Overseas Conflict Advisers
Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office
Apply before 11:55 pm on Monday 7th October 2024
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About the job
Job summary
We lead the UK’s diplomatic, development and consular work around the world. We employ around 17,000 staff in our global network of 281 offices worldwide.
Our UK-based staff work in King Charles Street in London, Abercrombie House in East Kilbride and in Milton Keynes.
We are currently recruiting for 2 overseas Conflict Advisers, a Conflict Adviser for Sudan based in Addis and a Conflict Adviser at British Consulate General Jerusalem. Please see the supplementary pack for more details on the specific roles.
Through this recruitment campaign we will be building an Overseas Reserve List to fill upcoming Conflict posts overseas that may arise in the near future. Candidates who meet the required level at interview, will be kept on a Reserve List for 12 months. Should a substantially similar role overseas arise within this period, we may fill it with a reserve candidate from this campaign.
The successful candidates will be placed into one of the two roles, in line with previous experience and our business needs.
Conflict Advisers work to understand conflict and violence, and promote effective upstream conflict and crisis prevention, support conflict management and enable conflict resolution and peacebuilding, in order to support the conditions for sustainable peace and security (and UK national security interests), human security, poverty reduction, and prosperity. They have a key role in helping reduce the risks associated with conflict, in particular: instability, state fragility, violence (social, political, or criminal) and insecurity and in delivering HMG’s national security objectives.
Conflict Advisers provide and bring together joint analysis of the conflict and political contexts in which we are working with an understanding of power dynamics and why conflict and violence occurs. They translate this analysis into effective policy, strategies and interventions, working in close collaboration with and fostering an integrated approach across FCDO, with other HMG departments and external partners. They ensure our wider interventions and initiatives are conflict sensitive, and support peace and security alongside poverty reduction and the pursuit of UK national interests. FCDO Conflict Advisers help define and deliver HMG/FCDO’s conflict priorities as set by the Government’s NSC and Ministers. Advisers closely align their efforts with strategy and tools developed by the Office for Conflict, Mediation and Stabilisation as FCDO’s conflict centre.
Job description
Generic Roles and Responsibilities
The balance of effort on each Conflict Adviser role will vary between specific roles.
1. Assessment and analysis:
- Maintain situational awareness through regular analysis and assessment of conflict dynamics, needs and corresponding response.
- Communicate this well to colleagues, senior officials and Ministers. within FCDO and HMG and to external partners in order to effectively influence the necessary evolution or changes of policy and programme priorities.
2. Policy:
- Position the UK at the forefront of conflict policy engagement through developing policy, contributing to influencing strategies and directly advocating for UK conflict policy objectives through various senior forums within HMG or externally at country, regional or global level.
- Engage effectively with senior officials and also directly with Ministers as necessary.
- Develop close engagement with HQ conflict policy and research teams to ensure that the policy work in this role is informing and learning from UK conflict policy as it develops.
- Influence the conflict sensitivity of FCDO policy including surfacing and helping manage tensions and trade-offs between competing objectives.
- Ensure evidence driven policy making including through providing clear and well targeted advice based on the latest research and evidence.
3. Programme:
- Provide technical oversight and lead technical advice into the design, delivery, monitoring, evaluation and learning of FCDO conflict projects and programmes.
- In some contexts, conflict advisers will also provide overall Senior Responsible Owner programme leadership functions, including ensuring compliance with internal programming rules and engaging other staff effectively as necessary etc.
- Support the conflict sensitivity of FCDO programmes through advising on those programmes and building the conflict sensitivity capability and systems of other teams.
4. Relationships and networks:
- Establish constructive relationships with key individuals and organisations, including representing FCDO with relevant partners and in relevant forums (e.g., donor coordination, Conflict Country Teams etc.). This will be dependent on the role but could include for example:
- Internally within FCDO and HMG: working across FCDO teams and with other government departments
- Externally: with host or donor governments including at senior levels, with the private sector, civil society, research organisations, academia, but also with international bilateral and multilateral aid agencies and foundations, in-country, at headquarters, regionally and/or internationally – as needed.
5. People and building capability:
- Maintain cutting edge understanding of and application of evidence and work to build the capability of others.
- Conflict Advisers may sometimes be required to also effectively line manage a number of other technical advisers or broader teams.
For further details on the skills and experience required for a Conflict Adviser please refer to the Conflict Technical Competency Framework
All Conflict advisers are also required to provide up to 10% of their time (equivalent to 22 days per year) to support FCDO’s wider conflict objectives. This might entail support to another country programme such as contributing to an annual review, developing an evidence product or the design and delivery of training for other cadre members or HMG officials.
As a Conflict Adviser you would be part of a broader community of practice (Cadre) and a network of people who will support you in your career – helping with questions, providing examples, encouraging you to do your very best!
You will be able to take advantage of significant Continuing Professional Development (CPD) and learning opportunities, including the ability to access and collaborate with an extensive network of technical experts embedded across the organisation.
You would be assigned a Technical Quality Assurer (TQA) – a more senior or experienced member of the cadre, able to provide technical guidance, monitoring and connections across the organisation.
We welcome applications from all parts of the community regardless of gender, ethnicity, disability, sexual orientation or background. We are committed to diversity and inclusion in all that we do. We encourage and support all staff to realise their potential and achieve a healthy work-life balance.
Everyone gets the support to develop their skills and capabilities, as well as benefits that help to make the most of life in and out of work; for example, flexible working, Learning & Development opportunities tailored to your role, and access to the Civil Service pension scheme.
