Job Opportunities at the British High Commission

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, 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.

We are recruiting to fill the vacant position below:

Job Title: Community Liaison Officer
Ref Id: 22/18 ABJ
Location (City): Abuja
Type of Position: Part-Time
Working hours per week: 25
Start Date: 1st March, 2019
Job Category: Foreign and Commonwealth Office (Residence and Support Staff)
Job Subcategory: Community Liaison
Grade: A2 (L)
Main Purpose of Job
  • The main purpose of the Community Liaison Officer’s job is to support and bolster a cohesive and mutually supporting wider BHC community.
  • The successful candidate will be part of a small team advocating for and providing support to UK-based staff and families on family and community issues, primarily in the areas of arrival and departure from post, information gathering, welfare and communication.

Roles and Responsibilities

  • To ensure that all new arrivals (single officers, couples, families and officers on temporary duty) are welcomed and supported into the community; that advice on living in Abuja is provided in advance both proactively and on demand, and to guide new arrivals through the arrival process, including orientation and induction briefing, with due care and attention.
  • To remain actively engaged with new arrivals by following up after a period of time to ensure that people have settled in well.
  • Engage in information gathering and providing advice on spouse/partner employment at Post and children’s education, career and training opportunities, recreational facilities, social matters and completion of DSFA Spouse and Partner Annual Employment Report. (35%)
  • To contribute fully and actively to a strong sense of community cohesion by ensuring that all members are encouraged to contribute and share relevant information on social events and amenities/restaurants/shops etc. To facilitate events, coordinate volunteers, and liaise/network with other missions’ CLOs and local expat groups/organisations. (35%)
  • Advocate for UK-based staff and dependents in addressing issues of importance with Post Management, including as their representative on the Joint Post Management Board, Post Housing Committee, and evacuation/contingency planning, and as the chief link between Post and DSFA in London.  (15%)
  • Resource management of CLO Imprest, book and DVD library, keeping up to date the CLO Welcome Pack, and, with Post Management, coordination of update of the Post Report.  (5%)
  • To maintain the UKB Spouse contact list (telephone tree) and supporting the BHC in any crisis or emergency. (5%)
  • Acting as a hub for community and social events, communicating these to UK – based and local staff. (5%)

How should this be achieved?

  • The successful CLO needs to be approachable and sympathetic, be a good listener, discreet and able to respect confidences. CLOs may often be the first person at Post to hear of a problem and should be prepared to listen and signpost to where solutions may be obtained.
  • The CLOs report directly into the Deputy High Commissioner, and are expected to advise her on community needs where relevant to wider management decisions.

The successful applicant will also need to be able to:

  • Demonstrate the ability to prioritise well, working between teams and be able to assume responsibility for tasks with minimum supervision;
  • Have excellent judgement and emotional intelligence, with clear self-awareness and an understanding of verbal and non-verbal communication;
  • Be comfortable in possession of sensitive or personal information, and the associated need for discretion;
  • Observe the Foreign and Commonwealth Office’s diversity and equality policies.

Requirements
Essential Qualifications, Skills and Experience:

  • Previous experience of overseas postings or working within a large community
  • Communications and interpersonal skills

Required competencies:

  • Changing and Improving, Leading and Communicating, Collaborating and Partnering, Managing a Quality Service

Salary
Starting monthly salary: N296,577

Interested and qualified candidates should:Click here to apply

Application Deadline 9th January, 2019.

Job Title: Digital Access Programme Advisor
Ref Id: 21/18 LOS
Location: Lagos
Job Category: Foreign and Commonwealth Office (Policy & Political roles)
Job Subcategory: Economic and Prosperity
Type of Position: Fixed term, with possibility of renewal
Working hours per week: 37
Start Date: 28th February, 2019.

Background
The Prosperity Fund:

  • Many developing countries, including middle-income countries – where around 60% of the world’s poor live – still face considerable challenges such as rapid urbanisation, climate change and high and persistent inequality (including gender inequality) which can lower long-term growth prospects. Launched in April 2016 to help promote economic growth in developing countries, the UK Government’s Prosperity Fund supports the broad-based and inclusive growth needed for poverty reduction
  • The Fund’s priorities include improving the business climate, competitiveness and operation of markets, energy and financial sector reform, and tackling corruption. These reforms will drive sustainable development in partner countries – and in the process it will also create opportunities for international business, including UK companies.

