As the consular manager, you will lead, motivate and provide direction to a team of consular officers delivering high quality consular services to British nationals visiting or residing throughout New Zealand, Fiji, Samoa and Tonga in line with our public guide: Support for British nationals abroad.
Consular Managers have the opportunity to make a direct difference to people’s lives in challenging circumstances. The job includes dealing with extremely sensitive cases and responding to crises and stressful events. The successful candidate will be working in a fast-paced and complex environment where the ability to work under pressure and provide leadership is vital.
The role reports directly to the British Deputy High Commissioner to New Zealand and works closely with, the Consular Regional Operations Manager based in Canberra, assisting in delivering objectives under the Consular Strategy and New Zealand business plan.
The position also works in collaboration with the Consular Manager Papua New Guinea, Solomon Islands and Vanuatu (based in Sydney) supporting delivery of consular services and the British High Commissioner to New Zealand, contributing to the leadership of the High Commission.
Roles and responsibilities / what will the jobholder be expected to achieve?
Leadership and Management
Partnerships / Prevention
Assistance and services
Business continuity and crisis
As part of our whole-of-mission approach to crisis, participate in crisis preparation and response duties in the event of a crisis affecting a significant number of British nationals, including crisis events outside of New Zealand.
The formal job description may be subject to amendment in the future.
Resources managed (staff and expenditure):
Direct line management of 2 consular officers.
Budget: Forecasting and reporting on New Zealand's devolved consular budget – circa NZD$10,000.
Learning and development opportunities:
You will be joining an enthusiastic and supportive team that takes continuous learning and development seriously and that values a diverse range of skills and backgrounds. When you start the role, you’ll be supported to become familiar with consular policy, as well as the structures of the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office (FCDO) and the operations of the UK in New Zealand, Fiji, Samoa and Tonga Networks.
Mandatory courses:
In your first year, you will be required to complete the following courses:
When you are settled in the role, you will be supported to seek further opportunities (both formal and informal) to deepen your expertise of consular work, and to develop wider skills tailored to your personal interests and development needs.
Working patterns:
Flexible, to be completed between Monday – Friday 08:45 – 17:00
Other Information:
Employment offers are subject to successful clearance of pre-employment and security checks. Staff who are locally recruited by the British High Commission are subject to Terms and Conditions of Service according to New Zealand local employment law.
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.
We are committed to being an inclusive employer and building a culturally diverse workplace. We actively encourage applications from people from the widest possible diversity of backgrounds, cultures, and experiences. Our culture of inclusion is underpinned by our excellent staff networks which cover disability, faith and belief, gender equality, social mobility, age, race, LGBT+, and how to be an ally.
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.
Specific considerations for consular roles:
Consular work can involve difficult conversations with distressed individuals. Emotional intelligence and personal resilience are essential. You will be well supported by your line manager, your team and colleagues globally. You will have access to quarterly wellbeing sessions with a wellbeing supervisor, employee assistance program and other wellbeing support resources.
The successful applicant will be expected to maintain absolute consular confidentiality and impartiality, keeping in line with the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office (FCDO) Consular Strategy, consular guidance and Customer Charter, business targets and local procedures.
The British High Commission in Wellington represents the UK government providing consular services to British nationals in New Zealand, Samoa, Tonga and Fiji. In addition to consular work, policy, political and trade and investment activities are undertaken from this location.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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 clearances.
This opportunity is closed to applications.