In return, we guarantee a fascinating, personally rewarding career at the centre of world events.
Please note we are also recruiting for UK based Conflict Advisers 364965 so if you are interested, please apply through that campaign.
Person specification
You must be a British Citizen at the time of application and, if invited to interview, you will need to bring proof of identity (British Passport/Driving Licence etc.) with you.
This role requires you to attain Developed Vetting (DV) security clearance.
For more information about this process, click here. Attaining DV will require you to have been resident in the UK for five of the last ten years. At least one year of this must have been a consecutive twelve-month period. Serving overseas with HM Forces, in some other official capacity as a representative of His Majesty’s Government or having lived overseas as a result of your parents’ or partner’s Government employment counts as UK residency for the purposes of security clearances.
FCDO may consider applicants who do not have the required UK footprint for DV clearance, although this may limit the locations or types of role candidates can be offered.
It is essential in your application that you provide evidence and proven examples in each of the following Minimum Criteria, the Behaviours and the Technical question as far as you are able to do so. These responses will be further developed and discussed with those candidates invited for interview.
Minimum Criteria
This role is a Conflict Expert role. The successful candidate will:
- Have a demonstrable track record of delivering conflict outcomes at Expert Level through strong capability in the conflict technical competencies. Further details can be found in the FCDO Conflict Technical Competency Framework.
- Be recognised for specialist or technical knowledge and/or skill, underpinned by extensive experience applied in practice on complex issues; connected with other experts.
- Have significant relevant experience, as outlined in the Conflict Framework linked above.
Behaviours
We'll assess you against these behaviours during the selection process:
- Communicating and Influencing
- Seeing the Big Picture
Technical skills
We'll assess you against these technical skills during the selection process:
- Conflict Technical Competency - Applied Conflict and Political Analysis and Strategy Development (at Expert Level).
- Conflict Technical Competency - Conflict Sensitivity (at Expert Level.
- Conflict Technical Competency - Conflict Response: Addressing Conflict, Building Peace, Stability and Security (at Expert Level).
- 5-minute verbal Presentation at interview.
- Written Test at interview.
- Motivation Question at interview..
We only ask for evidence of these technical skills on your application form:
- Conflict Technical Competency - Applied Conflict and Political Analysis and Strategy Development (at Expert Level).
- Conflict Technical Competency - Conflict Sensitivity (at Expert Level.
- Conflict Technical Competency - Conflict Response: Addressing Conflict, Building Peace, Stability and Security (at Expert Level).
Benefits
· 25 days Annual Leave per annum.
· 9 days Public and Privilege holidays per annum.
· Learning and Development tailored to your role.
See the attached candidate pack.
Things you need to know
Selection process details
Please see the attached candidate pack for the selection process details.
Reasonable Adjustment
If a person with disabilities is put at a substantial disadvantage compared to a non-disabled person, we have a duty to make reasonable changes to our processes.
If you need a change to be made so that you can make your application, you should:
Contact Government Recruitment Service via fcdorecruitment.grs@cabinetoffice.gov.uk as soon as possible before the closing date to discuss your needs.
Complete the ‘Assistance required’ section in the ‘Additional requirements’ page of your application form to tell us what changes or help you might need further on in the recruitment process. For instance, you may need wheelchair access at interview, or if you’re deaf, a Language Service Professional.
Further Information
A reserve list may be held for a period of 12 months from which further appointments can be made.
Any move to FCDO from another employer will mean you can no longer access childcare vouchers. This includes moves between government departments. You may however be eligible for other government schemes, including Tax Free Childcare. Determine your eligibility at https://www.childcarechoices.gov.uk
New entrants are expected to join on the minimum of the pay band.
Applicants who are successful at interview will be, as part of pre-employment screening, subject to a check on the Internal Fraud Database (IFD). This check will provide information about employees who have been dismissed for fraud or dishonesty offences. This check also applies to employees who resign or otherwise leave before being dismissed for fraud or dishonesty had their employment continued. Any applicant’s details held on the IFD will be refused employment.
A candidate is not eligible to apply for a role within the Civil Service if the application is made within a 5 year period following a dismissal for carrying out internal fraud against government.
If you are experiencing accessibility problems with any attachments on this advert, please contact the email address in the 'Contact point for applicants' section.
The Civil Service values honesty and integrity and expects all candidates to abide by these principles. The evidence you provide in your application must relate to your own experiences. If there is any evidence of plagiarism, including presenting the ideas and experience of others as your own, your application will be withdrawn.
If successful and transferring from another Government Department a criminal record check may be carried out.
In order to process applications without delay, we will be sending a Criminal Record Check to Disclosure and Barring Service on your behalf.
However, we recognise in exceptional circumstances some candidates will want to send their completed forms direct. If you will be doing this, please advise Government Recruitment Service of your intention by emailing Pre-EmploymentChecks.grs@cabinetoffice.gov.uk stating the job reference number in the subject heading.
This role is full time only. Applicants who wish to work an alternative pattern are welcome to apply however your preferred working pattern may not be available and you should discuss this with the vacancy holder before applying.
Feedback will only be provided if you attend an interview or assessment.
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Working for the Civil Service
We recruit by merit on the basis of fair and open competition, as outlined in the Civil Service Commission's recruitment principles (opens in a new window).
Diversity and Inclusion
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Contact point for applicants
Job contact :
- Name : FCDO Recruitment Team
- Email : fcdorecruitment.grs@cabinetoffice.gov.uk
Recruitment team
- Email : fcdorecruitment.grs@cabinetoffice.gov.uk
Further information
