Programme Officer

Main purpose of job:

To support the day-to-day administration and functioning of the Integrated Security Fund Pacific Programme (UKISF) across Pacific Island Countries, working closely with the Programme Team to ensure all aspects of the programme are effectively administered and adhered to. This will include managing liaison with a wide range of stakeholders including implementing partners on delivery and reporting, supporting the delivery of a communications plan and enhancing the visibility of the programme. In addition, a key role will be providing an excellent level of administrative support to the team including understanding the programmes payment process and being able to handle project management from stage of inception to monitoring of delivery and closure.

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

This is a great opportunity for a highly motivated individual with the ability to successfully manage a diverse set of tasks and projects. Reporting to the UKISF Programme Manager, you will support the effective delivery of the UK’s Pacific Integrated Security Fund Programme, liaising with implementation partners on events/activities and administration of contractual and financial processes. You will be tasked with enhancing the visibility of the programme by managing a schedule of events and liaising with communications officers at Pacific posts to maximise on visibility opportunities. You will be required to work both independently and as part of a team and deliver high-quality work. This includes, taking evening calls with colleagues that operate in different time zones, developing effective relationships with key stakeholders both internal and external and monitoring project activity, outputs and outcomes. You will need to be adaptable and open to taking on new challenges. You will also provide support on briefing and reporting to London on regional priorities and related development initiatives across the Pacific. Creative thinking in order to promote the UK’s objectives will be an asset. There will be opportunities for learning and development in addition to the FCDO’s internal online training platform. As with any role, there will be occasions when the work is reactive to instructions and tasking either from London or from Post Senior Management. All staff are expected to be flexible team players willing to turn their hand to any task. You will be expected to quickly and accurately learn how to use administrative systems, including financial management platforms and procurement processes.

Main duties include: 

• Effective and efficient management of a set number of projects including managing relationships with implementing partners and providing updates to programme level. This includes the scheduling and conducting of regular catchup meetings with implementing partners.
• Drafting high quality project documentation including contractual obligations, financial reporting, project progress reports and annual reviews.
• Support on the financial management of the programme, which includes monitoring, reporting and evaluating expenditure of project activities and being able to learn the Programmes payment process to ensure obligations under respective agreements are met.
• Sustainability and Exit strategies, increasing programme team capacity to ensure strong and realistic exit plans and sustainability in response to additional pressure on ODA budgets.
• Supporting the development and creation of a comms plan for the programme, as well as working closely with communications officers across Pacific Posts. This will include maintaining a calendar of regional related events and deadlines, and working on comms products, for example, social media content.
• Supporting programme and High Commission related activities and events across the Pacific and this includes being able to put together speaking points for UK representatives with project information linking to UK priorities and strategies. This also includes other tasks such a liaising with relevant teams and persons within the network to ensure the smooth delivery of events.  
• Keeping up to date on local programming initiatives, attending local and regional programme related meetings and workshops, providing accurate reporting to UK network as appropriate.
• Providing administrative support to the Head of Programme and UKISF Programme Manager, and any external visitors as required.
• Supporting the development and maintenance of programme level items such as risk registers, result framework, board papers, briefings and meeting updates.

Resources managed (staff and expenditure):

Contribute to management of ISF programme which was worth £5.5m in UK FY26/27

Language requirements:

Proficient in English.

• Programme/project management experience
• Stakeholder management skills
• Excellent communications skills (both written and oral)
• Knowledge of financial aspects of programme management

• Ability to develop communications and visibility products (for example social media posts)
• Experience of working with a range of stakeholders including government officials, INGOs, local NGOs and CBOs
• Understanding of regional security, stability and resilience related issues 

This is a 2-year fixed term contract, which may be renewable subject to annual funding approval with a three-month probation period, extendible to six-months. 

As a regional position, the Job Holder should expect to undertake a certain amount of regional travel to successfully support the delivery of the programme. This will be planned in advance and is unlikely to be at the last minute or unexpected.

Appointment is subject to a six-month probation period and maintaining Posts security clearance requirements.

Open to Fiji citizens, permanent residents. Interstate applicants will be required to meet their own travel and relocation expenses. No accommodation or relocation expenses are payable in connection with this position.

Staff recruited locally by the High Commission are subject to Terms and Conditions of Service according to local Fiji employment law.

The British High Commission promotes family-friendly flexible working opportunities where operational and security needs allow. We do not discriminate; people of all backgrounds are welcome.

We offer challenging and interesting work. We provide opportunities to staff to change jobs and apply for promotion through internal recruitment process. We support staff in developing for future careers within and outside of the network by providing a wide range of learning and development opportunities to develop skills and knowledge

The How We Work Statement (below) sets out the ambition we share across the FCDO for how we lead and behave towards each other, how we make decisions, and how we get the job done.

• We put respect and kindness first. We are inclusive, we get to know each other, and value our diversity and the contribution we each bring. We are fair, act with integrity, and tackle inequality and unacceptable behaviour. We work together and take responsibility to solve problems.

• We draw on the expertise, insight and diverse perspectives of people across the FCDO, HMG, and beyond. We use the best available data and evidence. We are open to challenge and take a sustainable, long-term approach. We are transparent about the rationale for decisions and smart about taking and managing risks. 

• We are agile and alert to emerging opportunities. We encourage learning, innovation and use of data and digital. We are all clear on what we are expected to deliver and support each other in doing so. We look to reduce duplication and unnecessary process. We are committed to transforming both the FCDO and the way HMG delivers international policy.

Learning and development opportunities:

We are committed to ensuring all staff have relevant developmental training opportunities. 

Working patterns:

Core Office hours are:

• 08:00 – 16:15 Monday to Thursday
• 08:00 – 13:00 Friday

However, we operate flexible working.