The British Embassy in Muscat is part of a worldwide network that represents the UK’s political, economic, security, and consular interests overseas. We are seeking a highly motivated and proactive individual for the position of Corporate Services Support Assistant under the Corporate Services Team, at the grade of Administrative Assistant (AA) on a fixed-term contract of one (1) year.

Reporting to the Accommodation and Procurement Officer, the successful candidate will provide Administration Support to a small project team withing the Corporate Services to support the delivery of an expansion of the UK staffing at the British Embassy. You will be responsible for providing a range of admin support including scheduling property viewings, managing teams schedules, monitoring the project tracker and supporting with procurement of furniture from the UK.  You will also provide administration support to the Protocol and wider Corporate Services team as needed.

Roles and responsibilities:

Estates Management 55%

• Responsible for liaising with Landlords and Estates Agents to arrange property viewings for the Estates Accommodation Officer.
• Working with the new Estates Technical Officer to schedule property visits for property compliance checks alongside the Post Security Manager and others.
• Updating the project tracker for the Project Manager to reflect any changes in the timeline or addition/deletion of activities.
• Support to the Estates Accommodation Officer in preparing residential inventories.
• Creation and maintenance of the furniture store inventory, checking deliveries of goods on receipt and updating when items are removed. Arranging vehicles and manpower to deliver furniture packs to properties and overseeing unpacking and placement.
• Cover absences of Accommodation and Procurement Officer.

Finance and Procurement 30%

• Raise Requisitions and Purchase Orders for goods and services through HERA (Embassy Financial Management Tool) as needed.
• Support with the procurement and delivery of furniture packs for UKBS.
• To check all invoices relating to the Project are received and paid.
• Maintain VAT records for all Estates transactions.
• Ad hoc purchases for the Estates team as authorised by the line manager.

Other 15%

• Administration support to the PRO team in collating documentation in relation to a wide range of diplomatic permissions.
• Administration support to the wider Corporate Services Team.
• Role in Embassy emergency planning and any response to a crisis affecting UK citizens. Your specific role will be identified based on your skills and experience.

The above list of job duties is not exclusive or exhaustive and the job holder will be required to undertake such tasks as may reasonably be expected within the scope and grading of the post. Job responsibilities evolve with change in business needs and the Embassy reserves the right to update to job description to ensure it meets the business objectives.

Key Behaviours:

Candidates will need to demonstrate the following behaviours and the Embassy values during the interview:

• Managing a Quality Service – Deliver service objectives with professional excellence, expertise and efficiency, taking account of diverse customer needs.
• Working Together – Seek out opportunities to create effective change and suggest innovative ideas for improvement. Review ways of working, including seeking and providing feedback.
• 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.
• Delivering at Pace – Take responsibility for delivering timely and quality results with focus and drive.

Our Values:

The British Embassy Values (Trust, Respect, Integrity and One Team) are important in helping us to deliver for the UK internationally. Wherever we work in the world, we share a set of values that guides our decision-making, sets standards for our behaviour and helps us deliver the UK’s national interest internationally.

• Trust: Be reliable, open, and dependable in our actions and communications.
• Respect: Acknowledging each other’s skills, opinions, and experiences and honouring each other’s ideas, beliefs, and culture.
• Integrity: Taking responsibility for our decisions and actions and standing up for what is right, not what is easy.
• One Team: Being kind, helpful, supportive, open to challenge so that we can all work at our best towards achieving the same goal.

These values are underpinned by the UK Civil Service values (Integrity, Honesty, Objectivity, Impartiality) and complemented by values all One HMG colleagues bring from their own department, service or administration.

• High standard of written and verbal English (equivalent or exceeds IELTS score 7.0). Able to express ideas and messages clearly and concisely, both orally and in written communication.
• Minimum of 2 years’ experience in a similar role and/or within the real estate industry.
• Excellent interpersonal skills and ability to develop and maintain a range of contacts to build effective working relationships.
• A confident self-starter, with a ‘can do’ approach, excellent organisational and administrative skills, who projects a professional image and builds networks to help get the job done.
• Ability to work independently and to take initiative as well as being able to work well with others.
• Demonstrates flexibility, with good time management skills and high attention to detail.
• Ability to work under pressure.
• Strong IT skills and literacy in Microsoft Office applications (Word, Excel, PowerPoint, Outlook, and Teams). Ability to learn new programmes quickly.