View Vacancy - HON - Protocol Officer / Executive Assistant to the High Commissioner (Maternity Cover), AO

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 identity, 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. The FCDO operates an agile workforce and to facilitate this, you may be required to undertake other duties from time to time, as we may reasonably require.
Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office (Operations and Corporate Services)
Corporate Services Support

Main purpose of job:

This is an exciting and varied role at the heart of the British High Commission team in Honiara.

As Protocol Officer, the jobholder will support our relationship with the Solomon Islands Government including through written communication, functions, events and visit arrangements.  

As Personal Assistant to the High Commissioner the jobholder will manage his diary and provide administrative and logistical support. The role also has a co-ordinating function with the High Commissioner, British High Commission colleagues, visitors and events.  The jobholder will providing a high quality and professional customer service to visitors, including telephone and email enquiries.

We are looking for a candidate who is enthusiastic and keen to learn with high quality organisational skills and strong inter-personal skills. Candidates need to be pro-active and flexible to support the wider High Commission team and mission.

  • Manage the diary and events for a busy High Commissioner, maximising the use of his time, travel and other outreach, and to cope effectively with changes in pace, priorities and challenges.
  • Managing a quality, pro-active and consistent protocol service. At the core of this will be networking and knowledge of all British High Commission stakeholders. 
  • Develop extensive links with colleagues in the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and External Trade (MFAET), other Embassies and High Commissions and other British High Commission stakeholders.
  • Maintaining an embassy contact list.
  • Drafting note verbales to Ministries and maintaining a record. Seeking advice from Solomon Island Ministries on a range of issues as well as informing Solomon Island Ministries of UK policy and priorities.
  • Organising events, producing event guest lists, issuing invitations and managing the guest list.
  • Managing the British High Commission email inbox and incoming and outgoing Post.
  • Scheduling Visitors to the British High Commission including meet and greet.
  • Organising British High Commission deliveries and mail.
  • Support wider embassy tasks including our crisis management capacity
  • Be part of a dynamic and supportive embassy team.
  • Finance duties including managing a cash box.
  • Other admin roles include management of office stationery.

 

  • IT skills including use of Microsoft Office (Outlook, Word, Excel and Teams)
  • Good oral and written communication skills
  • Attention to detail
  • Ability to use own initiative
  • Good customer service skills
  • Ability to work under pressure
  • Good organising skills

Language requirements:

Language: English

Level of language required: Excellent command in written and spoken English  

  • Diploma/ Bachelors Degree in Secretarial Studies, Communications or similar field
  • Ability to drive
  • Minimum of 2 years’ experience in a similar role
Changing and Improving, Communicating and Influencing, Delivering at Pace, Developing Self and Others, Managing a Quality Service, Working Together
9 October 2025
Administrative Officer (AO)
Full-time, Fixed Term
39
5 months
Asia Pacific
Solomon Islands
Honiara
British High Commission
1
SBD
5,461.53
monthly
24 November 2025

The British High Commission Honiara offers a competitive compensation package.

  • 22 days paid annual leave (calculated on Pro-rata basis if joined after 1 January)
  • Medical scheme and access to extensive learning and development opportunities.

Working patterns: 39 hours per week

There may be a need to work during British High Commission evening receptions and weekends. Time Off In Lieu (TOIL) can be claimed.

Learning and Development Opportunities (and any specific training courses to be completed):

The British High Commission in Honiara is committed to continuing professional development and will ensure that the postholder has the training necessary and development opportunities.

Employment offers are subject to successful clearance of pre-employment checks. Staff recruited locally by the High Commission Honiara is subject to Terms and Conditions of Service according to local Solomon Islands employment laws. 
 
No accommodation or relocation expenses are payable in connection with this position. All candidates must be legally able to work and reside in the country of the vacancy with the correct visa/work permit status or demonstrate eligibility to obtain the relevant permit. Any costs related to obtaining or renewing permits and visas are the responsibility of the successful applicant.  
 
Employees who are not liable to pay local income tax on their Mission salary may have their salaries reduced by the equivalent local income tax amount. 

The applicant must have the appropriate work authorisation in order to apply.

The FCDO also operates an agile workforce. To facilitate this, you may be required to undertake other duties from time to time as we may reasonably require.

The position being advertised is a maternity cover of 5 months.

Please note that the deadline for applications is 23:55 on the day mentioned in the above field “Application deadline”.

Please be aware that the deadline for submitting applications is considered to be the time zone for the country where the vacancy has arisen.

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.

Note: All applicants are required to mandatorily fill the online application form completely including the employment and educational details, experience, professional skills and behaviour-based questions. We will be thoroughly reviewing the applications and incomplete form in any respect may not be considered while shortlisting for the next stage.

Please ensure that your application is authentically written based on your own experiences. If AI tools are used, their usage must only be limited to specific tasks such as ensuring formatting consistency and keyword relevance. The core content, personal narratives, and responses to behaviour and skill-based questions must genuinely reflect your professional journey, experiences, and achievements. We place great importance on originality and individual effort throughout the application process. Any form of plagiarism will result in immediate disqualification.

Only shortlisted candidates for interview will be contacted. Interviewees will be assessed on the core behaviours/qualifications listed above. Unsuccessful candidates will be notified via the system in due time. Appointable candidates who were unsuccessful may be placed on a ‘reserve list’. If during the reserve period of 6 months the same or a largely similar role becomes available, that role may be offered to the second or subsequent candidate.

To ensure a successful application it is important that you explain how you demonstrate these behaviours, including through your experience. You are strongly advised to read the Success Profiles: Civil Service behaviours which provides detailed guidance on how the behaviours are defined.

Applicants are encouraged to use the STAR (Situation, Task, Action, Result) format to prepare specific examples of when they have demonstrated these behaviours in their application. Using the STAR format to provide evidence of your skills and experience in your application and at interview helps to give a structure. You briefly describe the situation in which you showed the behaviour, and then explain your task in addressing the situation, what action you took and the result of this.

For inclusivity and diversity, please remove the following personal information when uploading your CV: name, address, email address, age, date of birth, gender and nationality.

The start date mentioned in the job advert is a tentative start date and the successful candidate will be required to undergo security vetting procedures. Any offer of employment will be subject to the candidate achieving suitable clearance

Please be aware that you will only be able to apply to vacancies for Country Based Staff roles with the British Government through this official tal.net site (operated by Oleeo). Jobs may be advertised on third party websites, however our adverts will always link back to the official tal.net site. If you complete and send an application through any other site, we will not receive it.

This opportunity is closed to applications.