Latest Job Opportunities at Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office

Main purpose of job:

• Reporting to the Africa Cyber Programme Head of Programme, the Africa Cyber Programme  (ACP) Deputy Programme Manager will be responsible for supporting the ACP Head of Programme on the ACP programme in Ghana, Kenya, Nigeria and South Africa ( and possibly other African countries)– working with the implementing partners, regional Cyber Leads and Programme Management Committee in the UK. The post-holder will provide oversight of all ISF project and programme activities and contribute to stakeholder engagement in the public and private sectors to promote digital access and cyber security. The role presents unique opportunities to advance the UK- Africa relationship on digital access and cyber security for economic growth at a time when these issues are of increasing importance on the international agenda.
• The Deputy Programme Manager will lead on the design, development, and delivery of cyber related projects across Africa under the ISF Cyber Portfolio. The ACP is a major UK government investment that will contribute to the UK and FCDO’s vision of thriving, open digital societies powered by trusted technologies, with the UK leading efforts to uphold a free, open, peaceful, and secure cyberspace.
• The Africa Cyber Programme catalyses inclusive, affordable, safe, and secure digital access for underserved populations in Africa; promoting digital ecosystems that stimulate innovations for local development challenges and creating local skilled jobs.
• Programme Primary outcome: African countries to have increased resilience to cybersecurity threats and reduced impact of cyber harms on their populations.
• Secondary outcome: strengthened cybersecurity capacity ecosystems in Africa drives inclusive economic growth, opens trade and investment opportunities for UK cyber companies, and enhances UK cybersecurity relationship with Kenya, South Africa, Ghana and Nigeria.
• Programme activity is delivered through 4 major projects:
• Africa Joint Operation against Cybercrime (AFJOC)– delivered by Interpol
•  FIRST Africa Regional Liaison Initiative - delivered by Forum of Incident Response & Security Teams
•  ACP - a single contract with a prime supplier Torchlight Axiom Group
• Pan Africa Coordinator Liaison - delivered by Shadow server
• The job holder will also be required to understand the Cyber policy landscape in Africa , supporting the Cyber leads across priority countries, in monitoring and reporting on developments in these countries. The jobholder will need robust project management and coordination experience as well as the skills to work in a team and facilitate a results-oriented working culture. It is important that the post holder has good knowledge of the local context, including experience of working with the Government within Africa, civil society, business and other stakeholders, in relevant digital access and/or cyber security sectors.

The role will entail the following functions:

• Providing support, advice, guidance to the Programme Manager as a trusted advisor.
• Agreeing, articulating, and driving forward delivery of programme priorities, scoping and working with others to take forward new and cross-cutting initiatives.
• Working on engagement within the programmes on behalf of the Programme Manager and lead on an array of tasks, ensuring good communication and delivery.
• Being available for, and confident in giving direction, advice, and support to staff and contractors in lieu of the Programme Manager when absent or otherwise unavailable.
• Strengthen and maintain successful stakeholder relationships with a range of stakeholders at all levels, through consistent and honest engagement.

In this role you will also be responsible for:

• You will contribute to all aspects of programme and project management: finalising and managing contracts, managing implementers and key stakeholders, forecasting and accounting for spend, harvesting outcomes (for MEL), reporting to Portfolio governance and communicating with Ministers. You’ll have opportunities to shape the role according to your existing skills/interests and those you want to develop. You will have full support where you need it, as well as freedom to lead in defined areas.
• Specific responsibilities will include deputising for the Africa Cyber Programme Manager:
• Managing ACP contracts for major projects in the African region. You will delegate some project/contract management tasks to team members as appropriate
• Overseeing programme finances, ensuring we meet targets for responsible ODA spending and Value for Money
• Contributing to robust programme governance, e.g. by actively monitoring risks and opportunities, collating accurate progress updates, and ensuring compliance with programme management best practice
• Overseeing evaluation of programme activity, in line with ISF best practice and aligned to the ISF Cyber Portfolio
• Managing programme communications, both within the FCDO (to Ministers, senior leaders), cross-UK government and externally
• Participating in broader ISF activity, especially in Africa, to help other programmes to use cyber, digital, data and tech security to achieve further cyber and non-cyber objectives
• Overseeing programme compliance with human rights standards and the International Development Gender Equality Act (2014) by demonstrating consideration for gender equality throughout CSSF programmes, and supporting CSSF ambitions to achieve the UK’s Women, Peace and Security objectives;
• As with all ISF roles overseas and located in a Post, you will be expected to devote a certain amount of time to corporate duties.

