The British Embassy in Rabat invites applications for the position of Political Assistant (Chevening and Prosperity), job grade Administrative Officer (AO), on a fixed term contract of one (1) year.

The Political Assistant (Chevening and Prosperity) will provide political and administrative support to the Embassy’s Political, Economic, Climate and Comms section within Chancery. This will include managing the Chevening Programme, maintaining stakeholders including with British schools and leading on education visas.  In addition, conducting administrative, protocol, secretarial and logistical tasks for the political team. This section drives cross-section work to support the UK-Morocco bilateral relationship, and the jobholder will act as a central administrative pillar within the section to support the delivery of various policy projects.

The jobholder will conduct directed political research, contributing to the production of in-depth political reporting, regular press review and weekly political roundups and support various project delivery across the section (examples could include on soft power, education and economics). You will be responsible for handling protocol issues, translations, correspondence, general information management, and help with organising Embassy visits and events and Political Team projects. You will also support the Chevening Programme and other Soft Power initiatives.

The successful candidate will have strong organisation and communication skills, will be able to prioritise flexibly and use their own initiative to deliver to deadlines. And will have strong people skills with the ability to work collaboratively within a busy team.

Duties and responsibilities:

– Education & Chevening (50%)

• Manage the Chevening Programme, build and maintain stakeholders, engage with Chevening scholars including arranging and participating in annual Chevening candidate selection interviews
• Build and maintain relationships with British schools including identifying key opportunities of engagement and cooperation.
• Work closely with British Council, communicating British Embassy priorities and leading areas collaboration; including visa processing for the British Council.
• Support on Education portfolio, including working with Education Officer, Department of Business and Trade, and British Council

– Administrative Support (40%)

• Assist the Economic and Political team with general information management, research, fact-finding administrative and other ad hoc support.
• Deliver timely translations from/into English/French.
• Draft and ensure delivery of Chancery correspondence and Note Verbales, providing protocol advice if needed.
• Contribute to organising Embassy visits and events, and EPCC section projects particularly on logistical arrangements.

– Policy (10%)

• Ad-hoc Policy support within Internal political section including but not limited to human rights, political reporting, economics and education.

The above list is not exhaustive, and the jobholder will be required to be flexible as specific responsibilities could change in the future, and this would be at the discretion of the line manager. The job description may be reviewed to meet changes in business needs. The jobholder may also take on other ad hoc tasks as required.

Key behaviours required:

• Delivering at Pace – Take responsibility for delivering timely and quality results with focus and drive.
• Working Together – Form effective partnerships and relationships with people both internally and externally, from a range of diverse backgrounds, sharing information, resources and support.
• Managing a Quality Service – Deliver service objectives with professional excellence, expertise, and efficiency, taking account of diverse customer needs.
• Changing and Improving – Seek out opportunities to create effective change and suggest innovative ideas for improvement. Review ways of working, including seeking and providing feedback.

• High standard of spoken and written English (IELTS score of at least 7 or equivalent). Able to express ideas and messages clearly and concisely, both orally and in written communication.
• Bilingual level of spoken and written French and Arabic (Darija).
• Educated to degree level.
• Confident communication and accurate drafting and writing ability.
• Strong organisational skills.
• Previous administrative or secretarial experience.
• Strong people skills with the ability to work collaboratively within a busy team.
• Good customer service skills.
• Ability to work independently, prioritise flexibly and use own initiative to deliver to tight deadlines.
• Working knowledge of Microsoft Office applications (Word, Excel, Teams etc).