Beijing
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Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office (Policy & Political roles)
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Protocol, Visits and Events
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Main purpose of job:
The jobholder will support a busy and lively team at the heart of the Embassy, working to deliver high level visits and events that underpin the UK-China bilateral relationship and support the effective operation of the Embassy. The jobholder will join the Domestic Affairs team but work with colleagues across the Political Section and the whole China Network to ensure the successful delivery of visits and events.
The jobholder will need to demonstrate excellent communication and organisation skills, and a practical approach to multi-tasking and problem-solving. Being a team player, with sound judgement, strong interpersonal skills and a flexible can-do attitude is essential. The successful candidate will have the opportunity to grow and shape the role to suit business needs, and grow their experience in visit, events and project management.
Roles and responsibilities / what will the jobholder be expected to achieve?:
- Play a key role in delivering high-level visits to China, including Ministerial and senior official visits.
- For high-level visits manage and provide guidance on all logistic arrangements including visa invitations; hotel and venue bookings; VIP airport arrangements; car plans; interpreters; liaison with venue/residence staff; track spend and manage charging instructions. For lower-level visits proactively offer advice on these areas to colleagues, providing support where necessary.
- Take a key role in delivery of high-profile Embassy events such as the King’s Birthday Party, and in the delivery of events for political section such as drinks receptions at the Residence.
- Identify and track visits happening in Beijing and across the China network that require support from the visits team and manage visits resource allocation.
- Manage the relationship between the Embassy and selected hotels, restaurants, and sites of interests for their use in visits.
- Ensure consistently high-standards for visits and events by proactively offering advice to colleagues, identifying capability needs and proactively supporting the development of others. Deliver training with the rest of the team to share best practice.
- Collect and collate feedback from colleagues involved in visits to identify best practice and any knowledge gaps. Help run visit ‘wash-up’ sessions.
- Maintain the China Network Visits and Events Sharepoint site, ensuring guidance, templates and other visit support documents remain up to date.
Other duties
• Line management of one AO support officer
• Ad hoc contribution and support to political sections’ wider work, if of interest to the jobholder.
Resources managed (staff and expenditure):
- Line management responsibility for 1 AO Support Officer
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• Excellent organisation skills, and the ability to multitask
• Strong administrative and IT skills (e.g. Microsoft Office, especially excel)
• Excellent oral and written communication skills for liaising with a wide range of colleagues and contacts
• Flexible approach to support the wider team as needed, a positive approach to teamwork, and a proactive attitude
Language requirements:
Language: English
Level of language required: Fluent
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• Chinese language ability
• Previous experience working on visits and events
• Budget management experience
• An understanding of China’s political system and UK-China relationship
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Delivering at Pace, Managing a Quality Service, Seeing the Big Picture, Working Together
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19 February 2025
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Executive Officer (EO)
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Full-time, Fixed Term
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35
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12 months
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Asia Pacific
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China
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Beijing
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British Embassy
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1
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CNY
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RMB 27,633 for CB Expat
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monthly
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21 April 2025
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Note:
This role is open to spouses/partners holding UK diplomatic passports and those from Australia, New Zealand, USA and Canada holding ‘W’ (diplomatic) visas.
Benefits:
We offer a competitive package which includes –
- Abated monthly salary of CNY 27,633 for British Nationals and spouses/partners of diplomats who are ‘W’ (diplomatic) visa holders and meet passport criteria.
- Commercial insurance package including accidental, life, medical and business travel insurance
- 22 days annual leave entitlement in pro-rata which increases by 0.5 per full calendar year worked up to maximum of 25 days. We offer different types of compulsory leave in accordance to Chinese law, e.g. Maternity Leave, Paternity Leave, Marriage Leave, Parental leave, etc.
- In addition to the above compulsory leave, we also offer other types of leaves with pay e.g. Study Leave, Volunteering Leave to support staff who undertakes volunteering activities, Special Paid Leave to deal with emergencies involving a close family member, and more.
- Employee Assistance Programme which is a confidential service providing help, support and information to staff to resolve and manage situations causing concern whether at work or personal nature is available to staff 24/7.
- There is also plenty of opportunity to develop on and off the job and establish expertise and build capability. We are strongly supportive of the job holder continuing to develop their professional skills. The Mission encourages a blended learning culture based on the 70/20/10 model which includes e-learning, mentoring, coaching, other development activities and role-specific required trainings. This offer also includes supporting staff members to take part in a 5 days of learning activities each year.
Learning and Development Opportunities:
No matter what stage of your career you’re at, you’ll have a positive impact and play a key role. We strongly believe in investing in our people – from day one, you’ll be assigned a dedicated buddy, have guidance from your line manager and support within the wider organisation. You’ll have the opportunity to develop on and off the job, and to establish expertise and build capability. We are strongly supportive of the job holder continuing to develop themselves.
In addition, opportunities and activities include:
- Attending external events and conferences hosted by academic institutions, business chambers, etc.
- Learning and Development programmes, which have recently included leadership, line management, interpretation, presentation skills, effective remote working and trade policy.
- Opportunities for job shadowing across the network.
- An individual bid fund providing funding to support more tailored learning and development needs.
Working Patterns:
35 hours of work per week from Monday to Friday, 08:30-17:30. There may be occasions that may require you to work outside normal hours.
Other Information:
Employment offers are subject to successful clearance of pre-employment and security checks. Staff who are locally recruited by the British Embassy/Consulate General are subject to Terms and Conditions of Service according to local Chinese employment law.
No accommodation or relocation expenses are payable in connection with this position. All candidates must be legally able to work and reside in the country of the vacancy with the correct visa/work permit status or demonstrate eligibility to obtain the relevant permit. Any costs related to obtaining or renewing permits and visas are the responsibility of the successful applicant.
The FCDO also operates an agile workforce. To facilitate this, you may be required to undertake other duties from time to time as we may reasonably require.
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Please note that your application must be submitted before 23:55 on the day mentioned in the above field “Application deadline.”
Please be aware that the deadline for submitting applications is considered to be the time zone for the country where the vacancy has arisen.
We advise you to allow enough time to complete and submit your full application since only applications completed and submitted before the deadline will be considered. Applicants called for an interview will be assessed on the core behaviours listed above.
All applicants are required to mandatorily fill the online application form completely including the employment and educational details, experience, professional skills and behaviour-based questions. We will be thoroughly reviewing the applications and incomplete form in any respect may not be considered while shortlisting for the next stage.
Only shortlisted candidates for interview will be contacted. Interviewees will be assessed on the core behaviours/qualifications listed above. Unsuccessful candidates will be notified via the system in due time. Appointable candidates who were unsuccessful may be placed on a ‘reserve list’. If during the reserve period of 6 months the same or a largely similar role becomes available, that role may be offered to the second or subsequent candidate.
For inclusivity and diversity, please remove the following personal information when uploading your CV: name, address, email address, age, date of birth, gender, and nationality.
The start date mentioned in the job advert is a tentative start date and the successful candidate will be required to undergo security vetting procedures. Any offer of employment will be subject to the candidate achieving suitable clearances.
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