Pro Consul

Job Description (Roles and Responsibilities)

**Main purpose of job**:
The British consular network supports British nationals, and their families, facing acute personal difficulties overseas. As Pro Consul, you will deliver a professional, high quality consular assistance service to British nationals visiting or residing in Brazil, act as a key member of the wider Americas consular network and support the smooth running of the Consular Section according to guidance and best practice.

You will act as the first port of call for British nationals who may have been the victim of crime (including those who may have been raped or sexually assaulted); suffered a bereavement; been hospitalised; have been arrested or detained; or require additional support due to mental health needs.

You will need to provide excellent, empathetic and efficient consular assistance, tailored to the needs and circumstances of those you help; provide notarial and documentary services such as by issuing Emergency Travel Documents; manage stakeholders, websites and other communications channels; and take part in outreach with our partners. Together with the Vice Consul, the jobholder will provide remote cover for consular colleagues in our diplomatic missions across Brazil and the wider Americas network as necessary. A willingness and curiosity for travel is therefore essential.

The role involves direct and frequent (daily) interaction with the public; with local, regional and UK authorities; with colleagues across the consular network in Brazil (Belo Horizonte, Brasilia, Recife, Rio, Sao Paulo), the Americas and London; and with external stakeholders such as airlines and hospitals.

We invest in the development of our staff. The successful jobholder will benefit from an extensive initial training programme with plenty of opportunities to develop specialisms in particular aspects of consular assistance casework.

We are looking for someone who thrives on working with and helping others. You will need sound judgement; an empathetic disposition; good organisational skills; and strong personal resilience in dealing with setbacks/obstacles and sometimes stressful encounters, with the support of your colleagues.

**Roles and responsibilities**:
Assistance
- Maintain close links with local authorities including, but not limited to police, prisons, hospitals, care homes and other British Government teams and departments who work with us to help British Nationals;
- Maintain accurate and concise case records using FCDO IT platforms;
- Facilitate and print Emergency Travel Documents (ETD) through liaison with our ETD centre.
- Arranging and facilitating citizenship ceremonies;
- Assist the Vice Consul in supporting colleagues in Sao Paulo and Brasilia and Consular Honorary Consuls who occasionally conduct consular work, and our Consular Agent network by providing guidance as necessary and participating in their training.
- Exceptionally, participate in call-out arrangements for emergency cases out of hours when our Global Response Centre in London requests additional support.

Counter and Notarial Services
- Provide a range of in-person and remote notarial services;
- Maintain a cash float and ensure adherence to other financial reporting requirements.

Partnership/Prevention and Project Work
- Support the Consular Network in Brazil to reduce the number of preventable incidents and minimise risks to British Nationals overseas by supporting delivery of relevant projects;
- Actively seek out and maintain partnerships with local authorities, members of the public and their legal representatives, airlines, tour operators, hotels and British Government Departments in order to achieve strategic goals. Maintain and update our contacts database;
- Contribute to improvements to customer service delivery across the whole Consular section, including provision of accurate information for public-facing documentation and guidance.
- Make travel bookings and arranging meetings and events for the team;
- Accompany the Vice Consul or CROM on outreach visits to different areas of Brazil to build and maintain contact network.

Teamwork and Learning
- Personal administration and management including participation in the annual appraisal system, completing personal development plans and maintaining skills and knowledge proficiency.
- Provide support to colleagues dealing with traumatic events, distressed British people and complex cases.
- Contribute to learning and development initiatives for the whole team, providing and accepting constructive feedback to a professional standard.

Crisis work and Resilience
- Prepare for crisis handling and implementation of the Consulate Crisis Management Plan, including participation in crisis management exercises and use of the crisis IT systems;
- Regularly maintain and update the consular elements of Post’s Crisis Management Plan; ensure consular staff have access to and are familiar with the Crisis Hub;
- Maintain a read