Main purpose of job:

The British Embassy in Mexico is part of a worldwide network representing British political, economic and consular interests overseas. We have an exciting opportunity to join the Embassy’s Political team as Assistant Political Officer. 

The Assistant Political Officer will work in support of the whole political section, which covers a wide range of issues including rule of law, anti-corruption, domestic politics and foreign policy. In particular, the jobholder will be support political reporting and be responsible for managing the section’s core administrative tasks.   The successful candidate will focus on the foreign policy and domestic politics portfolios. This will entail working with a wide range of stakeholders including civil society organisations, academics, experts and Mexican Government officials to organise meetings, generate ideas for collaboration and run projects.

Roles and responsibilities:

The team is a busy team and there will be a requirement to work flexibly across both foreign and domestic policy teams and provide general administrative support to the wider political team. The successful candidate will be responsible for managing the political and press team’s budget.  In addition, the jobholder will need to be flexible to offer support in areas such as procurement, project planning and visits.  

There will be a requirement to follow Mexican current affairs and foreign policy, and where necessary to conduct research and produce first drafts of political reports.  The jobholder will also have the opportunity to attend external events and report on this. There will be the opportunity to take on the running of some of the political team projects.

This role requires high quality written and oral communication in English and Spanish, a passion for foreign and domestic policy, a knowledge of the Mexican government and an ability to work in a fast-paced environment whilst maintaining attention to detail.

Increasingly, we make use of Artificial Intelligence to support our work and diplomatic efforts. You will be required to use AI to support research tasks and to explore using AI to automate existing processes, making the work of the political section as efficient as possible. 

Responsibilities:

Political Work:

• Engaging: Liaise with civil society organisations and Mexican Government Departments to set up meetings and invite contacts to events.
• Project administration: Support with the implementation of projects by organising activities, processing payment and reporting on events.
• Logistics for visits and events: Book flights, hotels and organise transport for UK visitors to Mexico. Find venues, book refreshments, book in guests, meet and greet guests for events.

Policy Support:

• Provide other wide ranging policy support to political team through information collection for reports, production of bios, help with translation and drafting reports where required.
• Support the delivery of policy on foreign policy and domestic politics.

Administrative (including, but not exclusively):

• Act as financial officer for the team, managing the budget effectively.
• Responsible for the team’s forward look of upcoming events.
• Organise meetings, including team meetings, booking rooms, etc.

Essential on arrival:  

• Excellent organisational and self-management skills to respond effectively to deadlines and priorities. Capable of managing multiple projects simultaneously, this includes planning and managing time, resources and budgets effectively. 
• Able to tailor approach to express ideas and messages clearly and concisely to different audiences including through written reports.
• Excellent attention to detail. 
• Flexibility and ability to work well under pressure in a fast paced environment. Ability to prioritise own workload and meet deadlines without compromising quality.
• Ability to build relationships with diverse range of stakeholders.
• Excellent interpersonal and team player skills, including stakeholder engagement skills to build strong working relationships with colleagues within the UK government network and externally.
• Good knowledge of Mexican politics issues, Mexican foreign policy and UK foreign policy.
• Candidates must be able to live and work in Mexico in their own right.