Vacancies at Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office

Responsibilities include:

Delivery:  

• Working with the Head of the Africa International Markets Team, you will support the running of the Africa Enquiry Hub which essentially manages directs and triages all SME enquiries for Africa to the International Market advisors throughout Africa.
• You will provide overall governance and oversight for the operational effectiveness of the ESS-IM Africa Hub, driving continual improvement of the service. Improvements and oversight will come from ensuring the people, process and tools available to the ESS-IM Africa team are effective, for example managing the Operations Officer, to planning on staffing and recruitment linked to changes in enquiry volumes.

Strategy:

• You will provide operational assessments (essentially what are the key growth countries and sectors within Africa) into the team’s strategy, working with colleagues in ESS-IM UK team to ensure ESS-IM Africa’s support for UK SMEs contributes to growing UK exports to the region.
• Leading the Africa operations hub team to ensure the hub provides actionable intelligence in support of decision making in the HMTC Africa team and for the ESS-IM service.

Leadership:

• You will manage one member of the hub team, while leading the approach to triage, data management, performance and reporting.
• You will promote the profile of the ESS-IM team within the Africa network by communicating the hub team’s work and demonstrate potential opportunities for collaboration on shared objectives.

Communications & Insight:  

• Promoting ESS-IM internally, such as through secretariat of the ESS-IM Africa and UK working group, and identifying opportunities to boost client referrals to ESS-IM Africa, using  communicating the hub’s operational data to meet its engagement objectives.
• Act as an advocate for the ESS-IM Africa team externally and internally where needed

Resources managed (staff and expenditure):

• 1x A2

Essential qualifications, skills and experience 1 

• Experience of working in a commercial, business-focused team to deliver value for money outcomes
• Line management experience or task management experience
• At least three years’ experience working in trade and investment
• Experience managing a team working remotely
• Fluent in written and verbal English 

Desirable qualifications, skills and experience 1 

• Experience of operational delivery in triaging and allocating staff to work schedules
• Experience and/or understanding of DBT Africa’s priorities and activities
• Experience of working with UK SMEs to enter African markets
• Experience working in an international organisation

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Roles and responsibilities:

• Act as HR Hub lead for allocated Missions/Posts in the region on all HR advisory related tasks.
• Engage with a wide network of internal and external contacts to understand and keep up to date with workforce regulations, HR policy compliance and related issues across the region.
• Liaise with colleagues and legal advisers in diplomatic missions to ensure CBS Handbooks (ie terms and conditions), policies and procedures are consistent with local employment law and practices.
• Liaise with CBS Policy leads, HR Direct UK and other HR Hubs on CBS HR related matters to ensure consistency and best practice is constantly applied. Support where required on HR projects and actively contribute in providing feedback on the development of new/amended CBS HR policies.
• Advise and share best practices to Posts on CBS Handbook reviews, disciplinary matters, Bullying Harassment and Discrimination (BHD), managing poor performance, grievances, and other HR practices.
• Manage complex CBS HR casework by providing expert advice to Post management,  guiding decision-making, and supporting on policy, procedural and local employment compliance.
• Manage CBS HR Advisory database in the HR Hub for country and network and  ensure accurate collation and continuous updates of information and quality checks.
• Support the CBS HR enquiries function including monthly reporting and analysis of key trends/issues to ensure high standards of customer service and in alignment with the regionalisation model and defined SLAs.
• Support on activities related to Hera CBS HR/HR Hub Management (ie FCDO HR and Finance management system). Liaise with the Hera team on updates and improvement areas for Hera administration in the HR Hubs.
• Manage delivery of regional CBS HR processes (exit interviews, probation, fixed term processes) in alignment with FCDO guidance and policies.
• Support and monitor appraisal/review cycles with Line Managers and Senior Management at Posts
• Consult with various levels of Post Management on strategic and proactive implementation of various CBS HR programmes to ensure compliance with ongoing initiatives such as Global People Principles, Good Line Manager Campaign, and upcoming changes in local employment legislation.
• Support the HR Hub in providing updates for the HR SharePoint – recent activity, performance management communication, etc.
• Support in the development and delivery of appropriate communications to support the delivery of CBS HR services in the region.
• Contribute to, drive and manage operational CBS HR projects under the guidance of HR Hub Senior Management.
• Support in the preparation of business cases and provide data/supporting evidence for recommended decisions.
• Highlight and manage operational bottlenecks in the delivery for CBS HR services in the region.
• Implement decisions taken at a senior level and adjust services provided for CBS HR operations accordingly.
• Support and guide Posts on restructuring and/or organizational change in keeping with relevant CBS policies.
• As appropriate, line manage the Regional HR Officer(s). 
• Deputise during absence of the Deputy Head of HR Hub.

Resources managed (staff and expenditure):

• Possibility of line managing the Regional HR Officer(s). 

Essential qualifications, skills and experience 1 

• Qualification in HR, Industrial Psychology or a HR-related field
• At least 5 years in a HR generalist/advisory role, including working with local employment legislation
• Strong proficiency in spoken and written English
• Strong verbal, written, interpersonal and organisational skills 
• Strong proficiency in IT skills, including Microsoft Office Suite, SharePoint ability, HRMS

Desirable qualifications, skills and experience 1 

• Further HR qualification (OD, IR etc) would be beneficial
• HR experience across Africa
• Experience in a shared services environment will be an advantage
• French or Portuguese would be an advantage