View Vacancy – Pro-Consul (FRA24.164)

The British Embassy in Paris is part of a worldwide network, representing British political, economic, and consular interests overseas. It is also part of the UK’s France Network including offices in Lyon, Bordeaux and Marseille and representation to international organisations in Paris (OECD and UNESCO) and Strasbourg (CoE).

The UK’s consular assistance offer is explained in our publication Support for British Nationals abroad: a Guide.

Helping British people living, travelling, and working around the world when they are most in need and responding rapidly to crises are Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office (FCDO) priorities. Consular and crisis work touches the lives of British people in difficult and sometimes extreme circumstances, and this is one of the few ways that the British public comes in to contact with the FCDO. Consular and crisis jobs are, therefore, some of the most rewarding in the FCDO but also some of the most challenging.

We are looking for someone to join our Paris Embassy consular team as a Pro-Consul.  We are seeking an independent, dynamic, and detail-oriented individual with prior experience in a public-facing role. The jobholder will play a key role in providing modern and efficient consular assistance and services to British people living in and visiting France. The successful applicant will work as part of a France-wide consular team alongside colleagues based at the British Consulates in Bordeaux and Marseille.

The role will involve interaction with members of the public and with local and UK authorities. It will require building and maintaining relationships with external stakeholders and agencies and contributing to targeted prevention activity to advise and inform the British public. And ensure they have support when they find themselves in vulnerable situations. You will also be asked to prepare for major accidents and incidents as part of our crisis preparation work and to respond to crises where necessary. As well as being a member of the FRABELUX (France, Belgium, and Luxembourg) consular sub-region and wider Euro Asia Network the jobholder will support the delivery of the FCDO’s Consular Strategy. 

With over 165,000 British residents and over 12 million British visitors annually, the consular operation in France is one of the busiest in Europe. 

Roles and responsibilities:

• Support vulnerable British Nationals and their families, for example in cases of bereavement; help destitute British people; supporting victims of crime and people who have been hospitalised; assist victims of rape & sexual assault, domestic abuse, prisoners, and people with mental health needs.  Please note this could require visits in challenging environments.  Some cases will have media/parliamentary interest.
• Develop and maintain positive, professional, and trusting working relationships with all external stakeholders in France to support the delivery of day-to-day consular assistance and crisis response, such as funeral companies, law enforcement authorities, courts, prisons, charities, and support organisations.
• Provide consular services, such as issuing Emergency Travel Documents to British Nationals. Manage the online appointments booking system and perform administrative duties.
• Take part in a whole of mission response to a crisis or major incident in France including crisis preparedness activities such as updating the Crisis Management Plan with the Consul and Consular Regional Operations Manager. Work closely with colleagues across our three posts and be prepared to deploy to the scene if needed.
• Provide resilience and support with case handling to colleagues in the FRABELUX and EuroAsia Consular region; providing remote cover for other posts on an ad hoc basis, and possibly deploy to provide physical services at the request of the Consul or Consular Regional Operations Manager.
• This position will require travel for meetings with key stakeholders and consular customers throughout the year, as well as attending regional meetings and learning and development events.
• Provide out of hours assistance in emergency consular cases as appropriate and be part of a France-wide out of hours duty roster.
• The successful applicant will be a resilient, quick-thinking individual, who can demonstrate empathy towards our most vulnerable British Nationals, with good prioritisation and problem-solving skills and a strong sense of teamwork.

• Excellent oral and written English and French (both written and spoken, minimum of C1 level for CEFR framework).
• Excellent communication skills; both written and oral; including the ability to communicate at all levels.
• Proactive, agile and the ability to work across multiple teams.
• The resilience to manage multiple competing tasks concurrently, make effective decisions, with the capacity to meet tight deadlines.
• Initiative, drive & determination with superior problem-solving skills, sound judgement, common sense, and the ability to remain calm under pressure.
• Proficiency in Microsoft’s Word, PowerPoint, and Teams.