British High Commission Senior Political Adviser to the High Commissioner Jobs in Ghana

British High Commission Senior Political Adviser to the High Commissioner Jobs in Ghana


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Job Category

Foreign and Commonwealth Office (Policy & Political roles)

Job Subcategory
Chancery

Job Description (Roles and Responsibilities)

Main purpose of job:

Working autonomously within the Political Team to deliver an ambitious set of bilateral and foreign policy objectives, including on regional affairs, the Commonwealth and multilateral issues.

You will be the senior political adviser to the High Commissioner giving you extensive access and exposure to UK diplomatic work in Ghana and the region.

You will be expected to advise the High Commissioner on all aspects of internal and external Ghanaian politics to assist in better informing UK diplomatic engagement in Ghana.

As part of this, utilising established analytical, research and political contacts, the successful applicant will also produce timely political analysis to better inform UK work in Ghana.

This new role is part of our expanded ambition for Ghana's role on the African Continent, across HMG's political, security and prosperity goals.

You will be part of a cross-government team that is delivering a genuinely integrated approach on governance, anti-corruption and transparency.

Roles and responsibilities:

  • We are looking for a passionate and experienced political analyst to join an expanding mission.

  • This is a busy and varied role in which you will conduct research and evidence-driven insight on the policies, political trends and high-profile issues in and impacting on Ghana.
    To achieve this you will already have a strong understanding of the political system and how it works in practice, and excellent relationships across political parties.

  • You will need to engage consistently at senior levels with ministers (and their advisers), Parliamentarians, political commentators, academics, analysts etc. to inform and influence our cross-mission understanding of political, social and economic trends. You will also use your broad network of contacts to understand, report, and seek opportunities to further UK interests.

  • It is a particularly exciting time to be working on political affairs, particularly as we work ever more closely with Ghana bilaterally and in the region. This means that you will be working directly to the senior team and collaboratively with other members of political team to inform our policies and programmes.

    What is the risk to domestic political and economic stability from regional crises? As Ghana looks to change its relationship with development partners to enable it to move 'beyond aid', what does this mean for the relationship with China and others who are becoming more influential in Ghana? What are the major political commitments, and how do they align with the UK’s interests?

  • You will play a more significant part in leading, managing and shaping discrete strategy and, policy delivery, and providing expert analysis to inform the senior leadership. You will support Ministerial visits, including by briefing senior UK Ministers directly.

  • You will apply judgement and creativity to identify the best approach or solution to complex, long-term and seemingly intractable political issues; taking innovative approaches that reconcile a range of competing priorities, managing complex risks, and assessing impact on cross-departmental business areas (security, prosperity, and our transitioning development agenda).
  • You will be pro-active in anticipating issues and understanding underlying causes before providing solutions, often through your written reports, which will be of the highest standard.

    This work is high-profile and will involve significant exposure to senior external Ghanaian contacts (e.g. including leading Parliamentarians, traditional Chiefs, the Council for Foreign Relations etc) with whom you will apply high levels of negotiating, consulting and interpersonal skills.

    Your highly developed political awareness will enable you to develop options for new policy proposals and anticipate the impact of your work especially when drawing up proposals for change.

    Your policy recommendations are likely to have a critical impact on organisational effectiveness or the external reputation of the UK in Ghana.

  • You will be working closely alongside HMG colleagues - at the political and operational level - on our
    anti-corruption, governance and transparency agenda.

    This will give you a unique perspective on the totality of our governance work and position you at the head of the table when engaging with international partners, government and civil society. Through your leadership, we will have a strong coherence to the work of different HMG departments.

  • You will also contribute towards wider HMG political priorities, including high-profile inward visits, engaging across teams to add value to our priority pillars (security, the economy, political reform) that attract high-level interest from London.

  • You will work closely with the High Commissioner, the Deputy High Commissioner, the Head of Political Affairs and the wider Political Section to identify and lead political reporting priorities.

  • At all times you are expected to be accessible, discreet, and able to put aside your personal political bias to brief neutrally on all issues.

    Resources managed (staff and expenditure):

  • You will have access to some projects funding to support your research work.
  • Essential qualifications, skills and experience
  • Minimum of 8 years relevant experience in political / foreign policy work.

  • Excellent interpersonal, networking and communication skills. Ability to network confidently with ministerial and senior-level contacts, as well as with different genders, or different religions or beliefs.

  • A strong understanding of the political system and how it works in practice, and excellent political relationships across political parties.

    Language: English (any Ghanaian Dialects are useful but not essential)

    Level of language required: Highest standard of written & verbal English

    Desirable qualifications, skills and experience

  • Postgraduate qualification in a relevant degree (e.g. political science, law, governance, economics).

    Required competencies

  • Seeing the Big Picture, Leading and Communicating, Collaborating and Partnering,
  • Delivering at Pace

    Application deadline

    7 November 2019

    Grade
    D6 (L)

    Type of Position
    Fixed Term, Fixed term, with possibility of renewal

    Working hours per week
    38

    Duration of Post
    12 months

    Region
    Africa

    Country/Territory
    Ghana

    Location (City)
    Accra

    Type of Post
    British High Commission

    Number of vacancies
    1

    Starting monthly salary ()
    USD 3,834.52

    Start Date
    1 January 2020

    Other benefits and conditions of employment
    Working patterns:


  • Normal office hours are 07.30 to 15.30 Monday to Thursday, 07.30hrs to 13.30hrs on Fridays

  • Flexible time is available (on a pre-agreed basis) to accommodate some late evening and weekend working around our political or public diplomacy events.

  • Learning and development opportunities (and any specific training courses to be completed):


    A range of FCO Courses are available offering plenty of opportunities to: develop diplomatic policy skills; build expertise in working in a dynamic cross-government environment; and deliver transformational foreign policy impact.
    You will also have an opportunity to develop an understanding of HMG diplomatic tradecraft and the opportunities, challenges and mega-trends that will dominate the African continent over the coming decades.

    Additional information

    Please not that this role is a 12 Months Fixed Term position, with possibility of extension

    You will be a team-player, assisting others in the development of wider mission and team objectives, even when they sit outside your normal sphere of activity.

    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 High Commission will never request any payment or fees to apply for a position.

    Employees recruited locally by the British High Commission in Accra are subject to Terms and Conditions of Service according to local employment law in Ghana.

    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;

    1. Obtain the relevant permit

    2. Pay fees for the permit

    3. Make arrangements to relocate

    4. Meet the costs to relocation

    The British High Commission do not sponsor visas/work permits except where it may be local practice to do so.

    Employees who are not eligible to pay local income tax: e.g. certain third-country nationals and spouses/partners of UK diplomats will have their salaries abated by an equivalent amount.

    Information about the Foreign and Commonwealth Office Competency Framework can be found on this link: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/civil-service-competency-framework

    Reference checking and security clearances will be conducted on successful candidates

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