The Digital Access Programme:

  • The Digital Access Programme will be resourced by the Prosperity Fund to facilitate wider and more affordable, safer and more secure access to the internet for excluded populations, harnessing the power of digital inclusion to tackle poverty, build prosperity and enable millions of people – especially socio-economically disadvantaged populations -to benefit from digital services and opportunities in Nigeria, Kenya, South Africa, Indonesia and Brazil
  • Access to the internet is a powerful catalyst to prosperity, reducing poverty and building inclusion – with a 10% increase in internet access linked to 3% growth in GDP, and a range of social and economic benefits. The objective for this programme is to support development and prosperity outcomes.

The Digital Access Programme aims to address the fundamental constraints to digital inclusion through a multi-pillar structure, harnessing the role and expertise of various UK government departments:

  • Department for International Development (DFID) ‘Models & Enablers’: Test and validate innovative business models that take emerging technologies to market, in order to facilitate the sustainable expansion of affordable internet access for the poor and excluded. This will be complemented by enablers such as regulatory reform and support to locally-relevant content for development.
  • Foreign and Commonwealth Office (FCO) ‘Trust & Resilience’: Build partner countries’ capacity to prevent and respond to cyber-security risks affecting governments, businesses and citizens (including vulnerable groups at risk of online abuse or exploitation).
  • Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport (DCMS) ‘Sustainable Digital Ecosystems’: Stimulate local digital economies, and forge partnerships between local tech sectors and international businesses (including UK firms) through a Tech Hub network.

Main Purpose of the Job

  • We are advertising for a Programme Adviser  to work on the Digital Access programme located in Nigeria to support across all three programme pillars, with a particular focus on Pillar 1 (Models and Enablers) and Pillar 2 (Trust and Resilience).
  • In this role you will work with relevant UK government teams, with implementing partners (including the main management agents),  Nigeria’s federal government and agencies (and to an extent, state governments), private sector and civil society in Nigeria, and with some travel to the UK as needed, to advance the objectives of the programme.  Given the importance of engaging the private sector and civil society, the Adviser will be based in the British Deputy High Commission in Lagos, but will need to travel regularly to Abuja and to other states
  • The role will involve elements of programme coordination, management and monitoring, with a particular attention to risks and impact. Using analysis of the digital economy and of the cyber security situation, you will contribute to policy dialogue and reform in the relevant sectors in Nigeria, including by gathering relevant information and collaborating with others to promote more inclusive, more sustainable and safer digital access for development in Nigeria
  • Working with the in-country Prosperity team and liaising with the central Programme Management Committee you will contribute to effective coordination with the work of in-country DCMS-led UK Tech Hub team (Pillar 3 of the Digital Access Programme)
  • It will be an exciting role on an innovative programme with potential opportunities for regional or international travel

Roles and Responsibilities
The Digital Access Programme Adviser will be responsible for helping to set up the programme in Nigeria – working with the Prosperity team at post and with the Programme Management Committee in the UK. The post-holder will provide oversight of project activities and contributing 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-Nigeria 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 indicative time allocation is shown below.

Programme Coordination and Management – 40%:

  • Oversee the activities of the Digital Access Programme in Nigeria as delivered by contracted management agents and other implementing partners, in coordination with in-country Prosperity team and with the central Programme Management Committee. This will require an ability to apply project oversight, coordination, monitoring, risk management and stakeholder engagement skills.
  • The jobholder will build relationships with the programme management agents and their implementing partners and local supply chain to ensure delivery is monitored in coordination with the Prosperity team in-country and with the central Programme Management Committee.  This will include pre-empting risks and ensuring that project activities deliver the expected outcomes.
  • The jobholder will act as focal point for internal and external communication on the programme in Nigeria, ensuring the Programme’s visibility is properly managed and that the UK government gains recognition for its work, while also managing the risks of mis-reporting and misperceptions from external stakeholders. The post holder will support the implementation the Programme’s communications strategy as approved by the Programme’s governance structure. The jobholder will also support the organisation and delivery of key visits from the UK, related to the implementation and promotion of the Digital Access Programme.
  • The jobholder will act as front-of-house for in-country prosperity governance and coordination mechanisms; this means working as part of the broader Nigeria Prosperity team consisting of colleagues drawn from DFID, DIT, FCO and the DCMS Tech Hub, to ensure that the programme’s delivery is coherent with the Nigeria network’s broader objectives, including those on business environment reform and economic diversification.. The jobholder will prepare and provide inputs to the Digital Access programme governance functions via the Programme Management Committee, which in its turn feeds into the Senior Governance Committee (Programme SROs) and Strategic Advisory Board.
  • The post-holder will be expected to regularly join key meetings, remotely where required, and to provide regular updates on the programme’s progress.

