Foreign & Commonwealth Office Hiring for Newsdesk Officer, Grade – EO, New Delhi at New Delhi, Delhi Full Time

Note : All applicants are required to mandatorily fill the complete online application form including the employment and educational details, experience-based segment and the behaviours and technical/ professional skills based questions. We will be thoroughly reviewing the application forms only for all the required details. Forms that are incomplete in any respect will not be considered while shortlisting for the next stage.’

Please note: This is a Fixed Term position for 24 months.

Main purpose of job:
To actively promote positive stories about the UK in India network to the press, to log and respond to media enquiries in a timely manner, and to build strong working relationships with a broad range of Indian journalists. Lead on monitoring UK-India news and preparing daily news summaries for the organisation.

We reserve the right to review, revise or amend the roles and responsibilities from time to time reflecting the changing needs of business.

Roles and responsibilities / what will the jobholder be expected to achieve?:

The Newsdesk Officer plays a key role in the communications team at the British High Commission, serving as the first point of contact for queries from a range of journalists and promoting stories about the UK’s activities in India. The jobholder helps promote the UK Government’s policies and activities in India, in response to phone and email enquiries from journalists, working closely with colleagues across the British High Commission to draft concise, accurate and robust responses and appropriately escalating issues of particular importance.

You will work with a range of colleagues to identify news hooks and opportunities for media engagement, draft press material (including statements and press releases) and proactively promote it to the media. You will know what makes a positive and compelling story and will work with colleagues to create and disseminate them. You will work on high-profile events and directly support Ministerial and senior official visits, in particular through identifying, setting-up and helping to manage interviews and press conferences.

You must have a solid understanding of the Indian media landscape (covering both English and vernacular, and mainstream and regional media) and the key players within it. You will need to build strong working relationships with journalists, knowing when to use off-the-record briefing to temper or rebut inaccurate reporting. You will also identify key contacts across the Indian media landscape for effectively promoting positive stories about UK activities and priorities.

Specific responsibilities of the Newsdesk Officer include:
Actively monitoring the news for relevant UK-India stories and preparing in-house daily media summaries

Drafting and editing various written outputs (including press releases and articles) across a range of subjects

Monitor media inboxes to log enquiries and drafting/issuing official responses.

Staying up to date with current and emerging trends in Indian media, including building relationships where required.

Providing media advice and guidance to colleagues – including on timing, format and which platforms to use – to deliver key messages effectively.

Facilitating and supporting media engagement (interviews, press briefings, managing media representatives at events etc.)

Evaluating and measuring performance of communication outputs and media engagement

Acting as on-call press officer through a rotational duty system.

Supporting the budget holder in managing media subscriptions and newsdesk-related vendors

The ideal candidate needs to have exceptional writing skills and be able to swiftly pull together compelling media products. You will need to be flexible and motivated, working across a variety of topics and a wide range of people.

You will join the ‘News and Digital’ team, within the wider Communications team, which leads on all media and social media activity for the British High Commission in New Delhi. This requires close collaboration between the news and digital functions to maximise our impact and outreach. Work is fun and fast-paced, and you will have opportunities to get involved in the full range of activities relating to UK’s work with and in India. You will report to the Head of News and Digital.

Language requirements:
Language: English and Hindi

Level of language required: The jobholder must have full professional fluency in English with good working knowledge of written and spoken Hindi. Knowledge of additional languages of India is also desirable.

A written test will be included as part of the recruitment process.

Learning and development opportunities:
The jobholder will be able to access a wide range of online and face-to-face training delivered for the UK Government in Britain and abroad. They will have opportunities to access specialist training for government communicators. Much of the learning is on the job, which will be diverse and varied.

Working patterns:
If the job is suitable for flexible working patterns, please provide details: The British High Commission network across India is committed to providing flexible work patterns. The use of mobile ICT and the nature of the job means that the jobholder will be able to work different hours according to their personal circumstances.

The High Commission is committed to ensuring employees enjoy a good work-life balance. It is a stimulating place to work where we value diversity and inclusion and care about the development of our people.

The nature of this particular role will require the successful candidate to work in the office for the majority of the time. In addition, the job holder will on occasion be required to work irregular hours, including (but not limited to):

• Weekend duty officer for urgent requests on a rotational basis
• Occasional evening and weekend working, as required, during high-level events and visits

Any other information (or specific local Post requirements):
The work of a diplomatic mission can be unusual, and the subject matter can range from trade and investment, to defence and security to education and visas. The jobholder should be able to hit the ground running, learning quickly about a wide range of issues.

The job holder may be called upon to support the wider communications team when necessary, so a degree of flexibility is required.

