JOB DESCRIPTION

View Vacancy – BMA – Pro Consul (AO)

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 Description (Roles and Responsibilities)

The British Embassy Bahrain has a vacancy for a Pro Consul, job grade Administrative Officer (AO) for a fixed term contract of 7-months (with the possibility of renewal of up to 12 months).

The jobholder will be expected to have the ability to deliver a professional and efficient Consular service to British Nationals in Bahrain. Reporting to the Vice Consul, the main purpose of the role is to ensure that British Nationals receive a professional, high-quality service and that advice provided is accurate, timely, and consistent, and offered in a sensitive manner and in line with Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office (FCDO) guidance. This will include developing and maintaining contacts with local authorities and in the community, providing notarial and documentary services, and taking part in our communications and prevention work.

In response to local or regional crisis, the jobholder will play a key role in the section’s response and deployment.

The successful candidate will need to be a self-starter, highly motivated, and have excellent interpersonal, office management skills and make a corporate contribution to the wider Embassy.

Consular work can sometimes be emotionally challenging, distressing, and of a sensitive nature. The jobholder will therefore be expected to demonstrate high levels of personal resilience and maintain absolute consular confidentiality and impartiality.

Duties and responsibilities:

Provide professional and efficient Consular service

• Provide accurate advice and assistance in a sensitive manner to British Nationals (BNs) and their families via face-to-face, telephone, or email on a range of issues such as arrests/ detention, hospitalisations, supporting bereaved families, mental health, child custody issues, debt and employment issues, and other sensitive cases such as sexual assault or forced marriage.
• Maintain accurate and concise case records of services provided on consular databases.
• Ensure all customer correspondence are replied to in a timely and efficient way, providing consistent, accurate information in accordance with FCDO guidelines.
• Be prepared to work out of hours, occasionally anti-social hours, as required.
• Take part in the Embassy emergency planning and any response to a crisis affecting UK citizens.
• Administering the appointment system.
• Provide counter services including notarial work and Emergency Travel Documents (ETDs), ensuring consistent customer service to BNs.
• Collecting fees, cashing up, and other financial requirement.
• Ensure deadlines for Returns and Management Information are met.
• Proactively build and maintain relationships with external contacts.

Prevention Communications and Outreach

• Working to help to deliver high quality local prevention and communications work, working closely with the Embassy’s Press/ Communications Team and other senior stakeholders. Producing materials, using social media, and attending events.
• Monitor changes in local procedures and practices, ensuring that all information and guidance for BNs reflects changes and is up to date, e.g., service providers, lawyers list, travel advice, web pages.

Wider Embassy contribution:

• The Job Holder, as with all members of staff, will contribute to the life of the Embassy community beyond their formal job description. This could include broader roles such as fire warden or joining a People Committee.
• The Job Holder will form part of crisis preparedness, exercising and any operational response.
• Respond flexibly and actively to evolving priorities and needs.

The above list is not exhaustive, and the jobholder will be required to be flexible and take on other ad hoc tasks as required as specific responsibilities could change in the future, and this would be at the discretion of the line manager. The job description may be reviewed to meet changes in business needs.

Key behaviours required:

• Delivering at Pace – Take responsibility for delivering timely and quality results with focus and drive.
• Making Effective Decisions – Use evidence and knowledge to support accurate, expert decisions and advice. Carefully consider alternative options, implications, and risks of decisions.
• Managing a Quality Service – Deliver service objectives with professional excellence, expertise, and efficiency, taking account of diverse customer needs.
• Working Together – Form effective partnerships and relationships with people both internally and externally, from a range of diverse backgrounds, sharing information, resources, and support.

Essential qualifications, skills and experience

• Consular work can sometimes be emotionally challenging, distressing, and of a sensitive nature. The jobholder will therefore be expected to demonstrate high levels of personal resilience and maintain absolute consular confidentiality and impartiality.
• Excellent customer care skills and the ability to respond to a range of customers’ needs.
• Excellent interpersonal and active listening skills, with the ability to cultivate and maintain a range of contacts at all levels.
• A team player who is capable of working on their initiative and who is adaptable to changing priorities. Must be able to work and act without close supervision.
• Fluent in English, both written and spoken. Able to express ideas and messages clearly and concisely, both orally and in written communication.
• IT literate and well versed in Microsoft Office applications (Outlook, Word, Excel, PowerPoint, Teams) and with accurate typing skills.

Desirable qualifications, skills and experience

• Previous Consular or related experience/ training, or experience of working in an operational delivery or customer service role.
• Arabic language skills, both written and spoken, is desirable but not required.
• Previous experience of creating engaging outreach content, use of social media and other platforms.

