Executive Assistant to the Development Director and Board Secretary Full Time

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.

Job Category: Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office (Programme Roles)

Job Subcategory: Private Office

Job Description (Roles and Responsibilities):  This role offers the opportunity to work at the heart of a large and busy embassy, with exposure to a range of policy and leadership issues. 

You will work within the Private Office team as the Executive Assistant to the Development Director and reporting directly to the Private Secretary to the Ambassador.

Together, you will play a central role in the delivery of the embassy Country Plan, through secretariat support to the Country Board, Senior Leadership team, and the Delivery Board.

You will build relationships with stakeholders across the embassy’s teams working on development and external partners in government, NGOs, and other donors to help the Development Director focus on priorities and make effective decisions.

The successful candidate will be responsible for: 

• Providing administrative support to the Development Director, including managing the diary and ensuring clashes and priority meetings and events are handled effectively. This will involve using sound judgement and regular discussions with the DD to understand their objectives and how to support these. You will organise transport, briefings, and other activities so the DD has what they need on time and can deliver effectively for the Embassy. You will also need to liaise with the DD’s 5 teams to prioritise and schedule decision making and approvals for business cases and reviews. You will need to build a network of contacts within the government, NGOs, and other international organisations to make appointments and handle in-coming requests and invitations.
• The secretariat for the Country Board, Delivery Committee and weekly Senior Leadership team meetings. This will involve scheduling Country Board meetings and supporting the weekly SLT meetings and fortnightly Delivery Committee meetings by generating agendas that clearly set out the responsibilities of each board and have regular placeholders for re-occurring agenda items. You will ensure that agendas are circulated in good time to allow for consultation within teams, taking and circulating minutes for each of these meetings and following up on progress towards agreed actions.
• You will develop an understanding of the full breadth of Embassy work, analysing gaps over time in the work of the Boards and SLT. Working with the Private Secretary to the Ambassador and Director of Corporate Services to rectify these gaps.

This position is an exciting opportunity for someone who is comfortable taking the lead on a new piece of work the elements of which will evolve over time.  The job holder will also be expected to have a strong focus on delivering and improving, using feedback and other monitoring techniques to spot opportunities to make the Boards even more effective.

Resources managed:  

No staff or resources managed directly however the position is critical to the delivery of the Embassy’s Country Business Plan.  

Other benefits and conditions of employment  

• Fully funded medical insurance.
• Leave entitlement of 22 days in your first year of working.
• A maximum of 14 public holidays off (both British and Ethiopian holidays).
• The Embassy offers a comprehensive number of L&D opportunities to support the job holder in the development of their role and the development of their career path. For this position, it is likely the successful candidate will be able to shadow officers with similar roles in other Embassy’s in the region and at the FCDO in the UK.

Additional information:

• Please complete the application form in full as the information provided is used during screening.
• Please check your application carefully before you submit, as no changes can be made once submitted.
• The British Embassy will never request any payment or fees to apply for a position.
• Employees recruited locally by the British Embassy Addis Ababa are subject to Terms and Conditions of Service according to local employment law in Ethiopia.
• 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.

• The responsibility lies on the successful candidate to:
• Obtain the relevant permit
• Pay fees for the permit
• Make arrangements to relocate
• Meet the costs to relocate

• The British Embassy does not sponsor visas/work permits except where it may be local practice to do so.
• 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.
• Information about the Civil Service Success Profiles can be found on this link: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/success-profiles. Please note:  AA=A1, AO=A2, EO=B3, HEO=C4, SEO=C5
• Reference checking and security clearances will be conducted on successful candidates.
• Appointable candidates who were unsuccessful may be placed on a ‘reserve list’.  If during the reserve period of 12 months the same or a largely similar role becomes available, that role may be offered to the second or subsequent candidate.

: Language requirements:

• The successful candidate should be able to speak both English and Amharic at an operational level.

Desirable qualifications, skills and experience :

• Understanding of how an embassy operates.

Required behavior’s :

• Changing and Improving, Making Effective Decisions, Managing a Quality Service, Communicating and Influencing