Main purpose of job:

Deliver and manage consular services and assistance to British nationals in Zimbabwe in line with our public guide Support for British nationals abroad and the Consular Charter. You will be expected to manage both straight-forward and multiple complex cases with appropriate oversight but largely without direct supervision. 

You will be based at the British Embassy in Harare, but will work collaboratively with colleagues across the Southern Africa Consular Network, providing advice and remote support to neighbouring countries. 

You will lead on specific prevention projects in Zimbabwe, writing preventative online guides, organising engagement and networking events and lobbying stakeholders to help minimise risks to British residents and visitors to Zimbabwe to help prevent them from getting into difficulty. You will also support on crisis preparedness and response and be expected to fulfill the deputy consular manager or consular manager role in a crisis. You will be required to deliver services to British nationals, including issuing travel documents, visiting those detained in Zimbabwe, and leading on officiating Citizenship Ceremonies. 

Roles and responsibilities: 

Consular assistance

• Leading on complex/high profile cases involving vulnerable British Nationals. This might involve supporting families of people who have been bereaved, including giving welfare assistance to destitute British people; supporting victims of crime (including rape and sexual assault) and people who have been hospitalised; as well as visiting British prisoners and responding to a host of other issues. Please note this could require visiting mortuaries and other challenging environments; and some cases will have media/parliamentary interest.
• Supporting and advising consular officers in the Southern Africa region on complex assistance cases and where needed.
  

Prevention

• Leading on prevention projects and initiatives that support British nationals on the most relevant risks and issues that affect British people. This could include hosting workshops, organising events and generally working on themes such as complex death cases, mental health, addiction and recovery, tourism safety, victims of crime (including Rape & Sexual Assault) and homelessness/destitution.
• Identify and lobby stakeholders and national/local government authorities on key consular issues, with support from colleagues.
• Build and maintain productive relationships with internal and external stakeholders through regular engagement and outreach.
• Prevention fundamentals – research and draft online guides (e.g. bereavement and prisoner guides) for UK government web pages.

Crisis

• In a crisis, or when supporting on a complex case, you may be expected to travel at short notice or work outside of normal contracted hours.This could include being asked if you can provide regional resilience in the region.
• Support crisis preparedness and response at post. This includes contributing to the CMP, planning the consular aspects of crisis response, and acting as deputy consular manager or consular manager in a crisis.
  

Consular services

• Managing Consular Services, such as issuing Emergency Travel Documents to British nationals.
• Organising and officiating at Citizenship Ceremonies for new British nationals. 

Managing people, operations and information

• Meeting consular business targets and ensuring cases are updated promptly on the management system. Delivering in line with agreed KPIs and promoting compliance and high performance against expectations, monitoring monthly statistics on Iris and producing monthly reports.
• You should be aware that consular work involves difficult conversations with distressed individuals and may require visiting challenging environments, such as prisons and hospitals, so emotional intelligence and personal resilience are essential. 
• You can expect to travel a few weeks per year, both within Zimbabwe but also sometimes within the SSA region and occasionally to the UK. 

Resources managed:

Day to day management of the Honorary Consul

• Possess excellent all-round communication skills to manage customer expectations and deliver difficult messages
• Ability to remain calm and professional under pressure when dealing with emotive subjects and distressed people
• Skills to research and follow guidelines and to plan and prioritise effectively
• Experience working in a customer facing environment and working with vulnerable people is essential

This is a rewarding and often challenging role. You will be well supported by your line manager and other colleagues at the British Embassy, as well as the wider consular team in the region and the UK, but you must also have high levels of personal resilience to succeed.

Language requirements: 

Language: English

Level of language required: Proficient