Programme coordination and management:

• Manage the delivery of ACP implementation activities in Africa as delivered in-house as well as by lead contractors and other implementing partners, in coordination with the African Cyber Lead and with the central Programme Management Committee, ensuring coherence with bilateral and wider ACP portfolio. This will require an ability to apply project coordination, monitoring, risk management and stakeholder engagement skills.
• The jobholder will maintain and build new relationships with the programme’s global contractors, and their local implementing partners and local supply chain to ensure delivery is monitored in coordination with the central Programme Management Committee. This will include pre-empting risks and ensuring that project activities deliver the expected outcomes.

Programme governance and assurance:

• Support effective governance and decision making in collaboration with the Programme Manager
• Engage with assurance reviews and support action on recommendations. Organise assurance processes such as annual reviews, as required. 
• The post-holder will be expected to join key meetings and record outcomes, remotely where required, and provide regular updates on the progress of the CSSF(ISF) Cyber Portfolio in Africa as delegated by the Programme Manager

Influence and communication:

• The jobholder will lead on the internal and external communication on the programme in Africa, helping to ensure the Programme’s visibility is properly managed and that the UK government gains recognition for its work.
• The post holder will support implementation of the Programme’s communications strategy as approved by the Programme’s governance structure.
• The post-holder will also support the organisation and delivery of key visits from the UK, related to the implementation and promotion of the ACP
• Work closely with partners and MoJ business areas to align priorities and identify and deliver mutual benefits from the Digital Records Roadmap.  
• Identify opportunities to accelerate progress and achieve objectives, articulate these clearly and coherently in writing and be able to discuss and present ideas and updates to stakeholders from various backgrounds, including senior management .  
• Effectively conveying important and complex messages clearly and understandably in verbal and written communications. 

Leadership:

• Actively encourage contributions, involvement and feedback from the Team and stakeholders, using their feedback and insight to drive changes and or improvements to the programme. 

Policy:

• The job holder will support the African Cyber lead in monitoring policy developments for Cyber, digital and data themes, developing relationships with key stakeholders in the public and private sector to provide an accurate understanding of the landscape. The job holder will support visits/delegations from UK government officials and technology sector partners when necessary and be involved in arranging logistics for formal bilateral dialogues.

Corporate:

• As all other staff at post, the job holder is expected to participate in wider British High Commission activities. These may include being active on various committees and in other corporate roles, as well as play a role in crisis management activities on an ad hoc basis.

Essential qualifications, skills and experience  

• Postgraduate qualification in at least one of the following field: Cyber security, ICT Policy and Regulation, public policy management, development studies, programme management or related field 
• Programme/project delivery skills: particularly complex, agile programmes/projects that translate policy into practical impact
• Experience influencing and collaborating with international delivery partners (e.g. NGOs, consultancies); external stakeholders in commercial, non-profit and public sectors; and other departments across HMG
• Understanding of Official Development Assistance (ODA)
• Experience/understanding of, or interest in, cyber, digital, data or technology policy
• Experience/understanding of, or interest in Africa region
• Developing and applying tools to support effective project management as well as delivery control of implementing partners
• Experience of developing and executing implementation plans, including linking programme theory of change statements to logical frameworks for projects
• Experience of applying project coordination, monitoring, risk management and stakeholder engagement skills

Desirable qualifications, skills and experience  

• Experience of working in an international development context, including managing/working with development programmes in Africa
• Experience of working in or with governments in Africa
• Experience of working with the private sector or organised civil society in relevant fields (e.g. use of digital for affordable connectivity, use of digital for development)
• Experience at policy, regulatory as well as field level will be considered relevant
• Experience of remote working as part of a larger team

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Main purpose of job:

• The Regional Recruitment Officer is responsible for the management of the end-to-end recruitment process of vacancies advertised in the Africa Network, and deliver services successfully as per agreed targets

