View Vacancy – ROK – Digital Trade and Protocol Officer, AO

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.

Job Category

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

Job Subcategory

Political, Policy

Job Description (Roles and Responsibilities)

Main purpose of job:

The British Embassy Seoul is a large diplomatic mission of approximately 100 staff delivering a dynamic and rapidly expanding programme of activity in support of the UK’s objectives. This is an exciting opportunity to be a core part of our Digital Diplomacy team (which is responsible for digital trade and digital technology policy work) and work in a historic site in the heart of the city.

The successful candidate will play a key role in the Digital Diplomacy Team covering digital trade policy and providing wider protocol, administrative and budgetary support. The candidate will work closely with the Embassy’s Trade Diplomacy Team to support the successful delivery of UK-ROK Free Trade Agreement negotiations, and will have regular engagment with UK government teams in the UK. You will liaise closely with the Korean Government, the private sector and academia.

The ideal candidate will be flexible, able to balance a number of competing priorities, and have experience working on digital trade.

The British Embassy is an exciting and rewarding place to work, and you will directly contribute to the deepening of the relationship between the UK and Korea.

Roles and responsibilities / what will the jobholder be expected to achieve?

Digital Trade and Data Policy

Conduct desk research to gather digital trade policy information and data from available sources as required in support of UK priorities for the re-negotiation of the UK-Korea Free Trade Agreement.
Monitor media, government, and academic resources to contribute to reporting to HQ on Korea’s policy and thinking about digital trade issues.
Provide policy support for wider team priorities (digital technology policy) during busy periods, e.g. conducting desk research.
Support seniors in their liaisons with external stakeholders.

Protocol and Logistics

Provide logistical and protocol support and guidance to delegations visiting in Korea, and where necessary, support Korean delegations visiting the UK.
Support arrangement of bilateral meetings from Ministerial level to working level.
Working with the Trade Diplomacy Section, provide logistical support for the smooth running of FTA negotiating Rounds (which alternate between taking place in the UK and Korea).

Budget Management and Administrative Support

Support the Digital Diplomacy team’s budget holder with management of finances, including tracking expenditure and processing payments (including through raising purchase orders). Work closely with the corporate service team and the Digital Diplomacy Counsellor, ensuring team members are well-informed of available budget and expenditure.
Support Trade Counsellor to manage programme funds by tracking expenditure and raising purchase orders.
Support the Digital Counsellor with ad hoc team related administrative tasks and assist senior officers with logistical arrangements for events and meetings.

Corporate Responsibility

Be an active contributor to a positive Embassy community through an active corporate contribution.

Essential qualifications, skills and experience

Strong communication skills, including fluency in both Korean and English
Ability to work with a wide variety of stakeholders
Experience in an international environment
Experience working on policy analysis
Strong IT literacy
Flexibility and ability to balance competing work priorities
2 years’ work experience

Language requirements:

Language: English and Korean

Level of language required: Fluent (C2) in both Korean and English

Desirable qualifications, skills and experience

Experience in administration roles
Experience working on trade and/or digital trade
Experience of desk research on Korean legislation and policy
Event and project management skills
Budget Management experience

Required behaviours

Communicating and Influencing, Delivering at Pace, Managing a Quality Service, Working Together

Application deadline

2 January 2025

Grade

Administrative Officer (AO)

Type of Position

Full-time, Fixed Term, Fixed term, with possibility of renewal

Working hours per week

Duration of Post

12 months

Region

Asia Pacific

Country/Territory

South Korea

Location (City)

Seoul

Type of Post

British Embassy

Number of vacancies

Salary Currency

KRW

Salary

3,750,759

Type of Salary

monthly

Start Date

3 March 2025

Other benefits and conditions of employment

Learning & development opportunities:

The British Embassy in Seoul offers a full range of L&D opportunities, including learning sets, e-learning and face-to-face classes. Online courses and on the job learning will form the core of the jobholder’s induction into embassy work and these may be enhanced by an additional induction course in the UK. Every member of staff is entitled to 5 L&D days per year.

Working Patterns:

Normal working hours are Monday to Friday, 09:00 – 17:15 (17:00 on Fridays). Current British Embassy Seoul policy enables staff to work from home one day per week, however flexibility is available for special circumstances.

Other Information:

Employment offers are subject to successful clearance of pre-employment checks. Staff recruited locally by the British Embassy Seoul are subject to Terms and Conditions of Service according to local Korean 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.

Employees who are not liable to pay local income tax on their Mission salary may have their salaries reduced by the equivalent local income tax amount.

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.

Additional information

All applications must be received on or before 23:55 local time on the day of deadline indicated above.

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

Incomplete application forms will not be taken into consideration, so please ensure you provide the information requested. Only shortlisted candidates for interview will be contacted. Interviewees will be assessed on the core competencies listed above. Unsuccessful candidates will be notified via the system in due time.

Indicated start date is provisional and subject to successful completion of reference and security checks.

To those applicants not shortlisted, we extend our appreciation for considering the British Government as a potential employer.

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.

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.

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View Vacancy – ROK – Digital Trade and Protocol Officer, AO

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