Consular Officer -Marmaris

British Consulate General İstanbul

The Consular team in Turkey, consisting of seven Posts in Ankara, Istanbul, Antalya, Izmir, Marmaris, Bodrum and Fethiye, is part of the wider Europe South region and also part of a world-wide network representing British political, economic and consular interests overseas. It is now seeking to recruit a Consular Officer in Marmaris. 

Overview of the role:

The Consular Officer role will include a regional remit, with remote working to help support the wider Turkish Consular Network of our six other posts and on occasion other posts in the Europe South Consular Network.

The role-holder will be an independent, dynamic and detail oriented individual with prior experience in customer service. The jobholder will play a key role in providing modern and efficient consular assistance and services to British nationals. There is no public consular office in Marmaris. The job will require working from home in general and regular face to face meetings with line manager and/or team at agreed locations for training, team building and practical reasons as required.

The job holder will deliver:

Assistance

• Providing a high level of consular assistance and support to British nationals in a wide range of circumstances including hospitalisations, death, arrest, rape and sexual assault, missing persons, child custody and financial difficulties;
• Carrying out vulnerability assessments and providing corresponding assistance to vulnerable British nationals;
• Liaison with local contacts such as hospitals, law enforcement authorities; courts, prisons, tour operators as well as other key stakeholders, such as charities and support organisations in order to provide assistance to British nationals;
• Handling correspondence, telephone enquiries;
• Managing expectations of British nationals to what assistance they can expect according to circumstances; signposting of British nationals to the relevant information sources and creating awareness of their own responsibility; 
• Some travel and out-of-hours work may be required to assist extremely vulnerable British nationals.
  

Administration       

• Travel to and support Fethiye office with printing and issuing Emergency Travel Documents during busy times as required;
• Updating and maintaining the consular content on GOV.UK, in regards to service provider lists (lawyers, translators, funeral directors etc.);
• Performing other administrative duties as required.

Outreach and Prevention

• To develop and maintain a network of contacts with relevance for consular assistance and crisis related work, e.g. local authorities, British community groups and other stakeholders where necessary;
• To help organise outreach events and participate at other stakeholder events;
• To assist the consular network with the Prevention and Partnerships plan;
• To help identify and implement network/country specific prevention campaigns to change British behaviour abroad.

Crisis

• Take part in Turkey wide crisis preparedness efforts and activities, e.g. table tops & semi live exercises, crisis hub training and crisis meetings;
• Deploying to support British nationals who have been involved in a large scale incident or crisis;
• Assisting in preparation and response to large-scale events.

Corporate

• Participate in relevant corporate structures 1) as part of corporate responsibilities and 2) as part of personal development;
• To undertake other duties that may reasonably be required and which are in accordance with the grading and core competencies of the job;
• Having a sound awareness of the Consular Strategy and work in accordance with the principles set out within the strategy;
• Expectation to contribute to working and best practice groups.

Essential qualifications, skills and experience:

The ideal candidate will:

• Demonstrate proficiency in written and spoken English and Turkish (C1 level according to the Common European Framework of Reference for Languages)
• Have previous experience in a customer facing role and the ability to respond to a wide range of customer needs
• Possess adaptability and a positive mind-set towards change and working as part of a wider team
• Have good communication, interpersonal and team working skills
• Be self-motivated and able to work effectively and proactively without close supervision
• Be flexible, resilient, patient and have the ability to confidentially deal with difficult situations, including out of hours and in an emergency or crisis
• Possess the ability to display a high level of discretion and responsibility
• Have excellent organisational and time management skills
• Have excellent telephone manner and communication skills
• Demonstrate proficient IT skills, particularly in MS Office 365 applications
• Be based in Marmaris.

Desirable qualifications, skills and experience:

It will be a plus:

• Experience in a similar role or with international/diplomatic missions.
• Prior experience working with British Nationals.
• Knowledge of the Turkish administrative, justice and legal systems and social services.
• To have a good understanding of local procedures/authorities for foreign nationals

Required behaviours: Making Effective Decisions, Managing a Quality Service, Delivering at Pace, Working Together

Application deadline: 4 April 2024

Grade: Administrative Officer (AO)

Type of Position: Full-time, Permanent

Working hours per week: 36.25 

Location (City): Marmaris

Number of vacancies: 1

Salary: 1,750 USD gross

Start Date: 1 June 2024

Other benefits and conditions of employment:

• This is a full-time, permanent contract for 5 working days (36.25 hours net) per week.
• The monthly salary for this position is 1,750 USD gross, paid in 12 instalments, grade AO. Please note that staff members are responsible for paying any income tax required by local law.
• All applicants should have the right to live and work in Turkiye. The British Consulate does not sponsor for work permits.
• The successful candidate will be subject to professional background check, security clearance and a probation period of 2 months.
• Staff recruited locally by the British Consulate General in Istanbul are subject to Terms and Conditions of Service according to local Turkish employment law.
• Please note that the salaries paid to staff who are exempt from income tax in Turkiye and to those who have already retired from SGK will differ from the salary advertised for the role. Further details can be provided by the local HR team.

Learning and development opportunities:

Consular Pathway – (Consular Mandatory Training Modules) Full suite of Consular training courses.

Specific local Post requirement:

It is important to note that the consular role is very demanding and will entail dealing with casework in situations that may involve hospitalisation, death, detention, rape and sexual assault and prison visits. You will be required to deal face to face with highly distressed British nationals who may be in shock, grieving and in a crisis situation. Candidates should therefore have a high level of resilience to trauma.