Roles and responsibilities:

• Provide guidance and support to Hiring Managers and candidates throughout the recruitment process to ensure a successful recruitment campaign
• Working with other stakeholders during the recruitment process i.e. the post security manager and local HR at posts
• Provide candidates with support where needed during the selection and appointment process
• Create job adverts on an automated recruitment tracking system
• Screen applications according to the criteria agreed with the hiring manager 
• Schedule interviews with candidates selected by the hiring manager
• Draft job offers and letters of appointment
• Facilitate the security clearance process by conducting pre-employment checks and gathering the relevant documents for the security clearance
• Manage recruitment records and recruitment tools
• Perform other recruitment-related duties
• General HR administration
• Other ad-hoc HR projects and initiatives
• The FCDO operates an agile workforce. To facilitate this, you may be required to undertake other duties from time to time as we may reasonably require

Essential qualifications, skills and experience  

• Clear and positive communication with a wide range of customers
• Strong customer focus skills, to build and maintain professional working relationships at all levels
• 2 - 3 Years working in a customer orientated environment
• 2 Years full cycle recruitment experience  
• 1 - 2 Years experience using recruitment software
• 1 - 2 Years experience in general HR administration

Desirable qualifications, skills and experience  

• HR Qualification or equivalent
• French language proficiency (Highly beneficial)

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Main purpose of job:

• The Department for Business and Trade (DBT) is the Trade Promotion and Negotiation Organisation for the UK, and DBT Africa is one of nine (9) DBT global networks, led by His Majesty’s Trade Commissioner for Africa John Humphrey (HMTC).
• Business events drive interactions and serve as a catalyst for deal origination, spotlighting and promoting not just UK DBT’s service offer but the ‘Best of Britain’ internationally. As a medium, it has become increasingly important for meeting and delivering on key strategic objectives for businesses and governments.
• The post holder will be responsible for DBT Africa’s approach to event management, with a primary focus on external facing sector events. They will oversee the day to day running of the events unit, manage the Africa network’s forward look calendar and coordinate cross-functional teams and 3rd party agencies to support the preparation for and delivery of trade events. The post holder will ensure standards and high quality of execution to reflect the high quality of the UK business offer. They will work closely with other DBT colleagues on budgeting and personally negotiating with external providers and sponsors to ensure value for money.
• The candidate will need to maintain a system of internal governance, ensure compliance with financial processes, anticipate and mitigate risk and undertake regular reviews of events to ensure resources are being deployed in an effective and efficient manner.

Roles and responsibilities:

The role

• The role will combine marketing, communications and events knowledge and experience with strong project management, leadership and people management skills. The role will report into the Head of Marketing and Communications based in Johannesburg.
• You will be a key part of the DBT team, and you will work directly with Sector Directors, Private Offices of Ministers, Heads of Missions and DBT Events HQ to ensure DBT Africa’s business priorities are integrated into identified priority events.
• The Events division is a very small unit with a large remit and responsibility. The successful candidate will need to be a dynamic leader with good communication skills, quick thinking, forward looking, flexible and resilient. The role requires travel within Africa and to the UK.

Your primary objectives will be:

• Lead DBT Africa’s Event team:  You will lead and manage our Events Unit consisting of one events supports officer based in Johannesburg in addition to the post holder, overseeing the workflow of the events team and support employees with key external facing events to help deliver best in class events – these range from trade shows, business roundtables, trade missions and DBT Africa’s inputs into specific wider HMG events such as the UK-African Investment Summit 2024.
• You will collaborate closely with HQ teams, including the Ministerial Visits and Trade Envoys teams to compile the forward look, communicate DBT Africa activities to HQ teams and ensure that the network is making the most of VIP level engagement.
• You will work closely with DBT Africa Sector Directors to jointly develop plans to deliver the events element of sector campaigns and achieve desired impact e.g., participant needs analysis to ensure event relevance and value.
• You will advise and guide teams and the wider network on factors that will impact event outcomes such as quality, effectiveness, budget, risks etc. You will be responsible for maintaining the DBT Africa forward look and using it as a tool to monitor, review and guide events activity across the Network to ensure that only planned events with clear, measurable outcomes take place.
• You will ensure standards and quality of execution as well as ensuring value for money by establishing and leading the evaluation of all events ensuring continuous improvement of the Network’s events and engagement.
•  You will negotiate participation packages on behalf of the trade teams, identify opportunities for event related revenue, sponsorship, partnerships, products, services, etc. to ensure maximum return on spend.

