Consular Officer ( Maternity Cover) at Foreign and Commonwealth Office

Main purpose of job:

To provide a high quality and efficient consular service to British nationals in Zambia in line with the standards set out in our publication “Support for British Nationals Abroad: A Guide” and Consular Strategy.

Roles and responsibilities:

As Consular Assistant you will be responsible for providing consular assistance in Zambia. This may include: visiting people who have been arrested, are in prison or hospitalised; visiting mortuaries;  supporting bereaved families and victims of crime, victims of sexual assault and dealing with cases involving child abduction.  The successful candidate will also work closely with colleagues across the Sub-Saharan Africa network and in the UK in order to ensure excellent delivery and consistency of services. The candidate must be able and willing to engage on these challenging issues:

• Checking and processing applications for Emergency Travel Documents.


•  Liaising with partners including local authorities, British companies, the tourism industry, airlines, wardens, consular correspondents, NGOs, other diplomatic missions etc.


•  Delivering outreach and prevention activities which support our Consular Strategy objectives.


•  Contributing to crisis planning and response in Zambia.


•  Managing information, completing returns and other administrative tasks.

The successful candidate must be prepared to work out of hours if required (see below on time of in lieu/overtime).

For many British nationals, the only contact they will ever have with a British mission will be through our consular services, often in times of great personal distress. As a customer-facing member of staff, the jobholder will need to have excellent communication skills and be able to deal with distressing situations in a sensitive manner and with empathy.  The successful candidate will need to be able to demonstrate the following key skills and attributes:

• Excellent all-round communication skills to manage customer expectations and deliver difficult messages;


• Excellent customer service skills; ability to respond to a range of customer needs and cultivate strong relationships with customers and stakeholders.


• Calmness under pressure;


• Ability to research and follow guidelines, and to plan and prioritise effectively;


• Ability to work well with others – to build and maintain relationships with customers and stakeholders;


• Strong problem solving skills using own judgement;


• Ability to respond quickly to changing priorities, sometimes in pressurised environments;


• S/he should be prepared to react positively to change and ready to try new ways of working


• Excellent IT and numeracy skills (a working knowledge of Microsoft Excel, Word and Outlook is essential.


• Experience working in a British or international environment is also desireable.