The British Embassy in Spain is part of a global network representing British political, economic and consular interests overseas and is now recruiting for a Consular Officer position in Gran Canaria.

 
With around 400,000 British residents and 18 million British tourists (pre-pandemic) annually, Spain is the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office’s busiest consular operation globally. The selected candidate will be based in Las Palmas de Gran Canaria and will support consular service delivery to vulnerable British nationals primarily for Gran Canaria, Lanzarote, Fuerteventura and La Graciosa. 

As part of the Spain consular team, which operates over eight consulates, the successful candidate will work at a national level providing input into national plans and providing remote support and resilience to other consulates in Spain. Full induction and training will be provided to the successful candidate. 

Deliver first class consular assistance to vulnerable British nationals, with a high volume of often complex casework including hospitalisations, deaths, detentions and cases of rape or sexual assault. Examples of the support required may include:        

• Visiting patients and providing support to emotional families in cases of serious hospitalisation.
• Providing empathetic advice and support to bereaved families, including in cases of murder, suicide or violent/accidental deaths, accompanying to the funeral director/mortuary as required.
• Providing advice to detainees and visiting prisoners.
• Accompanying victims of sexual assault to court, hospital or in their contact with the police.
• Liaise with local Spanish stakeholders, such as funeral directors, police, courts and social services, as well as local authorities and charities providing support and assistance to British nationals.                       
• Support the delivery of the Spain prevention strategy. Activities may include engaging with a variety of local stakeholders and assisting in the evaluation of prevention activity at post.
• Support delivery of projects/change programme’s.  Activities may include collation and analysis of information, deadlines, reporting on progress and working with team members across Spain.
• Assist in the preparation/response to possible crisis situations involving large numbers of UK nationals, such as forest fires, flooding, large scale accidents, security incidents etc.
• Provide office support, including isuing of Emergency Travel Documents for UK nationals, dealing with customer enquiries, general adminstration and organising events/meetings as needed.

• Excellent communication and customer service skills, including a proven ability to support customers in traumatic or difficult circumstances.
• Excellent interpersonal skills, ability to work collaboratively and flexibly with colleagues in Spain, Wider Europe Network and the UK
• Ability to liaise with external stakeholders and manage a range of external relationships.
• Attention to detail, strong analytical perspective and problem solving skills.
• Ability to work at pace and prioritise, managing an often heavy workload; excellent organisational skills.
• Fluency in both English and Spanish (a minimum of C2 level).
• Good IT skills (use of Outlook, Microsoft suite, Word and Excel essential).
• Based in Las Palmas de Gran Canaria