Main purpose of job:

As a member of the Consular Team in Wellington, you will provide high quality consular services to British nationals visiting or residing throughout New Zealand, Fiji, Samoa and Tonga in line with our public guide: Support for British nationals abroad.  

You will report directly to the Consular Manager New Zealand co-located at the British High Commission in Wellington, who will support you to deliver consular work and lead on more complex matters requiring escalation. You may also support consular service delivery in other parts of Oceania, where consular work can be complex due to differences in local contexts.  

Consular officers have the opportunity to make a direct difference to people’s lives in challenging circumstances. The job includes dealing with sensitive issues and may involve responding to crises and stressful events. The successful candidate will be working in a fast-paced and complex environment where the ability to work under pressure and with difficult subject matter is vital. 

Those shortlisted can expect to be interviewed during the week of 26 May. 

Roles and responsibilities:

Consular assistance service delivery 

• Sensitively deliver accurate advice, information and case management services to British nationals and their families (mostly remotely via telephone or email) on a range of issues such as imprisonment and detention; financial hardship and destitution; hospitalisation; supporting bereaved families; missing persons; mental health needs; child custody and other sensitive issues.
• Provide occasional face-to-face support, including visiting British nationals in prison or hospital.
• Respond to customer correspondence in a timely and efficient manner.
• Manage our Emergency Travel Document (ETD) service by printing ETDs, maintaining our collection appointment booking system, occasionally facilitating interviews, and escalating any complex issues to our ETD Centre.
• Organise citizenship ceremonies, and occasionally other consular stakeholder or public-facing events.
• Maintain accurate and concise case records on consular case management systems. 

Partnerships, communication and prevention  

• Assist the team to develop and maintain relationships with local authorities, including government agencies and non-government organisations to support case management.
• Work collaboratively with internal teams, including colleagues and senior leaders in New Zealand, Oceania, UK-based teams and the FCDO overseas network.
• Participate in team planning and execution of consular prevention and stakeholder engagement activities.
• Monitor changes in local procedures and practices, ensuring that all information and guidance given to British nationals reflects changes and is up to date, e.g. service provider lists, travel advice, web content 

 Crisis 

• As part of our whole-of-mission approach to crisis, participate in consular crisis preparation and response in the event of a crisis affecting British nationals.  Although rare, crisis work may involve working beyond your normal remit and outside your contracted hours. 

The formal job description may be subject to amendment in the future.

Resources managed (staff and expenditure):

No staff management.  There will be funding available for travel and events.

Specific considerations for consular roles: 

Consular work can involve difficult conversations with distressed individuals. Emotional intelligence and personal resilience are essential. You will be well supported by your line manager, your team and colleagues globally. You will have access to quarterly wellbeing sessions with a wellbeing supervisor, employee assistance program and other wellbeing support resources. 

The successful applicant will be expected to maintain absolute consular confidentiality and impartiality, keeping in line with the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office (FCDO) Consular Strategy, consular guidance and Customer Charter, business targets and local procedures. 

The British High Commission in Wellington represents the UK government providing consular services to British nationals in New Zealand, Samoa, Tonga and Fiji. In addition to consular work, policy, political and trade and investment activities are undertaken from this location. 

• Strong customer service delivery, including sound expectation management skills. 
• Strong written and verbal communication skills, including communicating with empathy when working with distressed people.
• Strong teamwork skills, including working collaboratively and supporting others in a small team environment.
• Strong self-awareness with a high degree of emotional intelligence and personal resilience
• Confident user of Microsoft Office software.