BASIC DATA POSITION
Job title           : Senior consular officer
Mission            : Dutch Embassy in Madrid
Job level           : scale 7 (1.710 – 1.995 EUR gross, depending on relevant experience)
Hours                 : parttime 21,25 hours per week
Periode             : permanent contract
Starting date  : 1st December 2024

The embassy has an active diversity policy and aims to be an inclusive organisation. We do this by making the most of people's differences and by creating a work culture in which everyone can be themselves and feels valued. In the composition of teams and when recruiting new employees, we strive for diversity in age, gender (identity), culture, religion, background, orientation, (work) disability, knowledge and competences, among others.

WHO ARE WE LOOKING FOR?
The Dutch embassy in Madrid is looking for a flexible, empathetic and customer-oriented colleague who derives satisfaction from helping Dutch citizens in need and who can provide other excellent consular services. The senior consular officer will have to deal with almost all facets of complex and sensitive consular work. There is no question of only carrying out (parts of) consular services, but all consular elements are covered, such as informing authorities and third-party stakeholders about the (interpretation of) laws and regulations in the consular work area. Some of the tasks the consular officer may face on a working day include: taking a passport application, issuing a statement, assisting in a death or detention case and consulting with third-party stakeholders. The senior consular officer maintains an overview and composure in situations where multiple tasks are intertwined and time pressure is involved.

The senior consular officer is involved in generally formulated assignments. Assessing the importance and urgency, making connections and considering the consequences of action, monitoring progress and processing, signalling and reporting are daily tasks. Some flexibility is expected, as it may be necessary to provide assistance to Dutch citizens outside working hours.
• The employee is a team player and a link to the internal organisation and external environment, is solution-oriented, stress-resistant, representative and customer-oriented;
• The employee coordinates information flows, maintains the required consular information systems and contributes to excellent consular services;
• The employee is empathetic, a good listener, resilient, strong-minded and has ample resilience to provide support to Dutch nationals in need;
• The employee is independent and makes own choices in preparation, and judgement plays a role.

The Dutch embassy in Madrid is one of the busiest Dutch embassies in the world in terms of consular services due to the large number of Dutch nationals who stay permanently or temporarily in Spain every year. The selected candidate will receive on-the-job training in the various consular processes and systems.

Employment contract: according to local laws and regulations. Legal Status Regulation Local Employees 2020 (RLW 2020), adopted by the Minister of Foreign Affairs as well as the related post elaboration for Spain (Puw).

This is a local position with associated salary and working conditions of the Dutch embassy in Spain. It is a permanent part-time job with a probationary period of 2 months.

TASKS
1. Consular services
• Taking applications for, among others, the issuance of travel documents, emergency documents, provisional residence permits and other front office duties in accordance with legal requirements and checking for completeness and correctness of an application;
• Visiting different locations in Spain 2 to 3 times a year to collect travel document applications outside Madrid;
• Providing (actively) oral and written (background) information for the application of consular statements and DigiD codes;
• Other front office tasks such as assisting with civic integration exams, naturalisation exams and nationality requests;
• Back office tasks such as handling shipments of applications and following up incomplete files.
2. Consular social services
• Providing excellent consular assistance, giving support to vulnerable Dutch citizens and Dutch nationals in need. This may include situations such as hospitalisations, deaths, detentions and cases of mentally confused behaviour;
• Visiting and providing (emotional) support to Dutch nationals in distress;
• Visiting detainees, accompanying volunteers Reclassering Nederland and Stichting Epafras;
• Assisting in the preparation and response to a crisis situation potentially involving large numbers of Dutch nationals, such as forest fires, large-scale accidents or natural disasters;
• Liaise and attend meetings with local Spanish stakeholders, such as undertakers, police, courts and social services, local town halls and charities providing support and assistance to Dutch nationals.
3. Information and knowledge transfer
• Informing authorities and third-party stakeholders both in Spain and in the Netherlands;
• Email management and coordination of handling enquiries, requests and calls;
• Handling incoming calls regarding consular matters;
• Collecting information and checking it against existing legal regulations;
• Participating in weekly shifts (2-3 times a year) requiring 24/7 (telephone) availability;
• Replacing other consular staff within the department during absence / leave of absence;
• Meeting ‘deadlines’ and delivering assigned work accurately;
• Other occurring consular work.
Depending on the work, more emphasis can be given (periodically) to certain parts of the tasks.

KNOWLEDGE AND SKILLS REQUIREMENTS
• Working and intellectual level: HBO and at least 5 years' work experience;
• Good oral and written command of Dutch and Spanish (at least C1 level). Knowledge of English at B.2 level;
• Excellent communication skills (written and oral) and service-oriented attitude;
• Attention to detail and problem-solving skills;
• Good command of Windows-driven MS office programmes such as Word, Excel, Outlook and PowerPoint;
• Affinity with professional consular affairs is a plus.

COMPETENCIES
• Empathic
• Customer focus
• Persuasiveness
• Cooperation
• Integrity
• Result-oriented
• Initiative
• Flexibility
• Stress-resistance
• Proactive

WORKENVIRONMENT
Embassy Madrid currently has more than 60 staff, including 15 expatriate staff from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and other ministries. The vast majority of the team consists of local staff.
The Head of Consular and Internal Affairs (Operations Manager) is responsible for the day-to-day management of the Consular and General Affairs departments. The senior consular officer is accountable to the head of the department.
The department consists of 8 consular staff, 1 receptionist and 7 general affairs staff. In addition, the embassy has 9 Honorary Consulates in Spain. The honorary consul supports the consular department in urgent cases, such as the loss of a travel document by a Dutch citizen.
The department works in good consultation as ‘one team’ and team members are flexible. Colleagues are proactive and show initiative, do not have a 9-to-5 mentality and do not hesitate to take over work from each other where necessary, even during absences.

ARE YOU INTERESTED?
Send your cover letter and CV in Dutch by 11 October 2024 to mad-hr@minbuza.nl, for the attention of Mrs Filiz Deveci.
The selection procedure consists of several rounds and individual task assignments may be part of this.