Resources managed (staff and expenditure):

• 1-2 staff members

Essential qualifications, skills and experience  

• Postgraduate degree and/or undergraduate degree is essential.
• A minimum of 4yrs of professional experience, with at least 2 years of marketing experience organising diverse events in a B2B, G2B and/or G2G environment.
• Experience of working in organisations with a matrix management structure and/or in a dispersed network
• Excellent verbal and written communication skills
• Strategic thinker with proven track record of problem solving and innovative and creative initiatives.
• Experience negotiating and working directly with 3rd party agencies, suppliers, and vendors.
• High level of organizational and project management skills with the ability to manage multiple collaborators, stakeholders, and concurrent programs in a dynamic, fast-paced environment.
• Demonstrated success in increasing process efficiencies and optimizing resource.

Desirable qualifications, skills and experience  

• Ability to lead, facilitate, motivate, and organize across different cultures, religions, and geographies
• A solid understanding of collection, analysis, and interpretation or data

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Main purpose of job:

• The Regional Payroll Officer will be responsible for processing and auditing payrolls and related payments for locally employed staff working at British High Commissions/Embassies in across Africa.

Roles and responsibilities:

PAYROLL ADMINISTRATION

• Responsible for collating, capturing, processing and updating the payroll for an allocated section of Country Based Staff in the Africa network.
• Ensure efficient processing of annual pay awards, 13th salary payments and benefit calculations.
• Produce regular and ad hoc payroll reports for the HR Hub team and Posts.
• Trouble shoot any payroll related query or issue, working closely with relevant employees or Posts involved.
• Maintain filing systems for each pay period according to local and FCDO requirements.

PAYROLL SERVICE DELIVERY

• Along with the Payroll Manager, administer payrolls for all posts to ensure all payments are accurately paid on time, and keeping all stakeholder accountable to timelines.
• Review and document payroll procedures, advising both staff and managers when needed.
• Take initiative to identify any areas for improving or automating the payroll processes in collaboration with the Regional Payroll Manager.
• Interpret HR policies and procedures and apply them to payroll, where applicable.
• Provide support and quality assurance in all CBS pay related projects.

PAY AND BENEFITS ENQUIRES

• Answer all pay and benefits enquiries from internal and external stakeholders.
• Respond to payroll related issues raised by Country Based Staff.

TEAM ADMINISTRATION

• Participate as an active team member and take on any ad hoc HR team projects as appropriate.
• Support HR Hub Management with effective delivery of all pay related matters and other reasonably requested assignments.

GENERAL HR

• Maintain individual staff files for Country Based Staff.
• The FCDO operates an agile workforce. To facilitate this, you may be required to undertake other duties from time to time as we may reasonably require
• Essential qualifications, skills and experience  
• Two to three years relevant HR, payroll and/or compensation experience
• Proficiency in VIP, Pastel (SAGE) Payroll or PayDay payroll software
• Exceptional attention to detail and accuracy
• Excellent oral and written communication skills, as well as organisational skills
• Outstanding interpersonal and communication skills, with the ability to work with people at all levels of seniority in a fast-paced environment
• Must be able to work independently as well as part of a team
• Proficient in all MS Office applications, specifically Word and Excel
• High proficiency in written and spoken English
• French and/or Portuguese will be an added advantage 

Desirable qualifications, skills and experience  

• Experience in Management Information Reporting

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Main purpose of job:

