The Dutch Embassy in London is looking for a consular employee.
The Consular Department is looking for a consular employee for 5 days a week from February 2025 for a period of 12 months.

The work is carried out within the consular department of the embassy under the responsibility of the Operational Manager. The consular employee is multi-deployable but primarily responsible for all common activities in the field of consular services (MVV and travel documents), providing consular assistance and support to Dutch nationals who have found themselves in emergency situations in the UK, guiding Dutch detainees and providing logistical and administrative support.

The consular employee is a social, customer-friendly and communicative person, who, due to the direct contact with the customer, together with the rest of the consular team, largely determines the face of the embassy. The employee is eager to learn and is open to change. The employee is a real team player who is prepared to step in for colleagues and take over work without being prompted to do so. He/she does not immediately see a problem but looks for the solution with a “can do” mentality when issues arise. The employee has an eye for individual circumstances and knows that a consular issue is never the same. Customer focus and empathy are competencies that are of great importance for the successful fulfillment of this function. He/she must be interested in all facets of consular work and have a good command of these, including the more sensitive and complex aspects. He/she is characterised by social communication skills and is a pleasant/balanced personality who is focused on cooperation, both within and outside his/her own department, and can make an active contribution to a good working atmosphere within the department. The approach and execution of the work is largely left to his/her own insight and the employee is expected to consult where necessary. The consular social element in the function requires flexibility with regard to working outside regular hours and the need to make prison visits throughout the country.

Activities

Consular Services

• Processing applications for the issue of travel documents, visa and MVV applications, checking the various documents, entering the applications in the various automated systems and issuing the created travel documents and visas;
• Providing (background) information, guidelines and advice verbally and in writing regarding applications for the issue of travel documents, visa and MVV applications.

Consular assistance

• Providing consular assistance to Dutch nationals in need
• Providing guidance to Dutch detainees in the UK

Logistical and administrative support

 

•Assessing the importance and urgency of incoming correspondence, adding information required for processing on your own initiative and at your own discretion;
• Planning, prioritising and organising appointments for consular services;
• Maintaining contacts with the Central Service Organisation in The Hague;
• Maintaining the (digital) consular archive by means of the formation, sending, arranging, filing, clearing and preserving of files and documents;
• Administrative actions with regard to the accounting of consular service fees;
• Keeping up to date with new applications and systems for (digital) consular services.

Working environment

The relations between the UK and the Netherlands are close. There is a considerable degree of like-mindedness in the political and cultural fields. In the economic field, both countries have been in each other's top 4 of largest trading partners and in the top 3 of largest investors for years. Due to the many contacts and interactions between both countries (political, economic, judicial, cultural, tourist, etc.), Dutch-British relations deserve special attention. This has only been further strengthened by the UK's withdrawal from the EU at the end of 2020.

The consular department falls under the supervision of the expatriate Operational Manager (Head of Consular and Internal Affairs) and also has 1 expatriate senior Consular and Internal Affairs employee and a number of locally hired employees. There is cooperation with the 13 honorary consuls and an external service provider (VFS) for Travel Document and Schengen Visa applications.

Knowledge/Training requirements

• Secondary Vocational Education (MBO) or equivalent experience;
• Preferably some consular experience;
• Good command of the Dutch and English language in speech and writing;
• Knowledge of the applicable laws and regulations, internal administrative procedures, work instructions and the formal rules of competencies and procedures and of the task, structure and working methods of the organisation;
• Knowledge (in broad outline) of the DCV (Directie Consulaire Zaken en Visumbeleid) policy;
• Knowledge of the processes at the CSO (Centrale Service Organisatie);
• Skill in creating and maintaining files;
• Skill in providing information about implementation regulations and procedures;
• Knowledge of the relevant consular (automated) systems, including Raas/Dam-RD, NVIS, Kairos, VIG, GBA, Kompas and skill in their application;
• Social and communication skills

Competencies

• Accurate work
• Integrity
• Customer focus
• Collaboration
• Stress resistant
• Flexibility
• Empathy
• Oral and written communication skills

OTHER

The candidate should already have the right to live and work in the UK.

The successful candidate will be offered a local contract on pay scale 6 (starting salary from GBP 3571 gross per month), based on a 38-hour working week. The contract is with the Dutch Ministry of Foreign Affairs. You are employed by the Dutch Embassy in London and fall under the following regulations: Legal Status (Local Employees) Regulations 2020 (LSR2020) in combination with the Mission Version for the UK.

How to apply

Interested candidates may send their Curriculum Vitae and motivation letter (in Dutch or English) by e-mail latest by Sunday 19th of January 2025.