A number of trade-related engagement platforms hold promise for Nigeria to work towards a more rational, open and friendly trading environment:

  • Nigeria-UK Economic Development Forum – During the Prime Minister’s visit to Africa in August 2018, Nigeria signed a MoU with the UK to boost economic cooperation through regular bilateral ministerial dialogue around the Economic Development Forum (EDF). This entail identifying and progressively removing mutual market barriers to bilateral trade and investment – both short term and longer term regulatory issues. Barriers removal might benefit from strategic technical assistance as well as selected technical infrastructural investment.
  • Africa Continental Free Trade Area – Although not having officially signed up to the Africa Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) agreement, Nigeria has led the continental process from the start and has already prepared technical schedules for goods and services due in Phase 1 of AfCFTA (unlike many signatory countries). It has also launched a country-wide stakeholder consultation process around the CFTA that has been highlighted as a good practice across the continent and which has informed the definition of the technical schedules.
  • Phase 2 will require agreeing rules for investment, competition, intellectual property and – possibly – e-commerce. This phase as well as the subsequent implementation may call for technical assistance to participating Nigerian stakeholders, primarily but not only in the area of trade facilitation.
  • WTO Trade Faciliation Agreement (TFA) – Nigeria already submitted its cat. A, B and C commitments after ratifying the WTO Trade Facilitation Agreement (TFA). Moving from commitment to implementation will require resources and technical assistance.

The role of the job holder will be broken down into three stages: analysis, inception, and implementation. Core responsibilities will include:

  • Conducting detailed research and analysis on four key Non Tariff Barriers to trade in Nigeria; in order of priority, trade facilitation, standards, regulation, and intellectual property.
  • Carrying out an in-depth stakeholder mapping exercise to understand the activities that other donors, such as World Bank, US aid, OECD or European Union etc or the countries themselves are undertaking in removing non-tariff barriers.
  • Assess likely impacts of addressing each barrier in Nigeria.
  • Identify windows of opportunity for reform of the trading environment, including around the multilateral (WTO), continental (AfCFTA), international (UK-Nigeria EDF) regional (ECOWAS CET) and domestic trade agenda. This includes political economy analysis with identification of opportunities and key reform change agents GTP can constructively engage with.
  • Collating trade research such as trade audits, market access studies, and bilateral reports to support the service manager with accurate, exploratory in country analysis.
  • Contributing to a London-led procurement exercise to contract a service manager, highlighting and presenting opportunities and any local risks or issues.
  • Building a strong network for the High Commission and Deputy High Commission amongst trade stakeholders in the Federal Government of Nigeria, state governments, civil society and business.
  • Developing strong relations with trade leads in London including Department for International Trade, Department for Exiting the EU, and Foreign and Commonwealth Office, DIT and DFID colleagues to ensure you become a key reference advisor on our trading relationship with Nigeria.
  • Developing strong relations with other Global Trade Programme priority country leads such as South Africa and Brazil, sharing lessons learnt as and when appropriate.
  • Using this network and knowledge to refine a cross-cutting Embassy Trade Strategy, which the Global Trade programme will form an integral part.
  • Communicating the key outcomes of the feasibility study to the service provider, making connections with appropriate stakeholders when required.
  • Acting as the conduit between a future  service provider/delivery partner and all key stakeholders in Nigeria, and support the defining of the Global Trade Programme strategy throughout the inception period.
  • Ensuring that the programme complements and does not overlap  with other Prosperity Fund and DFID Economic Development programme work on  business environment, investment promotion, future cities, skills and anti-corruption
  • Securing UK credit in working up the programme details with beneficiaries.
  • Ensuring the programme is run effectively and activity is aligned with the two core Prosperity fund objectives, and that risks are mitigated appropriately.
  • Reporting to the service manager and the Global Trade Programme operational board in London.
  • De-conflicting the programme with other UK-funded work in Nigeria, namely funded by the Department for International Development, either through centrally managed programmes or country-office managed. The programme should also factor in and synergize with other eventual programmes by development partners other than the UK.
  • Ensure that the UK gets due credit for successes, and that Nigeria’s contribution to the overall programme’s annual reviews has impact.
  • Deploying diplomatic levers to support the programme’s primary aim of reducing poverty
  • Deploying commercial levers to support the programme’s secondary aim of opening new markets