• To disrupt the flow of illegal migration to the United Kingdom and identify and disrupt the activity of the organised crime groups behind it. This will be achieved by supporting the delivery of capacity building programming across Southern and Eastern Africa.
• Responsibility for the financial management a GBP 2 million budget including ensuring all spend is captured in a timely and accurate manner and that procurement is in line with FCDO and Home Office guidance.
• The role will report directly to the Regional Manager in Pretoria who will maintain overall accountability for this budget.
• Complete monthly reporting on training and outcomes for the HOIO board, highlighting risks to delivery and identifying mitigations put in place to manage these risks.
• Actively oversee the HOIO budget throughout the year, by providing forecasts and monthly reviews of spending. Highlighting underspend or potential overspend as soon as practicable to the budget holder.
• Draft quarterly reporting on programmes and activity highlighting relevant information for programme board.
• Work closely with HMG partners at post, host authorities and international partners to support the delivery of programmes across the region.
• The role necessitates travel for liaison, training, site visits and meetings.
• Due to the nature of the job the role necessitates the management of very challenging workloads, delivering at pace and flexibility in support of business aims. Due to this additional roles and responsibilities by be required.

Roles and responsibilities:

What we do:

• Home Office - International Operations (HOIO) operates to prevent illegal immigration and disrupt the organised immigration crime groups behind it, supporting both the Immigration Enforcement mission and the Home Office purpose. We have staff deployed to approximately 53 locations across the world.

We deliver this by:

• Providing intelligence support to the visa operation, supporting VSI to take an increasingly global approach to risk streaming built on the analysis of objective data and enhanced with local risk indicators
• Working with carriers around the world to reduce the threat of inadequately documented arrivals (IDAs) reaching the UK by air
• Developing intelligence packages related to the visa or air threat for subsequent criminal investigations and prosecutions

What we want from you?

• The successful candidate needs to have excellent people skills that they can use strategically to build relationships with key partners to assist Home Office-International Operations (HOIO) in delivering capacity building projects across Southern and Eastern Africa.
• Face to face work is a fundamental part of the job, so the successful candidate should be prepared to do some public speaking in front of HMG Partners, International Partners, and host government agencies.
• The successful candidate need be able to manage very challenging workloads, deliver at pace and be flexible in support of business aims. Once up to speed in the role the successful candidate should be able to work towards objectives with minimal supervision.
• The role necessitates travel for liaison, training, site visits and meetings. As we are delivering the project across five countries some overnight stays will be required. The role also requires working unsociable hours including some weekend working.
• Working for HOIO is amazing, as much as for the development opportunities it offers as the actual experience of delivering our objectives which can be hugely satisfying.

Resources managed (staff and expenditure):

• Responsibility for the financial management a GBP 2 million budget including ensuring all spend is captured in a timely and accurate manner and that procurement is in line with FCDO and Home Office guidance.
• Actively oversee the HOIO budget throughout the year, by providing forecasts and monthly reviews of spending. Highlighting underspend or potential overspend as soon as practicable to the budget holder.

Essential qualifications, skills and experience  

• A UK (or other M5; USA, Australia, New Zealand or Canada) passport holder
• Programme management experience including an understanding of the Importance of articulating benefit realisation
• Strong interpersonal and verbal communication skills
• A high level of written and spoken English with the ability to write high quality reports
• Strong organisational and time management skill
• An ability to work under pressure with minimal supervision is essential
• Previous immigration, law enforcement and/or analytical or investigation experience would be an advantage

Desirable qualifications, skills and experience  

• Experience in Microsoft Office Systems (Teams), Excel, Word and be adaptable to change and use new systems as they come on board

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Main purpose of job:

• The Foreign Commonwealth & Development Office (FCDO) has a Regional Corporate Services Hub (RCSH) based in Pretoria, providing Finance, Human Resources, and Procurement services to 44 High Commissions, British Embassies and Consulates in 39 countries in the Africa region.  The HR Hub is an integral part of the global HR team serving staff working in the overseas network for the UK Government. The role of the HR Hub is to be a strategic partner to Senior Leaders at Post and deliver CBS HR services (i.e. recruitment, pay and reward, HR advisory) for over 2500 CBS in FCDO and PAG-funded positions. 
• The Recruitment and Communication Advisor role is responsible for the delivery of key HR Hub communication and recruitment improvement services and processes that support the HR management of CBS at British High Commissions, Embassies and other Offices located in the region. The role reports to the Deputy Head of the HR Hub - Recruitment and Communication and will deliver through their HR Hub recruitment team, working closely with the HR Hubs Recruitment Group, HR Policy leads, and other stakeholders to develop and manage recruitment policies and processes, which are globally consistent and locally appropriate. The role is responsible for: (1) contributing to the development and implementation of recruitment improvement plans and processes, as well as monitoring the performance of the recruitment software for the HR Hub; and (2) supporting the delivery of timeous and effective communication to the HR Hub’s stakeholders in the Africa network.
• Responsibilities that would be covered in HR Hub Comms role.

