Community Liaison Officer

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Job Category

Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office (Operations and Corporate Services)

Job Subcategory

Community Liaison

Job Description (Roles and Responsibilities)

Main purpose of job:

Work closely with British High Commission Management for the well-being of staff in Lusaka. Support and advocate for UK Based staff and families on community issues, especially focussing on welfare, communication with families and information gathering. Support new arrivals at the mission, including leading on Post Fact Sheet and Post Report revisions. Liaise with contacts with similar responsibilities in other friendly missions and British Missions in the region to share best practice, contacts and information.

Roles and responsibilities:

Arrivals/Departures: Arriving and Departing from post is a stressful time. The CLO will provide support to new staff. In the planning phase the CLO will gather information about family composition and any special needs which may impact on the new arrivals needs, including accommodation allocation. In return the CLO will ensure the family has access to relevant information about post including spouse/partner employment, education options, childcare etc. Departing staff can expect support from the CLO as they go through the process of leaving post.

Community Support: The CLO will welcome all new arrivals to ensure a smooth integration into the life of the mission community. This will be through undertaking an essential groceries shop for items to be pre-positioned in arrival accommodation, providing familiarisation tours for new arrivals of key locations in Lusaka, introducing new family members to the spouse/partner UKB community. The CLO will maintain contact with new arrivals until they are settled. The CLO also provides support for the BHC community as a source of information/direction and to raise any arising problems and difficulties. Issues may need to be handled sensitively and with discretion. Where appropriate, the CLO will seek intervention on behalf of the affected individual/family either directly or by highlighting the issue with Managers. The CLO will lead on community cohesion through the occasional organisation of social gatherings or events.

Committee Representation: The CLO will advocate for UK-based staff and families in addressing issues of importance with Mission Management, including as their representative on Post Operations Committee, Post Housing Committee and Post Security Committee, reporting back any relevant outcomes to BHC families. The CLO will also maintain an awareness of aware of and be involved in Mission contingency and drawdown plans. All CLOs should complete the Crisis Preparedness Management eLearning on Hera. The CLO will assist post managers in the maintenance of family details which may be required in the event of evacuation or drawdown.

Information Management: The CLO leads on a number of periodic tasks which directly impact on families. These include:

Ensuring that pre-posting information sources remain relevant and up to date. These include

Welcome Pack

Post report

Post Fact Sheet

Nursery & School Information Sheets

Spouse/Partner Employment Information

Completion of BHC Lusaka’s (normally) six monthly Cost of Living (COLA) return

Liaison with the FCDO’s medical provider (currently Healix), including, when required, over provision of vaccines and engagement with local medical providers (no medical knowledge is required)