The British Consulate in Portimão protects and promotes the interests of approximately 1.4 million British visitors to the Consular District each year and around 40,000 British residents who live there. The Consular District covers the Algarve region of Southern Portugal. The Consulate is seeking to recruit a Consular Support Officer to join the Portimão team.
The core of the job will involve attending to members of the public at the front counter, taking telephone calls in English and Portuguese, answering emails and ensuring the Consular officers have all the necessary back up to enable them to give the best possible service to our customers. The support needed includes filing and general administrative duties.
We are looking for a candidate with proven experience in customer handling, both face to face and over the telephone, working in a target driven and team environment, well organised, with strong interpersonal skills and experience in office administration. Fluency in English and Portuguese (both written and oral) is essential. IT skills are important and the right candidate will have a strong working knowledge of Microsoft Windows, Excel and Power Point. Some occasional travel may be required, so a driving licence would be an advantage. Full induction and training in consular work will be provided to the successful candidate including attendance at a one week training course abroad.
Employment Terms: 12 month contract, subject to satisfactory references and a security clearance. There will be a probation period of 1 month.
Working hours: 35 hours a week, from 0900-1630 Monday to Friday. Some additional duties at weekend events are occasionally required.
Annual Salary: 14,833 gross Euro paid by 14 monthly payments plus 1,608 Euro meal allowance.
Income Tax: The Embassy is a Diplomatic Mission with exempt status and does not collect taxes for other States. Employees are totally responsible for payment of Portuguese income tax at the legally required rate.
Social Security: the successful candidate will be enrolled in the Portuguese State Social Security Scheme and will not therefore be entitled to any gratuity from the Embassy/Consulate based on gross annual salary.
Applications: Applicants should submit a letter of application in English by email, explaining why they believe they meet the requirements of the job, and what they can bring to the Consulate team, together with their CV in English. Please email to [email protected] for the attention of the HR Manager by 23rd September 2011. We regret that we will not be able to reply to all applicants personally. Those not contacted by 30th September should assume their application has not been successful. Interviews will be held during the week commencing 3rd October in Portimão. Start date will be the 17th October.
For further information on the work of the British Embassy and the British Consulate please see http://ukinportugal.fco.gov.uk
