Foreign & Commonwealth Office Hiring for HK – Pro-Consul, AO (Temporary Cover) Job at Hong Kong Full Time

Main Purpose of Job:

As Pro-Consul and a member of the Consular Team at the British Consulate-General Hong Kong you will be responsible for ensuring high quality consular services are delivered to British people in Hong Kong & Macao in line with the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office (FCDO) Consular Guidance, local procedures, and performance standards.

Consular Officers have the opportunity to make a direct difference to people’s lives in challenging circumstances and often in times of crisis. The successful candidate will be working in a fast-paced and complex environment where the ability to work under pressure and face difficult issues is vital.

Types of assistance will include but is not limited to dealing with British nationals who may have suffered a bereavement, been a victim of crime, rape and sexual assault or who are in hospital/prison or experiencing mental health or welfare difficulties.

The Pro-Consul will also be providing notarial and documentary services and printing emergency travel documents; building and maintaining contacts with local authorities and in the community; and taking an active role in consular prevention, communication and outreach activities.

Consular work can sometimes be stressful, distressing and of a sensitive nature. The successful applicant will therefore be expected to demonstrate high levels of personal resilience and maintain absolute consular confidentiality and impartiality.

The successful candidate will need to be able to work independently and make judgements in consultation with Head of consular team but will also need to be a team player, sharing the workload with one other Pro Consul.

What will the Jobholder be Expected to Achieve:

1. Consular assistance to distressed British nationals

• Provide clear and accurate advice to British nationals requiring consular assistance, in person, on the phone, by letter or by e-mail. This will include dealing with highly sensitive issues including deaths, detentions, rape and sexual assault cases.
• Provide support by consular visits including to prisons, detention centres and hospitals.
• Maintain accurate and concise case records.
• Engage and liaise with both UK and local government departments, such as the law enforcement agencies, Security Bureau or Courts.
• Ad-hoc translation and interpretation for managers.

2. Notarial and Documentary services for British nationals

• Administer the CABS appointment system
• Provide a range of counter services including notarial and printing of Emergency travel Documents (ETDs)
• Taking fees and other financial requirements

3. Prevention

• Working with the Vice Consul take an active role as needed in the prevention and communications work of the consular section, planning and logistical support for outreach activities.

4. Excellent office management and administrative support to the Consular Team, including:

• Team Calendar and Contacts kept up to date
• Compiling accurate management information statistics
• Carry out other reasonable ad-hoc duties in support of the Consular function
• Participate in other consulate committees and support corporate activities as appropriate

The successful applicant will also be a member of the Consular Crisis Team in assisting in the preparation and response to any crisis incident affecting British Nationals in China.

• Customer Service Experience

Language Requirements:

• Language: English and Cantonese, Mandarin will be a plus

• Level of language required: Excellent / highly proficient

The British Consulate General offers a competitive pay and benefits package, flexible work arrangement per agreement with Line Manager/Section and access to learning and development opportunities:

• Courses and materials offered by the International Academy
• Attending external events and conferences hosted by academic institutions, business chambers, etc.
• Benefit from Posts internal learning and development strategy which allows individuals to bid for specific training needs
• Opportunities for job shadowing across the China and HK network when travel is allowed

This is a 3-month temporary cover role.

Employment offers are subject to successful clearance of pre-employment checks. No accommodation or relocation expenses are payable in connection with this position. Candidates must have or be able to obtain work authorisation for Hong Kong in order to apply.

Learning and Development Opportunities (and any specific training courses to be completed):

We are a strong supporter of Learning and Development. Comprehensive e-learning package to be completed upon taking up the position as well as mandatory consular training. Further opportunities for continuous personal and professional development offered throughout the period of the employment.

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.

Note : All applicants are required to mandatorily fill the online application form completely including the employment and educational details, experience, professional skills and behaviour based questions. We will be thoroughly reviewing the applications and incomplete form in any respect may not be considered while shortlisting for the next stage.

For inclusivity and diversity, please remove the following personal information when uploading your CV: name, address, email address, age, date of birth, gender, and nationality.

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.