Australian High Commission
United Kingdom
Australia House, London

Political Officer

Full-time: 36.75 hours per week

Position number: TBC

Starting salary: From £46,989 + competitive benefits

Classification: LE6

The Australian High Commission London is seeking applications for a full-time Political Officer. This is an exciting role which will offer the successful applicant the opportunity to report on UK domestic politics and parliamentary affairs and advocate Australian Government interests.

The successful candidate will need highly developed stakeholder management skills to balance the competing priorities of multiple reporting lines. You’ll be expected to build and maintain strong collaborative relationships with government departments, bodies and agencies in the UK and in Australia.

He/ She will have highly developed communication skills and good research skills for policy development. You’ll be a team player, with a flexible approach in supporting and contributing positively to a small team.

The successful candidate will need to balance the delivery of high level research, analyses, interpretation and presentation with undertaking routine administration and logistics to support the section.

The successful candidate will also perform the role of Office Manager for the Political and Economic Branch of the High Commission.  In this role, you will be responsible for overseeing the day to day administration of the political branch.  

Please note: it is a condition of this appointment that any candidates applying for this position must be able to obtain and maintain an Australian National Security Clearance to Negative Vetting Level 2 (Top Secret), and must therefore be an Australian Citizen. Security clearances can take several months to process. There is no guarantee that the successful candidate for the position will be successful in obtaining a clearance. The inability to obtain a clearance will prevent a successful candidate from being employed and loss of a security clearance at any time will lead to termination of employment.

It is desirable, but not essential, for applicants to already hold a current Australian National Security Clearance.

About the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade (DFAT)

The role of the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade (DFAT) is to advance the interests of Australia and Australians internationally. This involves strengthening Australia’s security, enhancing Australia’s prosperity, delivering an effective and high quality overseas aid program and helping Australian travellers and Australians overseas.

The department provides foreign, trade and development policy advice to the Australian Government. DFAT also works with other Australian government agencies to drive coordination of Australia’s pursuit of global, regional and bilateral interests.

About the Position:     

The Political Officer provides support and backup to the Political and Economic branch in a range of ways, including in preparing reports on political and other developments in the UK, preparing for and hosting visitors and supporting the branch by providing administrative services.

Under the direction of the Head of the Political and Economic Branch, duties include:

  1. Political and Parliamentary Affairs: Report on, and liaise with, the UK Government, UK Parliament, MPs, devolved and local governments, think tanks and NGOs on all matters concerning UK domestic politics and parliamentary affairs, particularly focused on issues of interest or concern to Australia. Research and analysis to contribute to policy development.  Support the High Commissioner and other members of the High Commission in developing and maintaining appropriate networks of contacts.
  2. Other policy areas: Report on UK positions and advocate Australian Government interests on other policy areas as directed.  Research and analysis to contribute to policy development. 
  3. Office management: Oversee Political Branch expenditure in liaison with the Finance section. Schedule maintenance, cleaning and repairs, liaise with contractors, technicians. Support major events/functions, liaise with Visits/Events teams.  (Approx 15%)
  4. In liaison with Executive and Visits Section assist in the management of visits to the UK by ministers and senior officials.
  5. Other Duties as directed

Please note the above duties are indicative only and are subject to change in response to operational requirements and as directed

Selection Criteria

To be considered for this role applicants are expected to provide good evidence, in both the application form and at interview; of the following experience, skills and knowledge:

  1. The ability to respond quickly and efficiently to research requests and to distil complex information into audience appropriate written communications that inform and influence senior colleagues, often working to very tight deadlines.
  2. The ability to build relationships for influence; to understand the interests of diverse stakeholders; and from these to build reciprocal and mutually beneficial networks that deliver results.
  3. The professional confidence to manage effectively a range of complex stakeholder relationships and to persuasively represent Australia’s policy interests in both informal and formal settings and to all stakeholder levels.
  4. The ability to manage autonomously a demanding workload; prioritising effectively and using initiative and innovations to create efficiencies, manage expectations and deliver high quality results.
  5. The ability to display judgement and discretion in the management of highly sensitive information and to maintain the highest levels of confidentiality and security.
  6. Excellent team-working skills including the adaptability and flexibility to undertake a range of more routine tasks and administration to underpin the delivery of the section’s priorities.
  7. It is desirable, but not essential, for applicants to already hold a current Australian National Security Clearance.

How to apply

Applications close at 12noon (BST) on Tuesday 31 May 2016.

Late, incomplete and/or ineligible applications, including those that have not adequately addressed each selection criteria, will not be considered for engagement.

Candidates interested in this position must submit a complete application, including the following documents as separate attachments:

1. UK-Based Application Form (including an address to the each of the selection criteria);
2. Your current CV
3. The Diversity and Equal Opportunities Monitoring Questionnaire.

Please include all attachments as electronic documents - do not print and scan the application form.

Applications are to be submitted to: [email protected]

Please note: the Diversity and Equal Opportunities Monitoring Questionnaire will not be passed to the selection committee for this role. It will be held confidentially by the Human Resources Department for statistical monitoring purposes only. You may submit this attachment in a separate email if you wish, to [email protected].

Note: Please submit the application form as an electronic document and check that your application form has been completed in full upon submission. In some circumstances application forms can come through blank and require resending.