British Embassy

The British Government is an inclusive and diversity-friendly employer. We value difference, promote equality and challenge discrimination, enhancing our organisational capability. We welcome and encourage applications from people of all backgrounds. We do not discriminate on the basis of disability, race, colour, ethnicity, gender identity, religion, sexual orientation, age, veteran status or other category protected by law. We promote family-friendly flexible working opportunities, where operational and security needs allow. The FCDO operates an agile workforce and to facilitate this, you may be required to undertake other duties from time to time, as we may reasonably require.

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Job Category

Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office (Policy & Political roles)

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Job Subcategory

Political, Policy

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Job Description (Roles and Responsibilities)

Who are we?

The British Embassy in Berne is part of a world-wide network, representing British political, economic and consular interests overseas and is looking for a Domestic Policy Adviser to join the team.

Main purpose of job:

We are currently recruiting for a Domestic Policy Adviser in our Politics Team. It comes at a promising time for UK-Swiss and UK-Liechtenstein relations on the back of enhanced co-operation leading up to and since the UK’s departure from the EU. We are offering you the opportunity to be part of a friendly working environment, where you can take responsibility for your own projects while learning about the world of diplomacy.
We are looking for a dynamic, creative and proactive individual. In order to do this job effectively, you will need to be able to develop a wide-ranging network of contacts, provide different types of written reporting ranging from extended analysis to quick-fire updates, and understand and interpret the political landscape.

Roles and responsibilities:

Domestic Policy Reporting: Monitoring and reporting on domestic policy developments in Switzerland and Liechtenstein. Providing briefings for senior officers in the Embassy. Responding to commissions for information or analysis from colleagues in the UK;
Political and Parliamentary Engagement: Engaging with relevant stakeholders in the political parties, as well as identifying opportunities to foster relationships with key politicians at a federal and cantonal level. Developing links with parliamentary committees;
EU relations: reporting on and carrying out in-depth analysis of relevant developments in Swiss-EU relations and of Swiss-UK-EU issues.
Networking & outreach: Develop and maintain a network of contacts in civil society (including think tanks, academia). Contribute to the regional strategy by helping to identify and create regional networks including through support to embassy cantonal visits.
Programme delivery and oversight: Supporting the delivery of Embassy programmes and campaigns including senior level inward visits, regional visits and events.

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Essential qualifications, skills and experience

Our Ideal Candidate shows:

Full professional proficiency in German & English (written and spoken, minimum of C1 level for CEFR framework* or equivalent);
University degree, preferably in a related field;
Strong understanding of domestic politics;
Excellent communication skills (oral and written);
Experience of working on public policy and/or international relations;
Ability to work to tight deadlines and multi-task effectively.

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Desirable qualifications, skills and experience

Nice to have:

Experience in or with the Swiss or Liechtenstein governments and/or civil society organisations in relevant fields;
Experience of undertaking research and/or producing written reports;
Experience in events organisation;
Familiarity with UK culture;
Proficiency in French.

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Required behaviours

Communicating and Influencing, Delivering at Pace, Managing a Quality Service, Seeing the Big Picture

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Application deadline

19 January 2025

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Grade

Administrative Officer (AO)

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Type of Position

Full-time, Permanent

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Working hours per week

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Region

Europe, Eastern Europe & Central Asia

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Country/Territory

Switzerland

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Location (City)

Berne

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Type of Post

British Embassy

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Number of vacancies

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Salary Currency

CHF

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Salary

7685,-

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Type of Salary

monthly

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Start Date

1 April 2025

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Other benefits and conditions of employment

This is a full-time and permanent contract of 40 hours per week inclusive of four compulsory 45-minute lunch breaks. Probationary period of 3 month, during which either party may bring the agreement to an end, in writing with 2-month’ notice.

Embassy opening hours are 0730 – 1830 hrs (Monday – Thursday) and 0730 – 1330 hrs (Friday).

Gross monthly salary is CHF 7685,- . The annual leave entitlement is 25 days per year, increasing to 30 days over 5 years, and the Embassy also enjoys 13 Swiss/ UK public holidays per year.

The successful candidate will be subject to professional background and security clearance.

FCDO is committed to continual learning and development. The Embassy will provide funding in line with L&D requirements and a variety of learning and development is provided throughout the year both directly at post and virtually through the FCDO International Academy. There will be opportunities to attend training, lectures etc. on the job.

Visa/work permit requirements: The successful candidate must have pre-existing work authorisation for Switzerland in order to apply. All applicants should have the right to live and work in Switzerland.

Equal employment

We are committed to equal employment opportunity regardless of race, colour, ancestry, religion, sex, sexual orientation, age, marital status, disability or gender identity. We particularly encourage applications from candidates with protected characteristics. FCDO want to maximise the potential of everyone who chooses to work for us, regardless of their background.

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Additional information

Please note that the deadline for applications is 23:55 on the day mentioned in the above field “Application deadline”.

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.

Please be aware that the deadline for submitting applications is considered to be the time zone for the country where the vacancy has arisen.

The British Diplomatic Missions will not be able to meet the travel costs incurred when travelling to the interview, nor the costs connected with relocation if offered a job.

*Please note for more information regarding the Common European Framework of Reference for Languages, please click on the following link CEFR. Please bear in mind in case you are invited for an interview your language skill is going to be assessed.

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Please be aware that you will only be able to apply to vacancies for Country Based Staff roles with the British Government through this official tal.net site (operated by Oleeo). Jobs may be advertised on third party websites, however our adverts will always link back to the official tal.net site. If you complete and send an application through any other site, we will not receive it.

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To apply please copy and paste this link: https://fco.tal.net/vx/appcentre-ext/candidate/jobboard/vacancy/1/adv/
To help us track our recruitment effort, please specify on the application form/indicate in your cover letter where (globalvacancies.org) you saw this job posting.

View Vacancy – Domestic Policy Adviser (CHEB24.478)

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