Roles and responsibilities 

Recruitment/JEGS Reviews

• Deliver improvement on the recruitment function of the HR Hub to increase customer and stakeholder satisfaction through global/regional HR Hub plans and follow up on feedback from customers/stakeholders (e.g. via Overseas Platform Users Survey, OPUS; emails to the HR Hub, etc).
• Improve the recruitment service offered by the HR Hub to our stakeholders by obtaining feedback on a regular basis, doing research on recruitment advertising mediums, and other methods available to gain insight into the service provided by Recruitment
• Manage and improve the recruitment Application Tracking System (ATS), Oleeo by attending relevant meetings and training session with Oleeo, seek feedback from recruiters in the HR Hub Africa and other HR Hubs globally, and agree any changes with all the HR Hubs before implementation. Communicate changes on the ATS to all relevant stakeholders when available Inform the recruitment team of any new tools available on the ATS
• Contribute to improve delivery of effective management information on the recruitment software of HR indicators for the team and contribute to delivery of the Regional Hub, Service Level Agreement with Posts
• Keep professional knowledge up-to date, following trends, ideas and innovations occurring within the HR Recruitment sphere, to ensure services standards are met and a culture of improvement grows within the HR Hub
• Perform light touch JEGS reviews and provide professional and expert advice on Job grading/evaluation reviews (JEGS) under the central guidance
• Assist other HR Hubs with light touch JEGS reviews when required or if a second option is required for the review
• Contribute on development of regional HR Recruitment policies and processes which are agreed with other HR Hubs and is globally consistent
• Contribute to the HR Hub business continuity planning and arrangements 
• Take part in the British High Commission emergency planning and any response to a crisis situation. 

HR Hub Communication

Support the delivery of the HR Hub Communication to the region including but not limited to.

• Quarterly Hub Highlights and HR Hub bulletins
• HR Hub Africa intranet page
• Intro calls as RCSH with new HoMs/DHMs; this may have follow up items, e.g. post dashboard.
• Quarterly calls with CSMs/HR to inform Post of any HR developments or changes (policies, procedures, processes) and respond to feedback/emerging issues on CBS HR related matters.   
• HR Hub/Post sessions to promote communication and engagement on post-specific issues and relevant HR Hub support.
• Regional CBS HR workshops (e.g. annually at a Post)
• Post visits (by the Hub), Hub visits (by Post)
• Manage mailbox auto-replies, e.g. SLAs, launch of/signposting for Hera, etc.
• Support internal HR Hub communication and relevant tools, e.g. Teams site for calendars, events, contacts, etc.
• Communicate / send quick blurbs, e.g. if a system is down (e.g. Oleeo, etc); UKinSA Weekly Digest, etc.
• Collaboration with HRD (e.g. CBS Policy, Hera, etc) on any updates for Around the World.

The above will be achieved through:

• Communication through diverse formats, reaching out proactively to stakeholders to engage and share CBS HR information.
• Participating in collaboration / learning / skill-building opportunities related to communication and recruitment, and implementing and transferring knowledge to Hub colleagues and regional stakeholders
• Supporting the HR Hub to enable Posts to meet their priorities

Essential qualifications, skills and experience  

• 3-5 years HR generalist and experience delivering HR from a shared services environment across multiple countries or sites
• Experience in Management Information & Reporting 
• Excellent collaboration and team leadership skills 
• Outstanding interpersonal skills: ability to work with people at all levels of seniority in an international environment and within a fast paced, results oriented organisation
• Excellent IT skills in Word, Outlook, Excel, PowerPoint 

Desirable qualifications, skills and experience  

• Able to adapt to a quick changing and evolving policy framework and present solutions in an autonomous and efficient manner 
• Articulate, level-headed with very good customer service orientation
• This role is likely to require some regional travel, a valid passport is therefore essential