Pretoria

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.

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Job Category

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

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Job Subcategory

Economic and Prosperity

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Job Description (Roles and Responsibilities)

Main purpose of job:

This is an excellent opportunity to play a prominent role in the work of the British High Commission in South Africa. The jobholder will work with two other Visits and Events Officers to support incoming UK visitors to South Africa during South Africa’s G20 Presidency year.

The successful candidate will work on the planning and logistics for:

1. Visits from the UK to South Africa during South Africa’s 12-month Presidency of the G20, including ministers, senior officials and officials.

2. High Commission events, ranging from smaller-scale receptions to high-profile public diplomacy events.

The Visits and Events section plays an important role within the Political Team, a team that has a wide range of responsibilities including foreign and domestic policy analysis and coordinating bilateral work and public diplomacy. The Political Team is a fast-paced, fun and supportive team that is at the heart of the High Commission’s work. We place emphasis on networking and external engagement, to ensure we spend our time understanding South African policy, and we are responsible for organizing and hosting events, supporting visits, and advising ministers via our Headquarters in London.

Roles and responsibilities:

Visits

You will work in collaboration with the other two Visits and Events officers, as well as with colleagues from across the UKinSA network, to provide planning and logistics support for a regular drumbeat of visitors from the UK during South Africa’s G20 Presidency year (Dec 2024 until Nov 2025).
This will range from a full support package for ministers and senior government officials, to an advisory service for lower-level visitors (with the exact level of support dependent on competing priorities).
The support you provide will include organizing recces to different venues, devising suitable transport plans with our transport team, arranging accommodation, liaising with the relevant team on security arrangements and being on standby to support during the visit itself. On the visitor’s arrival and departure, you may also be supporting them with check in and ensuring their luggage and passports are managed smoothly. And you will clearly communicate planning progress to colleagues throughout, so that everyone can keep track of preparations.
You may also work occasionally with the Department of International Relations and Co-operation (DIRCO) on protocol arrangements, including liaison with State Protocol Lounges at South African airports and managing a roster of volunteers able to assist with airport meeting-and-greeting responsibilities.

Events

You will support and/or lead on the planning and delivery of High Commission events, which vary in scale, seniority and public profile.
You will work closely with our Residence team on timings and catering, you will work with suppliers to obtain quotes and delivery, and you will be responsible for designing and issuing invites and then keeping track of RSVPs.
You will also play a supporting role for the High Commission’s two largest annual events (the King’s Birthday Party in Pretoria and the Eve of Parliament reception in Cape Town) working closely with a wide range of teams to manage the preparations.
Finally, you will work with the High Commissioner’s Executive Office to deliver smaller scale events, with the lead role flexing between the Visits and Events Officers, depending on workloads, and you will provide support for occasional internal staff events.

Resources managed (staff and expenditure):

The job holder will have no line management responsibilities, but will be responsible for tracking and accounting for spend.

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Essential qualifications, skills and experience

Previous experience in an events-orientated role
The ability and resilience to manage multiple projects concurrently, meet deadlines and keep stakeholders updated on progress throughout
Strong organizational skills
Strong communication skills and the confidence to work with a wide range of stakeholders
Ability to perform well and stay calm and measured under pressure
A proactive approach, and the ability to take initiative
A focus on continuous improvement of self and service, with an appetite to work with others to simplify processes and improve efficiency

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Desirable qualifications, skills and experience

Project management experience
Experience working for Government or for another Embassy/High Commission

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Required behaviours

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

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Application deadline

19 September 2024

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Grade

Executive Officer (EO)

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Type of Position

Fixed Term

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Working hours per week

36.5 hours

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Duration of Post

12 months

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Region

Africa

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Country/Territory

South Africa

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Location (City)

Pretoria

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Type of Post

British High Commission

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Number of vacancies

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Salary

R 380 918,20 (per annum)

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Start Date

1 November 2024

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End Date

30 November 2025

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Other benefits and conditions of employment

Learning and development opportunities (and any specific training courses to be completed):

The High Commission has an excellent personal development offer, and the job would suit a self-starter keen to take advantage of this. They will have the opportunity to develop their skills in events management and will have access to the FCDO’s online learning platform.

Working patterns:

This is a hands-on role, and you will be expected to be visible among your colleagues at the High Commission. This is a Pretoria based role, but you may be expected to work in Johannesburg and Cape Town on occasion and for specific events.

There will also be times when you need to work out of hours at a specific location – on occasion requiring overnight travel (for example during delivery of a visit programme). This will be managed carefully, and time-off-in-lieu will be provided when this is the case. Overtime can be paid when applicable. Expenses are covered in full for out-of-hours costs or travel.

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Additional information

Please complete the application form in full as the information provided is used during screening.
Please check your application carefully before you submit, as no changes can be made once submitted.
The British High Commission will never request any payment or fees to apply for a position.
Employees recruited locally by the British High Commission in Pretoria are subject to Terms and Conditions of Service according to local employment law in South Africa.
It is essential that the applicants already have the right to live and work in South Africa without the need to apply for a work permit.
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.
Information about the Civil Service Success Profiles can be found on this link: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/success-profiles. Please note: AA=A1, AO=A2, EO=B3, HEO=C4, SEO=C5
Reference checking and security clearances will be conducted on successful candidates.
Please log into your profile on the application system on a regular basis to review the status of your application.
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”.

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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 – Visits and Events Officer (38/24 PTA)

Pretoria

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