Office Move / Change Management Coordinator (CHEG24.281) At UK Foreign and Commonwealth Office

Main purpose of job:

The main purpose of this role is coordination, administration and support to Mission leadership with change management and communications for an office move scheduled for early 2025. The UK Mission in Geneva is highly stretched and does not have the option to deprioritise or delay its core work during the office move, so this is a key role in managing the pressures of the move on staff and teams. It will provide a central point of contact and information for all staff in the Mission through the course of the office move. The overall aim is to achieve a successful, positive office move; supporting staff to surface/resolve issues pre-emptively and in a timely manner and take ownership of the change; and to enable the Mission and staff to maximise the benefits of the new premises.

This role will plan, coordinate and communicate across multiple stakeholders within the Mission (at all levels of seniority), ensuring deadlines are met and there is clear, regular, two-way communication with teams. This is a “hands on” role that requires flexibility according to the needs of the Mission during the office move, which can range from updating the Head of Mission to detailed negotiations with the Estates team (focused on the building itself). It also requires flexibility in working with different teams, particularly Corporate Services, the Deputy Head of Mission, a possible project manager and the Estates team. To start with, the role will report to the DHM.

Responsibilities are likely to include:

Preparation

• Establish a workplan and deadlines for the office move, managing the workplan and all stakeholders to ensure momentum and deadlines are met. Likely to include: create a system for stakeholder management; support the identification of a champion in each team who will lead on their teams move; Ensure all departments have adequately documented their items that need to be moved, and those that are no longer needed; Provide support and guidance, along with the Security Manager, on the disposal of items that are no longer needed.
• Provide the secretariat for all office move related meetings, proactively managing timing, agendas, taking minutes and following up/providing support to ensure actions are followed up on a timely basis; Ensure existing committees (developing policies for ‘how we work’ in the new office, hotdesking, use of meeting rooms etc) maintain momentum and deadlines and a regular drumbeat of communications to the Mission.
• Build and maintain critical relationships and points of contact across the Mission and with the ESND Project Delivery team – the Project Director, Project Manager and Clerk of Works. Regular liaison with ESND delivery team and in particular the Clerk of Works, identifying issues pre-emptively in the run-up to the office move.
• Work closely with the project team (Bob Skilling) and the Move Managers (Harsch) to ensure that all staff have prepared for the move – weeding, disposal, packing and later unpacking. This may require “hands on” work.

Coordination and administration

• Be the primary point of contact for all parties involved in the move.
• Establish responsibilities and timelines for the physical move within the Mission, with the Move Team and ESND; Ensure that the Move Managers (company “Harsch”) have all required information to ensure the physical move goes smoothly
• Be onsite in both locations during the move to support as required, including escorting.
• Support IT teams with move from old offices to new offices.

After the move

• Assist with support required in the immediate follow up from the move.
• Use knowledge of the Mission to ensure prompt and pre-emptive snagging

Ongoing Change Management and Communication

• Support to design a change management plan (including a comms plan) and implement the plan, liaising with SLT, Heads of Sections and the Communications team as required.
• Communicate effectively across the Mission, taking account of key aspects of change management that require extra attention. Issue regular news bulletins in the run-up to the office move. Ensure all staff have all information needed for the move.
• Support staff understanding of developments and ensure consultation with staff as necessary; Use regular all staff meetings to update and consult.
• Collate concerns raised by Office move champions and others, and ensure timely solutions and communication are made.
• Support DHM & CSM with issuing communications to manage the change effectively with the Mission, enabling enthusiasm in the move to continue and milestones to be met.

Required Skills

• Project management experience.
• Multi-tasking.
• Working well under pressure.
• Strong communication skills, and the ability to engage diplomatically with colleagues at all levels to achieve outcomes.
• Strong organisational and logistical skills.
• Practical, able to identify what is needed and flex accordingly.
• Willingness to deal with “hands on” work as well as the high-level coordination.
• Fluency at B2 level in English according to CEFR framework*, or equivalent.

Desirable:

• French at B level would be advantageous.

Other benefits and conditions of employment

This is a temporary, part-time contract (50%). The initial contract is for 6 months but may be extended depending on the actual move date. Equally, this will initially be at 50% but will increase to full-time hours during the move itself.

All applicants should have permission to live and work in Switzerland.

Applicants that have the right to live and work in Geneva and don’t require a visa sponsorship are: Nationals from United Kingdom, European Union and EFTA, along with Nationals of: Brunei Darussalam, Japan, Malaysia, New Zealand, Principality of Andorra, Principality of Monaco, San Marino, Singapore and Vatican – these applicants are eligible to live and work in Switzerland as long as holding a full passport valid for at least 12 months.

All other applicants need to have permission to live and work in Switzerland.

Visa/work permit requirements: Candidates must currently hold the independent right to live and work in Switzerland and be prepared to ensure that right remains throughout the scope of the contract.

Please note that it is your responsibility to ensure you meet the legal requirements to live and work in this country.

Where applicable, we encourage successful applicants (if from Europe or the UK) to obtain an Insurance Card (EHIC or GHIC) prior to entering Switzerland.

The Mission offers a contribution to the payment of travel insurance for the duration of internship, in place of Private Swiss Health Insurance that includes health & accident cover for all interns.

The final appointment and commencement of employment will be dependent upon successful security clearance.

Learning & Development:

The UK Mission Geneva attaches great importance to the learning and development of its staff, with both formal and informal training and development opportunities available for all employees, in line with a personalised development plan. This learning and development offer is facilitated by the Mission’s L&D Committee and supported by the L&D Champion.

In addition, the successful candidate will have an L&D allocation to be used toward training opportunities and to support their development needs in the role. The successful candidate will also be required to complete some mandatory online training. They will also have access to formal learning opportunities via the intranet, as well as other sources of training offered to the wider Mission.

Additional information

Please note that the deadline for applications is 23:55 on the day mentioned in the above field “Application deadline”. We advise you to allow enough time to complete and submit your full application, since only applications completed and submitted before the deadline will be considered.

Please be aware that the deadline for submitting applications is considered to be the time zone for the country where the vacancy has arisen.

Please be advised that the UK Mission will not be able to support any cost during the Recruitment and Selection process, Security Check nor the costs connected with relocation if offered a job.

*Please note for more information on the Common European Framework of Reference for Languages: Learning, Teaching, Assessment levels please click on the following link CEFR. Please bear in mind in case you are invited for an interview your language skill is going to be assessed.