This is an exciting opportunity to work on one of the Foreign Secretary’s top priorities for the bilateral relationship: forging people-to-people connections and developing future leaders. You will deliver a globally-renowned programme – strengthening your programme management and finance skills – and have the opportunity to stretch, with support, into policy research, briefing and other drafting.

Background:

The UK-Japan relationship is the strongest it has been in decades, as demonstrated by the historic Hiroshima Accord which our Prime Ministers agreed in May 2023. People-to-people connections – that is, ties between our politicians, businesspeople, scientists, academics and ordinary citizens – are at the heart of our partnership and enable all our collaboration. When the Foreign Secretary visited Japan in November, he signed a Memorandum of Cooperation to make our people-to-people exchanges and collaboration even stronger.

As Political and Policy Support Officer (Bilateral) within the British Embassy’s busy Political Section, you will contribute to the implementation of these commitments. Your priority will be to support delivery of the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office’s flagship global scholarship programme, the Chevening Scholarship, in Japan (thereby furthering intellectual and cultural exchanges between our countries). This will include recruitment of the 2026/27 scholar(s) and liaison with the alumni network – full details are outlined in the ‘Roles and responsibilities’ section below.

In your role as Support Officer, you will be called upon to support other areas of the team’s work. Logistics for meetings and visits will be an important part of this. Policy-wise, you may be asked to assist with promotion of other kinds of people-to-people exchanges, including the Musubi Initiative launched at Osaka Expo. Exact scope and remit will be agreed with your line manager upon starting in the role.

What the Jobholder will be Expected to Achieve:

Chevening:

• Working with your line manager and with the Chevening Secretariat to coordinate and manage the Chevening application process, including downloading applications, assisting with sifting as required, participating in interviews, and updating the Chevening online application system with shortlists and interview results.
• Undertaking programme outreach and marketing, including generating content for social media following alumni events, monitoring the Chevening marketing budget, and raising the profile of the scholarship across the Japan Network to foster Network-wide promotion of the scholarship.
• Carrying out administration of the programme in line with Chevening policy, including meeting deadlines set by the Chevening Secretariat (on e.g. development of the annual programme, marketing and alumni plans, and country briefings), and acting as the primary point of contact for internal and external enquiries regarding the scheme.
• Undertaking scholar and alumni engagement. This includes building relationships with the Japan Chevening Alumni Network (JCAN), promoting JCAN activities and seeking their support for Embassy business, and supporting organisation of scholar/alumni events.
• Dealing with budget monitoring and, with some support, budget management, handling financial issues effectively and in line with policy, including ensuring costs are charged to the correct budget and meeting policy guidelines.

Logistics and Team Support:

• Supporting logistics for visits, meetings and events which promote policy delivery, facilitating conversations in Japanese, and liaising with internal and external stakeholders to arrange meetings for the Ambassador.
• Assisting reactively with promotion of other kinds of people-to-people exchanges, including the Musubi Initiative.
• Building wider policy skills, with opportunities to lead (with support and guidance) discrete work on e.g. research, Japanese language speeches and briefing to support UK strategic priorities.

Resources Managed (staff and expenditure): Approx. £5,000 of Chevening programme budget

• Ability to grasp new concepts quickly and to retain new information
• Strong relationship management and collaboration skills
• Organised approach to work with good attention to detail
• Proficient computer skills

Language Requirements:

This role requires written and spoken proficiency in both English and Japanese. Fluency (minimum of C2 level for CEFR framework*) in Japanese and business level (minimum of high B2) in English.

*Common European Framework of Reference (CEFR) for Languages sets the following mastery or proficiency levels:

• C2: Can understand with ease virtually everything heard or read. Can summarise information from different spoken and written sources, reconstructing arguments and accounts in a coherent presentation. Can express themself spontaneously, very fluently and precisely, differentiating finer shades of meaning even in more complex situations.
• B2: Can understand the main ideas of complex text on both concrete and abstract topics, including technical discussions in their field of specialisation. Can interact with a degree of fluency and spontaneity that makes regular interaction with native speakers quite possible without strain for either party. Can produce clear, detailed text on a wide range of subjects and explain a viewpoint on a topical issue giving the advantages and disadvantages of various options.