape, assault, post-mortems, prison visits and highly distressed customers. Candidates should therefore have a high level of resilience to trauma.

Please note that the deadline for applications is 23:55 on the day mentioned in the above field “Application deadline”.

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.

Please be aware that the deadline for submitting applications is considered to be the time zone for the country where the vacancy has arisen.

Please be advised that the British Embassy will not be able to meet the travel costs incurred when travelling to the interview, nor the costs connected with relocation if offered a position.

*Please note for more information on the Common European Framework of Reference for Languages: Learning, Teaching, Assessment levels please click on the following link CEFR. Please bear in mind in case you are invited for an interview your language skill is going to be assessed.

NOTE: We only accept applications through our software. We do not accept Cvs. To apply please go to https://fco.tal.net/vx/lang-en-GB/mobile-0/appcentre-1/brand-2/user-715/xf-5e55c99924ab/wid-2/spa-1/candidate/so/pm/4/pl/1/opp/25512-Pro-Consul-CZE25-297/en-GB