FCDO: Deputy Head – Commercial AI & Innovation – Commercial Directorate, Grade – SEO, New Delhi – New Delhi

Desirable:   

• Formal qualification in Procurement or Commercial or Project discipline (Chartered Institute of Purchasing and Supply CIPS or its equivalent)
• Experience & knowledge of Hindi language

For British High Commission candidates, the Country Based Staff BHC Terms & Conditions will apply.

For other than BHC Candidates, salary will be all-inclusive of INR 173,515 per month plus 12% Provident Fund and 6% Superannuation.

Additionally, the BHC offers a great benefits package that includes annual domiciliary medical cover, plus a Group Hospitalisation Scheme with INR 500,000 floater cover for your immediate family which includes self, spouse/partner and children up to an age of 23 years and irrespective of age, only if with, physical or mental disability.

No relocation or any other related costs or assistance will be provided. FCDO does not pay for any travelling, accommodation & relocation expenses incurred and/or accept any financial risk, including cancellation or reschedule costs

Please note – BHC does not deduct tax at source and employees are required to ensure that any requirements of local income-tax law are complied with in full. Employees who are not liable to pay local income tax on their Mission salary, e.g., some non-local national staff and some spouses or partners of UK diplomatic staff, will have their salaries abated by an equivalent amount.    

FCDO operates an agile workforce. To facilitate this, you may be required to undertake other duties from time to time as we may reasonably require. The BHC is recognised as a good employer, with a robust, fair and transparent performance management & appraisal system linked to increments and staff bonuses. We have a 5-day working week, plus annual leave, public holidays, maternity leave provision, special leave, paid sick leave provision; ample development opportunities, travel opportunities, a good organisational culture, and excellent work/life balance. 

Around half of our work forces are women.  We treat people with respect and equality and have a policy of zero tolerance for any form of discrimination, bullying, or harassment. 

This is a good opportunity to be part of a strong, diverse team, working in the biggest network that FCDO has anywhere across the globe.  We are aiming to make it the best.

Note: All applicants are required to mandatorily fill the complete online application form including the employment, educational details, behavioural and technical/ professional skills questions. We will be thoroughly reviewing the application forms only with all the required details and the shortlisting is not basis CV/ cover letter. Forms that are incomplete in any respect will not be considered while shortlisting for the next stage

Overseas Citizen of India (OCI) card holders will need have, or be able to obtain, a valid special work permit issued from Government of India (GOI) to work in the British High Commission (BHC). BHC will not be able to sponsor work visas or obtain/ assist with the special work permit from GOI. Offers of employment made to OCI card holders will be conditional upon candidates obtaining a special work permit.

Note: For requisite special permission to take up employment in any foreign Diplomatic Missions in India, OCI Cardholder must visit https://ociservices.gov.in

Please note – successful applicants will be offered employment on Country Based Staff (CBS) terms and conditions. This is not a permanent UK Civil Service position and does not attract diplomatic immunities and privileges (other than what an individual may already hold if they are a recognised partner/family member of a serving diplomat).

To Apply:
Please note applications without (a) and (b) will not be considered.

a) Complete the Online Application Form
b) Complete the Experience, Professional Skills and Behaviour based Segments in the Online Application Form

Please ensure that your application is authentically written based on your own experiences. If AI tools are used, their usage must only be limited to specific tasks such as ensuring formatting consistency and keyword relevance. The core content, personal narratives, and responses to behaviour and skill-based questions must genuinely reflect your professional journey, experiences, and achievements. We place great importance on originality and individual effort throughout the application process. Any form of plagiarism will result in immediate disqualification.

To ensure a successful application it is important that you explain how you demonstrate behaviours and technical / professional skills, basis your experience. You are strongly advised to read the Success Profiles Civil Service Behaviours Framework, which provides a detailed guidance on how these behaviours are defined for each position. 

Applicants are encouraged to use the STAR (Situation, Task, Action, Result) technique to prepare specific examples of when and how you have demonstrated these behaviours in your application, by evidencing a structured response, including your skills and experiences. You briefly describe the situation in which you demonstrated the behaviour, and then explain your task in addressing the situation, what action you took and the result of this.

Internal candidates applying for this position need to inform their current line managers, else the applications will not be considered.

We will accept only online applications by 25th August 2025 (latest by 23:55 hours IST).

Please note that all the applicants will be required to strictly adhere to the security guidelines for British High Commission.

Employees who are not liable to pay local income tax on their Mission salary may have their salaries reduced by the equivalent local income tax amount. 

Please note – “Provident Fund Transfer in and out from EPFO is not possible as BHC PF is managed by a private PF trust governed by Indian Income Tax Act, 1961. The staff still has the option to transfer out and in from a privately held PF trust which are not governed by EPFO. Any tax deduction on EPF will be in compliance with local income-tax law and must be complied with in full.”

Applicants who do not have the required qualification & experience should kindly abstain from applying, as their applications will not be considered.

Only shortlisted candidates will be contacted, and no telephone enquires will be dealt with. Basis the scores, the candidate/s who did not score as highly as the successful candidate, might be placed on the reserve list. If during the reserve period of 12 months, the same or largely similar role becomes available, the role may be offered to the second or subsequent appointable candidates.

The start date mentioned in the job advert is a tentative and he appointment will be subject to successful clearance of police Verification and other checks including references, medical, educational, and professional.

We welcome all applications irrespective of age, race, colour, gender, disability, sexual orientation, religion, belief, or creed. We are also open to applications from people who want to work flexibly.