Research and Executive Support Officer

The successful applicant will be engaged as a locally engaged staff member by the Australian Embassy, Paris and must be in possession of a valid authorisation of work for France, or be able to obtain one on their own._ _

**About Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade**

The role of the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade (DFAT) is to advance the interests of Australia and Australians internationally. This involves strengthening Australia’s security, enhancing Australia’s prosperity, delivering an effective and high-quality overseas aid program, and helping Australian travellers and Australians overseas.

The department provides foreign, trade and development policy advice to the Australian Government. DFAT also works with other Australian government agencies to drive coordination of Australia’s pursuit of global, regional, and bilateral interests.

**About the Position**

The Research and Executive Support Officer provides administrative, research and organisational support to the Ambassador and Permanent Delegate to UNESCO. The position develops and maintains working-level relationships with the secretariat of UNESCO and Permanent Delegations and provides administrative and research support on activities that contribute to shaping the Australia’s engagement with UNESCO and the multilateral system.

The position is within the Permanent Delegation of Australia to UNESCO, which, in close collaboration with whole of government partners, is responsible for representing Australia’s interests across the sectors of UNESCO’s work: education, science, culture (including World Heritage) and communication and information.

Applicants for this position may be considered for any on-going or non-ongoing at-level research and executive support officer positions within the Australian Embassy, Permanent Delegation to the OECD and Permanent Delegation to UNESCO that may arise at the Australian Embassy, Paris over the 18-month period from the date of the advertisement of this position.

**The key responsibilities of the position include, but are not limited to**:

- Providing high-quality organisational and administrative support to the Ambassador to UNESCO and the delegation, including managing the Ambassador’s schedule, meetings, travel and appointments.
- Drafting and managing the Ambassador and delegation’s official correspondence.
- Liaising with senior officials from the Australian Government, UNESCO and in other Embassies and Permanent Delegations, Australian Paris (UNESCO, bilateral and OECD) missions.
- Coordinating official visit programs and representative functions, including overseeing logistics, catering, attendance management, invitation design and distribution and onsite support.
- Working closely with staff across the Australian Embassy in Paris to ensure the smooth operation of events for the delegation.
- Effectively managing the financial commitments of the delegation, including administration and acquittal of the Public Diplomacy funds and the Ambassador’s representational funds.
- Contributing to the development and implementation of the delegation’s strategic communications and public diplomacy strategies.
- Managing the delegation’s social media platforms.
- Coordinating and supporting effective records management.
- Assisting the delegation to advance Australia’s policy priorities at UNESCO, this includes representing the delegation in official meetings, preparing background briefs, note-taking, research and preparation of reports.

**Qualifications/Experience**
- Superior written and oral communication skills.
- Ability to work effectively and harmoniously in a small and busy team.
- Flexibility, initiative and excellent interpersonal and liaison skills.
- Demonstrated experience and proven ability of high-level administrative support to a senior executive.
- Demonstrated research, analysis and reporting skills.
- Demonstrated ability to undertake tasks with mínimal supervision, set priorities and meet deadlines.
- Ability to function effectively and professionally in a position of trust.
- Fluency in written and spoken English is required. A high level of written and spoken French is desirable.
- Demonstrated experience in event coordination and management.
- Experience in managing social media platforms is desirable.
- Ability to build and foster a broad network across the Paris-based diplomatic community and the French hospitality sector.

**Security Requirements**
- The holder of this position must be eligible for, and able to retain, a security clearance issued by the Embassy. To be eligible, applicants must be Australian citizens. Citizens of Canada, New Zealand, the UK or the US may also be eligible and are also invited to apply. Due to security clearance requirements, applicants with dual French nationality with one of the above citizenships would not meet eligibility requirements.

**Selection Criteria**

Please ensure you provide a response to each of the listed selection criteria bel