Required behaviours

Delivering at Pace, Making Effective Decisions, Managing a Quality Service, Working Together

Application deadline

10 November 2025

Grade

Administrative Officer (AO)

Type of Position

Full-time, Fixed Term

Working hours per week

35

Duration of Post

7 months

Region

Middle East & North Africa

Country/Territory

Bahrain

Location (City)

Manama/Bahrain

Type of Post

British Embassy

Number of vacancies

1

Salary Currency

BHD

Salary

1094

Type of Salary

monthly

Start Date

24 March 2026

End Date

24 October 2026

Other benefits and conditions of employment

Working hours and remuneration:

The Embassy aims to offer an attractive working environment and remuneration package for this role. The salary for this role is at BHD 1094 per month based on 35 hours per week.

If you are exempt from paying local social insurance in Bahrain, your salary will be abated by an amount equivalent to the social insurance that would otherwise be payable. Further information on this may be provided at interview if necessary.

No accommodation nor relocation expenses are payable in connection with this position.

The package includes private medical insurance and learning and development (L&D) opportunities.The jobholder may be required to complete the Consular Mandatory Learning Pathway e-learning immediately after joining and attend a five-day ‘Delivering Customer Excellence’ in the UK. Specific training and mentoring for the role will be provided, and your Line Manager will help you develop a personalised L&D plan and will share opportunities, resources and guidance to ensure you continue your learning.

This role is for a full-time employment on a fixed term contract from 24 March 2026 to 24 October 2026 (with the possibility of renewal up to 12 months). The successful candidate will be subject to a three-month probationary period. The appointment is subject to satisfactory local and UK security clearances.

Normal working hours at the Embassy are from 07:30-14:30 from Sunday to Thursday, with core working hours from 09:00-13:00. The Embassy operates a flexible working policy, which entitles staff to work more flexibly as long as the core hours are worked. This will be considered based on operational requirements and agreement with the line manager, and in line with FCDO and Embassy policies.

This role is primarily based at the Embassy to ensure close collaboration with senior colleagues. Limited remote working (such as one day per week) may be considered, subject to operational needs and Line Manager approval. The jobholder should be flexible in their approach to hours worked as these will also be dictated by operational needs and may involve working out of hours (evening and weekend). There may be limited opportunity/requirement to travel for work.

Additional information

How to apply:

Interested candidates must include in their online application form the following:

1) an updated Curriculum Vitae (CV);

2) a covering letter/ motivation essay stating how you meet the requirements of the role; and

3) specific examples, in the relevant sections of the online application form, of how you meet the key behaviours and/ or skills required.

The online application form, CV, cover letter/ essay, and examples must be in English.

Applications that do not include these this information will not be considered.

Please ensure that your application is authentically written based on your own experiences. If AI tools are used, their usage must only be limited to specific tasks such as ensuring formatting consistency and keyword relevance. The core content, personal narratives, and responses to behaviour and skill-based questions must genuinely reflect your professional journey, experiences, and achievements. We place great importance on originality and individual effort throughout the application process. Any form of plagiarism will result in immediate disqualification.

The closing date for applications is at 23:55 Bahrain local time on 10 November 2025

Applications received after the stated deadline will not be considered.

Internal candidates (i.e., those who are currently employed by the British Embassy Bahrain) applying for this position should consider informing their current line manager upon submission of their application.

Due to the large number of applications we receive, only those shortlisted for the next step of the recruitment process will be contacted.

Appointable candidates who were unsuccessful at interview may be placed on a ‘reserve list’. If during the reserve period of six (6) months the same or a largely similar role becomes available, that role may be offered to the second or subsequent candidate.

The start date mentioned in the advert is a tentative start date and the successful candidate will be required to undergo security-vetting procedures. Any offer of employment will be subject to the candidate achieving suitable clearances and reference checks.

The recruitment process, including security clearance, is expected to take around 2-3 months. The security clearance process includes checks available in country and in the UK, dependant on the security level required for the role and the candidate’s profile and UK footprint. You may experience some delay in the progress of this recruitment campaign, and we are working hard to minimise any disruption.

The FCDO operates an agile approach to delivery. To facilitate an agile workforce, you may be required to undertake other duties from time to time as we may reasonably require. The British Embassy Bahrain is an equal opportunities employer, dedicated to inclusivity, a diverse workforce and valuing difference. Staff recruited locally by the British Embassy are subject to terms and conditions of service according to local labour law.

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