JOB DESCRIPTION

View Vacancy – Consular Officer, Athens (GRC25.354)

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. The FCDO operates an agile workforce and to facilitate this, you may be required to undertake other duties from time to time, as we may reasonably require.

Job Category

Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office (Consular Roles)

Job Subcategory

Consular

Job Description (Roles and Responsibilities)

Who are we?

The British Embassy in Athens is part of a world-wide network, representing a wide range of British interests overseas from political, through Economic, consular and Law Enforcement. The Embassy is now looking for a Consular Officer to work within the Consular Team at the British Embassy in Athens.

Main purpose of the job:

The main purpose of the job is to help provide support to vulnerable UK Nationals in Greece. We need dynamic, well-organised people with a passion for customer service to offer clear guidance and assistance to UK nationals.

The role will involve in person and remote support, liaising and building relationships with the Hellenic police, social services and other Greek authorities – drawing from expertise in our UK team and across the Embassy to deliver.

Candidates will need to adapt to shifting priorities and operational objectives to best serve those UK Nationals most in need, including out of office hours, and the job will entail some element of travel both on the Greek mainland and to some of the closer Greek Islands.

What will you be expected to achieve?

The responsibilities that this role will cover will include:

• Providing consular support (including occasionally out of hours) to vulnerable UK Nationals (70%), including:
  • vulnerable elderly;
  • those with mental health issues;
  • victims of crime, including rape and sexual assault victims;
  • those arrested or detained;
  • those in hospital.
• Providing notarial services for UK Nationals (5%)
• Providing Emergency Travel Documents (5%)
• Travel within Greece to offer face to face support to British Nationals and to provide resilience to other consular teams (5%)
• Readiness to react in a crisis situation to support UK Nationals (5%)
• Taking part in proactive projects to prevent or mitigate situations in which UK Nationals become vulnerable (5%)
• Building and maintain a good working network of operational stakeholders (5%)

Essential qualifications, skills and experience

Our ideal candidate shows:

• Proven customer service experience of at least three years and a strong sense of customer service delivery, including an ability to support customers in difficult or traumatic situations.
• Excellent communication and customer service skills.
• Fluency in oral and written English and Greek, at a C level.
• Excellent interpersonal skills, ability to work collaboratively with colleagues both in the Embassy and Consular teams and in the UK.
• Attention to detail, strong analytical perspective and problem-solving skills.
• Ability to work at pace and prioritise, managing an often heavy & intense workload.
• IT skills (Outlook, PowerPoint, Word, MS Teams).
• Valid passport and permission to live and work in the EU.

Desirable qualifications, skills and experience

Nice to have:

• Experience of assisting British nationals overseas.
• Experience of influencing and engaging key stakeholders and local authorities.
• An understanding of the issues that British nationals (tourists and residents) may face.
• Valid Driving licence.
• Available to work out of hours and to travel abroad when required.
• Knowledge of the various local administrative systems.

Required behaviours

Delivering at Pace, Making Effective Decisions, Working Together

Application deadline

5 November 2025

Grade

Administrative Officer (AO)

Type of Position

Full-time, Permanent

Working hours per week

37.5 hours/week

Region

Europe, Eastern Europe & Central Asia

Country/Territory

Greece

Location (City)

Athens

Type of Post

British Embassy

Number of vacancies

1

Salary Currency

EUR

Salary

€ 2,160.59 euros gross

Type of Salary

monthly

Start Date

1 January 2026

Other benefits and conditions of employment

This is a full-time, permanent contract, 5 working days, 37.5 hours per week, with a 6-month probation period. The working pattern provides some flexibility as per flexible working policy of Mission.

The British Embassy offers a competitive remuneration package, 24 days annual leave entitlement (given pro-rata to staff on fixed-term contracts and/or staff working part-time), a training package and flexible working opportunities. Monthly salary for this position is EUR € 2,160.59 gross. An individual personal development plan will be agreed with the successful candidate.

You will have regular access to wellbeing and counselling sessions to support you in your work

The successful candidate will be welcomed into the wider team in the British Embassy in Athens and will be encouraged to play a part in the corporate life of the Embassy.

The successful candidate will be subject to confirmation of a background and security clearance. Anyone with right of residence and employment in Greece may apply, including all EU / EEA citizens and the family members of EU / EEA nationals exercising a treaty right in Greece.

Staff recruited locally by the British Embassy is subject to terms and conditions service according to Greek employment law. The British Embassy does not sponsor work permits.

Visa/work permit requirements: Candidates must currently hold the independent right to live and work in Greece and be prepared to ensure that right remains throughout the scope of the contract.

Learning and development opportunities: The candidate will have to complete the mandatory FCDO onboarding training and also specific training related to Consular.

You will receive training in Consular work, and specifically in dealing with vulnerable people, including rape and sexual assault cases

• You will receive training regarding our response in crisis situations and the support available to UK Nationals
• You will also be given necessary training in all of the IT systems we use
• You will have ongoing access to wider FCDO and other training, including operational and development

The position is also entitled to 5 days of Personal Development per annum for development activities (this includes both formal and informal learning).

*Please note that it is your responsibility to ensure you meet the legal requirements to live and work in this country.

Specific Local Post requirement:

It is important to note that the consular role is very demanding and will entail dealing with casework in situations that may involve hospitalisation, death, detention, rape and sexual assault and prison visits. You will be required to deal face to face with highly distressed British nationals who may be in shock, grieving and in a crisis situation. Candidates should therefore have a high level of resilience to trauma.

Additional information

Please note that the deadline for applications is 23:55 on the day mentioned in the above field “Application deadline”.

We advise you to allow enough time to complete and submit your full application, since only applications completed and submitted before the deadline will be considered.

Please be aware that the deadline for submitting applications is considered to be the time zone for the country where the vacancy has arisen.

FCDO does not pay for travel related expense incurred in interviews (including Security Check) or accept any financial risk, including cancelation or reschedule costs. The FCDO will not meet the costs connected with relocation if offered a position.

*Please note for more information on the Common European Framework of Reference for Languages: Learning, Teaching, Assessment levels please click on the following link CEFR. Please bear in mind in case you are invited for an interview your language skill is going to be assessed.

Please be aware that you will only be able to apply to vacancies for Country Based Staff roles with the British Government through this official tal.net site (operated by Oleeo). Jobs may be advertised on third party websites, however our adverts will always link back to the official tal.net site. If you complete and send an application through any other site, we will not receive it.

Level of Education: Bachelor Degree

Work Hours: 8

Experience in Months: No requirements