View Vacancy – BK – Honorary Consul (Koh Samui, Thailand)

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, 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.

Job Category: Foreign and Commonwealth Office (Consular Roles)

Job Subcategory: Consular

Job Description (Roles and Responsibilities):

Honorary Consuls are volunteers who provide a valuable service offering emergency Consular assistance to people who find themselves in difficulty overseas. The FCO Consular Strategy 2016-2020 [add link] outlines our mandate to provide professional and tailored assistance to British Nationals when they most need our help, including in times of crisis.

Honorary Consuls are generally people of good standing in the local community and ideally have a strong network of local contacts and preferably, although not essentially, a British national.

The job holder will work closely with the busy Consular team in Bangkok, providing friendly and efficient emergency consular assistance in Koh Samui and its surrounding area as necessary.

This is a voluntary position with no salary attached; however an Honorarium payment will be awarded every financial year. An Honorary Consul should work on average no more than 4 hours per week.

The successful jobholder will be supervised by the British Embassy in Bangkok who may ask the jobholder to assist with the following:

• Offer assistance in consular emergencies such as visiting British Nationals in hospital following illness, assault or accident, or in detention following their arrest.
• Respond immediately to a large scale incident (e.g. road/air/rail/boat accident, serious fire, and natural disaster) by seeking information from local authorities about any British casualties, and establishing the scale of the situation and then reporting back to the Embassy.
• In the case of the death of a British National, you may be asked to provide assistance to family members.
• Build and maintain good working relationships with key local contacts such as hospitals, courts, local police and tourist police, airports, social services, prisons, voluntary organizations etc.
• On behalf of the Embassy, help with the organisation of visits to Koh Samui, especially when the HMA, British Embassy staff, and British delegations’ visit the area.
• Speak on behalf of the British Embassy Bangkok when requested to do so.
• Solve problems creatively and promptly within FCO Consular policy guidance

Essential qualifications, skills and experience

• Fluent spoken and writen English is essential
• Strong communication skills, including the ability to deliver difficult messages with empathy
• Presentation Skills; ability to speak on behalf of the British Embassy Bangkok when requested to do so
• Excellent customer service skills and ability to work in a multitude of working environments
• A passion for helping people in distress
• Good prioritisation skills
• Competent user of IT packages, including Microsoft Office
• Good local knowledge of Koh Samui and the region
• Good knowledge of Thai local authorities

Desirable qualifications, skills and experience

• Experience of working with distressed people
• Knowledge of spoken Thai would be beneficial

Required competencies

Changing and Improving, Making Effective Decisions, Leading and Communicating, Collaborating and Partnering, Managing a Quality Service, Delivering at Pace

Application deadline

14 January 2018

Type of Position

Fixed Term

Working hours per week

average of 4 hours work a week

Duration of Post

24 months

Region

Asia Pacific

Country/Territory

Thailand

Location (City)

Bangkok

Type of Post

British Embassy

Number of vacancies

1

Starting yearly salary (GBP)

Honorarium

Start Date

26 February 2018

End Date

25 February 2020

Other benefits and conditions of employment

The jobholder will be expected to complete a series of training packages, including some classroom-based workshops/ conferences.

An induction checklist will need to be completed within a month of appointment.

Please note that some volunteering is considered ‘work’ in Thailand, so a work permit/visa may be required.

The appointment is subject to successful clearance of pre-employment and security checks. Staff who are locally recruited by the British Embassy are subject to Terms and Conditions of Service according to local employment law.

No accommodation or relocation expenses are payable in connection with this position. You must have or be able to obtain work authorisation in Thailand in order to apply. Any costs related to obtaining or renewing permits and visas are the responsibility of the successful applicant.

Additional information

All applications must be received before 23:55 on 14 January 2018

Please send your cover letter and current CV to thailand.recruitment@fco.gov.uk. We regret to advise that we will only be contacting short-listed candidates. Applicants called for an interview will be assessed on the core competencies listed above.

Interviews for this position are targeted to commence on 25 and 26 of January 2018.

 

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