Main purpose of job:

This role offers the opportunity to work at the heart of a large and busy Embassy, with exposure to a range of policy and leadership issues. 

You will work within the Private Office team as the Executive Assistant to the Deputy Ambassador, supporting him in his decision making. You will report directly to the Chief of Staff to the Ambassador and Deputy Ambassador.

Together, you will play a central role in the running of the Embassy, whether managing the busy diary of the principle, managing an Embassy-wide event, or helping drive effective decisions internally. You will build relationships with staff across the embassy’s policy and operational teams as well as with external partners in government, NGOs and other diplomatic missions.

The jobholder will become a core part of the interface for the Embassy’s senior leaders and the wider embassy and diplomatic community. The demands will be high, in accordance with the busy and high-profile nature of the principals’ work. For example, you will be expected to work from the office, and you will often have to step in to cover for Private Office colleagues when on leave. 

In return, you will get unparalleled exposure to the full breadth of the Embassy’s work, with opportunities to develop areas of interest, and to build a valuable network of contacts both internally and across the wider diplomatic community.

Roles and responsibilities:

• Providing strategic and administrative support to the Deputy Ambassador, using strong organisational, communication and problem-solving skills to manage his diariy, arrange meetings, and ensure his ability to focus on priorities.
• You will take initiative in organising briefings and other logistical arrangements so the principal has what they need on time and can deliver effectively for the embassy.
• You will also be expected to develop an understanding of the core policy areas of your principal (Bilateral diplomacy, Development, African Union). You will liaise with contacts across the embassy on these policy areas at team leader level. You will need to be able clarify information on behalf of the principal to support them to make informed decisions on complex issues.
• Lead organisation of high-profile and VIP Events at the Embassy, working closely with the Events team and the Residence team, including managing invitations and RSVPs through to leading on event design, catering and logistics. You will be responsible for finding solutions to tricky issues as they emerge.
• You will use this understanding to take decisions on how best to prioritise your work and will use strong written and oral communication to ensure that you and the principal are working seamlessly together. You will regularly be required to provide succinct oral briefings at short notice, updating the principal on preparations for upcoming engagements. You will also be required to be able to communicate clearly in writing.
• You will also build a network of contacts within the Ethiopian Government, NGOs and other international organisations, representing the British Embassy externally when arranging appointments or handling in-coming requests and invitations.
• Managing the Secretariat for one of the four Embassy decision-making boards: this requires leading on cross-cutting Embassy-management functions, attended by senior leaders.  You will be required to agree agendas for each meeting, working with team leaders to determine the most important priorities to discuss. You will need strong drafting skills to bring out the detail of conversations when recording minutes and providing recommendations to your principal on areas to follow-up. You will work closely with the Head of Private Office but will be expected to be able to act independently in setting agendas, exchanging information with policy leads, and negotiating deadlines.
• Managing the Embassy forward-look calendar, tracking and collating upcoming major events, visits, and travel across the embassy into one document. You will be responsible for enabling senior leaders to have strategic oversight of embassy activity, taking the initiative to share the calendar regularly, and identifying potential calendar issues in advance. You will coordinate across the embassy to build a comprehensive picture of embassy activity, create innovative ways to ensure seniors are sighted, and influence decision-making based on your understanding of embassy priorities.
• Managing the contact database. You will develop and maintain up to date contact information of the Embassy’s senior interlocutors across government, civil society, business, and other diplomatic missions, to facilitate arranging meetings and hosting events to help build important embassy relationships.

This position is an exciting opportunity for someone who is comfortable taking the lead on a new piece of work the elements of which will evolve over time.  The job holder will also be expected to have a strong focus on delivering and improving, using feedback and other monitoring techniques to spot opportunities to make the Boards even more effective.

Resources managed (staff and expenditure) 

No staff or resources managed directly however the position is critical to the running of the Embassy. In this regard, you are expected to support the Deputy Ambassador and Senior Leaders in a timely and efficient management of their expenses as well as expenses related to ministerial visits, high level functions within the Private Office. 

• Experience of managing a diary/office
• Strong organisational and communication skills
• Relationship building skills
• Basic Computer skills – word, excel, outlook
• Fully operational written and spoken English and Amharic