A CAREER LIKE NO OTHERForeign & Commonwealth Office

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WHY A CAREER IN THE DIPLOMATIC SERVICE?

• Challenging work that often makes a difference to people’s lives

• Very early responsibility

• Experience a great variety of work

• Excellent training and support

WHO WE ARE

• The lead government department handling foreign affairs working in three key areas:– Foreign policy delivery– Service delivery– Corporate services

WHAT WE DO– We deal on a daily basis with:

• Child abduction, • Conflict prevention, • Forced marriages, • Blood diamonds, • Counter terrorism, • Climate change, • Trade and investment, • Helping British citizens abroad and so much

more…

ENTRY ROUTES

• The Fast Stream

• Band A and B Generalist Recruitment

• Specialist Recruitment

• Internships and Work Experience

AFFECT LIVESWORK WITH GOVERNMENT

• The Fast Stream - a demanding graduate entry point into the Civil Service

• Training and development• An opportunity to work directly with members

of the public and government ministers• Could you make a difference to national life,

turn policy into reality?

GRADUATE FAST STREAMwww.faststream.gov.uk

SIX OPTIONS:

• Diplomatic Service

• Central Departments

• Science & Engineering

• Clerkships in Parliament

• Economists

• Statisticians

GRADUATE FAST STREAM

THE DIPLOMATIC SERVICE OPTIONS:

• The Diplomatic Service*

• Economists

WHAT WILL YOU DO

• First two years in London

– One year doing Policy delivery work

– One year doing Service delivery work

• Then abroad in one of 200 embassies, high

commissions or consulates around the globe for

two to three years

• After that, the world’s your oyster…

TRAINING AND CAREER DEVELOPMENT

• A personal training programme

• Mentoring and pairing

• On-the-job training

• Self study

• National School of Government

BENEFITS• Starting salary from around £27,000

(includes £3000 London Weighting)

• Choice of pension costing a maximum of 3.5% of salary

• 25 days holiday, plus 10.5 public holidays

• Flexible working widely available

• Opportunities to work internationally

ENTRY REQUIREMENTS

• A 2:2 degree in any discipline*

• All Diplomatic Service posts are open to UK nationals only

HOW THE SCHEME WORKS

• Online application betweenSeptember and November annually– includes online verbal, numeric self-

assessment with feedback provided

• Online cognitive and non-cognitive tests

• Invigilated ½ day e-Tray exercise

• Two One-day Assessment Centres*

ASSESSMENT CENTRE

If you are successful in the on-line tests you’ll be invited to our assessment centre in London for a day:– Group exercise

– Briefing exercise

– Policy Recommendation exercise

– Interview

It will be a stimulating experience and feedback is provided!

WHAT IS BEING ASSESSED

Our assessment process is wholly competency based and tests:– Drive for results

– Learning and improving

– Decision-making

– Constructive thinking

– Building productive relationships

– Communicating with impact

www.faststream.gov.uk

• Please visit the web site

• There are profiles of current Fast Streamers to read that will give you a flavour of the work we do

• Remember, application is online - and it’s not a good idea to go to the wire on the closing date!

BANDS A AND B • Administrative Assistants*• Executive Assistants• Operational Officers

– Vital support for the Diplomatic Service both in London and in our posts abroad

– Specialise in the practical side of diplomatic work

• Recruitment dependent on business need • Check www.fco.gov.uk/careers

SPECIALIST RECRUITMENT• Specialists provide invaluable knowledge and expertise to

a wide variety of FCO roles

• Recruitment dependent on business need, check www.fco.gov.uk/careers

• The range of skills they bring is extensive and includes:– Research & analysis – Legal expertise – Accountancy & finance skills – Audit, compliance and risk analysis – Library science – Information technology

WORK EXPERIENCEVisit our website www.fco.gov.uk/careersfor details on the following:

• Undergraduate Placement Scheme– We offer two-week placements for eligible students at our offices

in central London

• We also participate in Cabinet Office’s Summer Development and Placement Schemes– For more details please go to www.faststream.gov.uk

Opportunities are dependent on business need

BLOGS• Foreign and Commonwealth Office

blogsite: – Global Conversations– http://blogs.fco.gov.uk/roller– Daily accounts of what it’s really like to

work for us

OPEN TO ALL• Our recruitment policy is aimed at bringing in a

talented and diverse workforce that represents the society that we serve.

• We actively seek applications from all sections of society and offer positions to suitably qualified individuals regardless of ethnicity, religion, social/educational background, age, disability or sexual orientation.

• Appointments at all levels of the FCO are made on the basis of merit.

A world of choice for your career.Be where it matters.

Any questions?

www.fco.gov.uk/careers