View Vacancy – LAO – Policy Officer, EO

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 (Policy & Political roles)

Job Description (Roles and Responsibilities)

Main Purpose of Job:

This is an important and exciting opportunity for someone experienced in policy work. We are looking for an energetic, enthusiastic and motivated person to join our small and vibrant team. The job holder will require strong analytical and communication skills (especially in English) and will have opportunities to take a leading role on pieces of work and policy areas. As part of the role, the jobholder will also have the opportunity to support senior visits, attend networking events, and build relationships with other Embassies and stakeholders.

The areas of policy work the jobholder will work on will support our Country Business Plan, deepening the partnership between the UK and Laos. They will provide insights and analysis and deliver impact in areas from development cooperation, economic growth, transnational crime and people to people links. It’s important the job holder is a team player, who is able to share information and work closely with colleagues working on different policy portfolios. They will be learning about both the UK and Laos policy priorities and be a bridge in building the partnership between our two countries, delivering real world impact.

The jobholder will report directly to the Mekong Development Counsellor. This will be a varied policy role which will cover key parts of the UK’s bilateral relationship with Laos. We want the jobholder to have a flexible outlook and be able to shift the focus of work, in line with changing real-world events and Embassy priorities. The individual will also have the opportunity at times to work closely with the Ambassador and Deputy Ambassador.

The job holder will be given lots of opportunities to develop new skills through a generous Learning and Development offer.

What the Jobholder will be Expected to Achieve:

• Analysis and reporting: regular reporting and updates in English. This will be based on desktop research, outreach and stakeholder engagement. Topics will be varied, and the jobholder will need to take a flexible and proactive approach. The ability to also brief and discuss issues verbally in English is required – given external engagement with the UN and other international organisations.
• Policy development: to support the scoping and deployment of development programmes in Laos, and potentially the wider region, and feed into policy development in the UK through sharing insights on the Laos context.
• Stakeholder development: proactively build networks with Government Officials, civil society and the private sector that enable delivery of key UK objectives. This will include sharing information, negotiating and persuading senior contacts, including through deploying the Ambassador.
• Regional policy delivery: identify regional trends, through networks and desk research, and support the Mekong Development Counsellor and DHM to shape UK policy and programmes to limit risks. This will include building networks with British Embassies across the region and teams in other UK Government Departments.
• Events and visits: lead on visits from UK delegations and senior officials, supporting UK objectives.
• Communications support provide back-up support to communications officer on the breadth of Embassy activity

Resources Managed (staff and expenditure):

Potentially some responsibility for budget management of projects.

Essential qualifications, skills and experience

• Degree level education, ideally in a relevant discipline that developed written skills
• Work experience in a policy context
• High level of discretion with a resilient, flexible and “can do” attitude
• Able to work with a range of stakeholders
• The ability to think independently and produce high quality research and analysis
• Fluency in English

Desirable qualifications, skills and experience

• Previous experience working at an Embassy or International Organisation
• Development and/or regional security experience
• Fluency in Lao

Required behaviours

Communicating and Influencing, Delivering at Pace, Seeing the Big Picture, Working Together

Application deadline

31 December 2025

Grade

Executive Officer (EO)

Type of Position

Full-time, Fixed term, with possibility of renewal

Working hours per week

35

Region

Asia Pacific

Country/Territory

Laos

Location (City)

Vientiane

Type of Post

British Embassy

Number of vacancies

1

Salary Currency

USD

Salary

2,058.90

Type of Salary

monthly

Start Date

1 April 2026

Other benefits and conditions of employment

This role is advertised as a 12-month fixed term contract, with possibility of renewal.

This could be a busy role which may on occasion require some out of hour’s support in the event of a crisis or incident. Attempts are made to limit this, and a system of TOIL is in place.

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, 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 British Embassy, located close to the Patuxay Monument, is a small, friendly and vibrant place to work. There will be great opportunities for you to not only develop and build on your existing knowledge, but to understand and contribute to how our work develops and strengthens UK – Laos relations.

Staff recruited locally by the British Embassy Vientiane are subject to terms and conditions of service according to local Lao employment law.

No accommodation or relocation expenses are payable in connection with this position. You must have or be able to obtain work authorisation for Laos in order to apply. All candidates must be legally able to work and reside in the country of the vacancy with the correct visa/work permit status or demonstrate eligibility to obtain the relevant permit. Any costs related to obtaining or renewing permits and visas are the responsibility of the successful applicant.

Employees who are not liable to pay local income tax on their Mission salary may have their salaries reduced by the equivalent local income tax amount.

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.

Learning and Development Opportunities:

Our Learning and Development package is very attractive, which offers both online and in person training. We are a relatively small Embassy, which will allow the job holder to be involved in a variety of activities.

The job holder can expect training on key areas of the job.

Additional information

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

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

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.

Note: All applicants are required to mandatorily fill the online application form completely including the employment and educational details, experience, professional skills and behaviour-based questions. We will be thoroughly reviewing the applications and incomplete form in any respect may not be considered while shortlisting for the next stage.

Only shortlisted candidates for interview will be contacted. Interviewees will be assessed on the core behaviours/qualifications listed above. Unsuccessful candidates will be notified via the system in due time. Appointable candidates who were unsuccessful may be placed on a ‘reserve list’. If during the reserve period of 6 months the same or a largely similar role becomes available, that role may be offered to the second or subsequent candidate.

To ensure a successful application it is important that you explain how you demonstrate these behaviours, including through your experience. You are strongly advised to read the Success Profiles Civil Service Behaviours Framework, which provides detailed guidance on how the behaviours are defined.

Applicants are encouraged to use the STAR (Situation, Task, Action, Result) format to prepare specific examples of when they have demonstrated these behaviours in their application. Using the STAR format to provide evidence of your skills and experience in your application and at interview helps to give a structure. You briefly describe the situation in which you showed the behaviour, and then explain your task in addressing the situation, what action you took and the result of this.

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.

For inclusivity and diversity, please remove the following personal information when uploading your CV: name, address, email address, age, date of birth, gender and nationality.

The start date mentioned in the job 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.

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.