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Työnimike: Political Officer

Työnkuvaus:
The British Embassy in Helsinki is part of a worldwide network representing British political, economic and consular interests overseas and is now looking for a Political Officer.

The Political Officer works in the Political and Press team to deliver British government objectives in the following areas: education policy (from school age to post-graduate level), youth engagement and helping to develop the bilateral relationship between the UK and Finland through the delivery of a range of bilateral engagement projects.

Roles and responsibilities:

To deliver the job successfully, the Political Officer needs to have a solid grasp of their policy areas and the ability to develop and make good use of an effective network of contacts in politics, government, academia and civil society. This includes lobbying in support of UK positions, sometimes with senior contacts.

Flexibility and ability to work under pressure are key to dealing with tasking (including on new and unfamiliar issues) that may arise unexpectedly, at short notice and against tight deadlines. The Political Officer works closely with colleagues across the Embassy and the British government's Nordic Baltic Network, and includes working on VIP visits, specific projects, as well as delivering public diplomacy events and outreach.

The Political Officer provides absence cover for other colleagues, including the Embassy Communication Officer; this involves producing a daily press summary and digital/social media tasks.

Main Duties and Responsibilities:

- Develop a deep understanding of the education system in Finland, including the school, university and research sectors;
- Maintain effective cooperation between the UK and Finland on education matters and ensure a positive and constructive engagement on UK priorities. Responding to relevant tasking from London and encouraging links between UK and Finnish experts, policy leads and organisations;
- Support delivery of specific Embassy projects designed to develop bilateral engagement with Finland across a range of areas, such as alumni and youth engagement, Chevening Scholarships and education promotion activities including through: drafting funding application bids; implementing/delivering existing projects through oversight of project spend and arranging relevant logistics; and evaluating outcomes;
- Support the bilateral engagement lead on enhancing and strengthening the UK/Finland bilateral relationship and maintaining the position of the UK as a "natural partner" through people to people links including culture and outreach by arranging regional visit programmes; drafting funding application bids; implementing/delivering existing projects through oversight of project spend and arranging relevant logistics; and evaluating outcomes;
- Give resilience to the Team by providing absence cover, including for the Communication Officer, involving the production of a daily summary of the Finnish media landscape by 10:30, updating Embassy social and digital and media channels and providing reporting to London customers on topical issues;
- Support wider Embassy and Foreign Ministry corporate objectives, e.g. crisis management preparedness, well-being of staff, and whole of Embassy outreach and public diplomacy activities, including visits and diplomatic hospitality.

Essential qualifications, skills and experience:
- Strong communication skills, both written and oral, in Finnish and English;
- Confidence to build and engage an effective network of contacts;
- Attention to detail, strong organisational and time management skills, including the ability to prioritise;
- Flexible, resilient under pressure, and decisive, with the ability to deliver quickly and to a high standard;
- Strong IT skills, knowledge and experience of using social media, including Facebook and Twitter;
- A collaborative approach to team working;
- Demonstrable knowledge or prior experience of international affairs/diplomacy or the education sector;
- Understanding of current affairs/political environment/foreign policy;

Desirable qualifications, skills and experience:
- Swedish language, oral and written would be desirable;
- Good knowledge of Finnish political affairs and the landscape;
- An understanding of UK culture and a desire and interest in learning more about UK politics, including education policy;
- Knowledge of Project Management would be desirable;
- Knowledge of creating social media and website content;

Other benefits and conditions of employment:
  
This is a full-time, fixed-term position of 36.25 hours per week. Contract of 1 year with the possibility of renewal of 1 year. Working hours are Monday - Friday (9.00- 16.45). Occasional out of hours work will be required to cover receptions or visits, for which time off in lieu will be given.

The annual leave enabstractJV_titlement is 20 days, increasing to 25 days after one year's service. The Embassy pays an annual holiday bonus. Embassy employees are enabstractJV_titled to a private medical scheme for basic healthcare services and to use the Embassy's recreational facilities.

The appointment is subject to security clearance and the successful completion of a probationary period.

All applicants should have the right to live and work in Finland. The British Embassy does not sponsor for work permits.

Staff recruited locally by the British Embassy in Finland are subject to Terms and Conditions of Service according to local Finnish employment law and FCO guidance for Local Staff.

Learning and development opportunities: The British Embassy offers a range of learning and development opportunities - on the job training, e-learning, job shadowing, and could include visits to London for more substantial training courses.

There is also the opportunity to be involved with the wider work of the Embassy, taking part in change management, business continuity and crisis management planning.

Additional information:
 
Please note that the deadline for applications is 23:55 on 17 August 2018. 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.

numberOfPosts: 1

jobCategoriesCodes_0: http://data.europa.eu/esco/isco/C2422

positionTypeCode: temporary

Työnantajan nimi: British Embassy

source: TIVA