Essential qualifications, skills and experience

Experience / Qualifications:
The ideal candidate will need to be proactive, organised and energetic – able to swiftly digest and get to the heart of complex issues, keeping up to speed with stories that unfold quickly. You will be good at building relationships – with policy colleagues, other communications specialists and journalists alike – and be a real team player. You will need to be familiar with the opportunities and challenges of all forms of media, including digital, print, and broadcast.

Essential on arrival:
3-5 years of experience in journalism, corporate communications, or public relations.

Exceptional writing and editing abilities

Solid understanding of of the Indian news industry

Desirable qualifications, skills and experience

Desirable:
A degree in journalism, communications or public relations

Confident public speaker with an ability to work well in large team.

Prior experience of working in an international, multicultural organisation

Required behaviours

Making Effective Decisions, Delivering at Pace, Communicating and Influencing, Working Together

Application deadline Application deadline – day Application deadline – month Application deadline – year

31 January 2023

Grade

Executive Officer (EO)

Type of Position

Fixed Term, Full-time

Working hours per week

40

Duration of Post

24 months

Region

South Asia & Afghanistan

Country/Territory

India

Location (City)

New Delhi

Type of Post

British High Commission

Number of vacancies

1

Salary Currency

INR

Salary

INR 68,508 per month together with a 12% provident fund and 6% Special Allowance

Start Date Start Date – day Start Date – month Start Date – year

1 March 2023

Other benefits and conditions of employment

For British High Commission candidates, the Country Based Staff BHC Terms & Conditions will apply.

For other than BHC candidates, salary will be all-inclusive of INR 68,508 per month together with a 12% Provident Fund and 6% Special Allowance.

Additionally, the BHC offers a great benefits package that includes annual domiciliary medical cover, plus a Group Hospitalisation Scheme with INR 500,000 floater cover for your immediate family. If you are a spouse of a staff member already employed with British High Commission, you will be covered under the family medical cover of your spouse.

No relocation or any other related costs or assistance will be provided.

Please note – BHC does not deduct tax at source and employees are required to ensure that any requirements of local income-tax law are complied with in full. Employees who are not liable to pay local income tax on their Mission salary, eg. some non-local national staff and some spouses or partners of UK diplomatic staff, will have their salaries abated by an equivalent amount.

The BHC is recognised as a good employer, with a robust, fair and transparent performance management & appraisal system linked to increments and staff bonuses. We have a 5-day working week, plus annual leave, public holidays, maternity leave provision, special leave, paid sick leave provision; ample development opportunities, travel opportunities, a good organisational culture, and excellent work/life balance.

Around half of our work forces are women. We treat people with respect and equality and have a policy of zero tolerance for any form of discrimination, bullying, or harassment.

This is a good opportunity to be part of a strong, diverse team, working in the biggest network that FCDO has anywhere across the globe. We are aiming to make it the best.

Additional information

Note: All applicants are required to mandatorily fill the complete online application form including the employment and educational details, experience segment and the behaviour-based questions. We will be thoroughly reviewing the application forms only for all the required details. Forms that are incomplete in any respect will not be considered while shortlisting for the next stage.

To Apply:
Please note applications without (a) and (b) will not be considered.

A. Complete the Online Application Form

B. Complete the Experience, Professional Skills and Behaviour based Segments in the Online Application Form

Internal candidates applying for this position need to upload their appraisal forms for the previous 2 years (if applicable) and also inform their current line managers, else the applications will not be considered.

We will accept only online applications by 31st January 2023 (latest by 23:55 hours IST).

Please note that all the applicants will be required to strictly adhere to the security guidelines for British High Commission.

Employees who are not liable to pay local income tax on their Mission salary may have their salaries reduced by the equivalent local income tax amount.

Please note – Provident Fund Transfer in and out from EPFO is not possible as BHC PF is managed by a private PF trust governed by Indian Income Tax Act, 1961. The staff still has the option to transfer out and in from a privately held PF trust which are not governed by EPFO.

Applicants who do not have the required qualification & experience should kindly abstain from applying, as their applications will not be considered.

Only shortlisted candidates will be contacted, and no telephone enquires will be dealt with. Appointable candidates who were unsuccessful may be placed on a ‘reserve list’. If during the reserve period of 6 months the same or a largely similar role becomes available, that role may be offered to the second or subsequent candidate.

The appointment will be subject to Police Verification and other checks including references, medical, educational and professional.

We welcome all applications irrespective of age, race, colour, gender, disability, sexual orientation, religion, belief or creed. We are also open to applications from people who want to work flexibly.

Please be aware that you will only be able to apply to vacancies for Country Based Staff roles with the British Government through this official tal.net site (operated by Oleeo). Jobs may be advertised on third party websites, however our adverts will always link back to the official tal.net site. If you complete and send an application through any other site, we will not receive it.