Throughout this period you will also need to:

  • Ensure the Nigeria programme complies with the International Development Act, including the International Development (Gender Equality) Act 2014, including ambitions on women’s economic opportunities; meets the OECD Development Assistance Committee (DAC)’s criteria; is untied; meets UK government transparency commitments on ODA spend; and complies with HMG audit requirements.
  • Identify and manage risks to successful programme implementation.
  • Keep abreast of trade policy developments in Nigeria and the UK, using this knowledge to spot opportunities for programme interventions which support better and effective non oil trade activity in Nigeria.
  • Along with the Senior Regional Trade Policy Adviser in Lagos, to whom the post holder will report, champion trade policy and market access issues and work closely with other Prosperity team colleagues from the Department for International Development (DFID), Department for International Trade (DIT) and FCO.
  • Maintain a strong network with your colleagues in the UK, and counterparts in other priority Global Trade Programme countries, adapting the programme on the basis of lessons learnt (this will involve international travel to, for example, work alongside the service manager and programme team in London).

Essential Qualifications, Skills and Experience

  • We are looking for a proactive, creative self-starter who can prioritise to operate in a fast-paced environment, largely unsupervised, delivering to deadlines.  S/he will need excellent interpersonal and communications skills to build strong relations with key contacts in the Federal Government of Nigeria, other Nigerian stakeholders, including in the business community, as well as contributing the joint DFID/DIT/FCO prosperity team in Nigeria and with stakeholders in the UK.
  • Graduate with a relevant University Degree and at least five years of experience in a relevant field
  • Experience of trade policy reform, ideally in the Non-Tariff Barrier and trade facilitation field.
  • Broad understanding of the Nigerian business environment, ideally having worked both in the public/private sectors. Thorough understanding of poverty reduction and gender equality issues and how trade could have an impact on them.
  • Experience in developing policy advice/analysis and delivering successful programmes.
  • Minimum five years’ experience in programme management, ideally in a development context.
  • Experience of delivering high quality reports.
  • Experience of delivering value for money projects / programmes. Excellent oral and written communication skills.
  • Analytical skills / attention to detail.
  • Computer literate, working with Microsoft Windows and able to manage information effectively with available computer systems.
  • Excellent stakeholder mapping skills and experience of engaging, influencing and building credibility with a range of different stakeholders.

Desirable Qualifications, Skills and Experience:

  • Experience of managing budgets
  • Experience / Knowledge of cost / benefit analysis and impact assessments.

Required Competencies:

  • Making Effective Decisions, Leading and Communicating, Collaborating and Partnering, Engaging Internationally

Starting Monthly Salary

  • N812, 470

Other Benefits and Conditions of Employment  
Learning and development opportunities (and any specific training courses to be completed):

  • We place a strong emphasis on learning and development.
  • The jobholder will have access to existing and new Project & Programme Management L&D as well as wider job-relevant L&D and support for your own personal development.
  • The jobholder may have the opportunity to participate in annual reviews to assess the performance of PF and other programmes.
  • The Nigeria network (High Commission Abuja, Deputy High Commission Lagos) has a strong L&D offer (including support for Diplomatic Academy learning.

Interested and qualified candidates should:Click here to apply

 Application Deadline 16th January, 2019

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