The British Government is an inclusive and diversity-friendly employer. We value difference, promote equality and challenge discrimination, enhancing our organisational capability. We welcome and encourage applications from people of all backgrounds. We do not discriminate on the basis of disability, race, colour, ethnicity, gender identity, religion, sexual orientation, age, veteran status or other category protected by law. We promote family-friendly flexible working opportunities, where operational and security needs allow. The FCDO operates an agile workforce and to facilitate this, you may be required to undertake other duties from time to time, as we may reasonably require.
Job Category
Other British Government Departments (Partners across Government, including UK Visas)
Job Subcategory
Home Office
Job Description (Roles and Responsibilities)
The British Consulate General in Erbil has a vacancy for the position of Justice and Home Affairs Programme Manager, job grade Executive Officer (EO) within the Home Office’s Justice and Home Affairs (JHA) Network. This role is offered on a fixed-term contract until April 2026, with the possibility of renewal.
The first duty of the government is to keep its citizens safe and the country secure. The UK Home Office has been at the front line of this endeavour since 1782, playing a vital role – at home and overseas – in the United Kingdom’s national security and economic prosperity.
This is a challenging and important role within the Home Office’s Justice and Home Affairs Network, operating from the British Consulate General in Erbil in the Kurdistan Region of Iraq.
Roles in the Home Office Justice and Home Affairs Network are high profile, fast paced and challenging. They offer the opportunity to deliver against some of both the Department’s, but also wider His Majesty’s Government (HMG’s) highest priority objectives on serious and organised crime, counter terrorism, organised immigration crime and irregular migration.
This role is critical to the team’s management of its entire portfolio of irregular migration and counter Serious and Organised Crime (SOC) programming worth approximately £3m per annum. Working with the Justice and Home Affairs Policy Adviser in the Consulate, the jobholder will lead on the effective financial management and implementation of our programmes, working closely with the Justice and Home Affairs Attaché in Baghdad as the Programme’s Senior Responsible Officer to deliver a set of complex and priority objectives for the Embassy and Consulate. The jobholder will be joining a fun and supportive team who all work closely together, despite being located between different regions of Iraq.
The JHA team’s programme portfolio is varied and complex covering UK activity to counter organised immigration crime and irregular migration from Iraq and the Kurdistan Region of Iraq. The jobholder will be expected to manage the relationship with the implementors, ensuring that risks to HMG are identified and adequately addressed with appropriate safeguarding frameworks, as well as being responsible for the financial management, contracting, evaluation and delivery across all of our programmes.
Roles and responsibilities:
The postholder will be responsible for
- Manage project relationships with implementing partners working closely with the Justice and Home Affairs Policy Adviser and Second Secretary. Build strong relationships in the Kurdistan Region of Iraq (KRI) (and where appropriate Federal Iraq) with implementing partners and with relevant funding teams in the UK, to drive forward high-quality performance and adherence to Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office (FCDO) and Home Office programming standards. Scrutiny and oversight of our implementing partners will be particularly key to this role to ensure effective delivery
- Lead on the effective financial management of projects to ensure value for money throughout the programme cycle, including through accurate forecasting, asset management, timely payment of invoices/purchase orders, and timely submission of financial reports where required, in line with FCDO Budget and Finance Specialist guidance, and in-house finance, procurement, and information reporting systems; and
- Lead on the effective monitoring and evaluation of projects, including through maintenance and regular use of Activity Based Budgets (ABBs), through timely and rigorous Annual Reviews (ARs), monthly supplier programme reporting, quarterly meetings with partners in the region and independent monitoring of programme activities.
- Corporate – You will be expected to support wider Consulate activities. You will choose what to become involved in based on your interests and development needs. Options include supporting the Chevening programme, major events (like the King’s Birthday Party) and promoting wellbeing and diversity in the Consulate.
The above list is not exhaustive, and the jobholder will be required to be flexible and take on other ad hoc tasks as required, including participating in the Embassy’s emergency planning and any other response to a crisis.
Key behaviours required:
- Delivering at Pace: Take responsibility for delivering timely and quality results with focus and drive.
- Making effective decisions: Use evidence and knowledge to support accurate, expert decisions and advice. Carefully consider alternative options, implications and risks of decisions.
- Managing a quality service: Deliver service objectives with professional excellence, expertise and efficiency, taking account of diverse customer needs.
- Communicating and influencing: Communicate purpose and direction with clarity, integrity, and enthusiasm. Respect the needs, responses, and opinions of others.
Eligibility:
Applicants are responsible for ensuring they already have the right to live and work in Iraq, including the Kurdistan Region of Iraq (KRI). Obtaining the correct permissions can be particularly complicated if employees and any dependants are not already resident in the country. Unfortunately, neither the Consulate nor the Embassy can arrange an Iraqi residency for this role.
Applicants must also be able to obtain and maintain the appropriate level of local and UK security clearance required for this role.
Essential qualifications, skills and experience
- Bachelor’s degree in a relevant subject
- Minimum of three years’ work experience in a similar programme management role and/or academic institutions such as further education, think tanks, international and/or non-governmental organizations, corporate entities, law, or government.
- Demonstrable experience of programme management – including the financial management of Governmental programmes, monitoring and evaluation and reporting.
- Demonstrable experience of contract management either for a government body or similar institution.
- Strong team-working skills. A team player who is capable of working on their initiative and who is adaptable to changing priorities. Must be able to work and act without close supervision and react calmly to situations that may arise.
- Ability to work in fast-paced, high-profile environments, and deliver to deadlines.
- Proficiency in using Microsoft Office applications such as Outlook, Word, PowerPoint and Teams.
Language requirements:
Applicants must be fluent in both Kurdish Sorani and English, with strong written and spoken proficiency in both. Familiarity with technical terminology related to justice, organised crime, and migration in both languages is highly desirable. The successful candidate should also be confident in providing real-time translation during meetings and engagements.
Desirable qualifications, skills and experience
- Working knowledge of HMG or Home Office migration and serious organised crime policies
Required behaviours
Communicating and Influencing, Delivering at Pace, Making Effective Decisions, Managing a Quality Service
Application deadline
25 September 2025
Grade
Executive Officer (EO)
Type of Position
Full-time, Fixed term, with possibility of renewal
Working hours per week
38
Region
Middle East & North Africa
Country/Territory
Iraq
Location (City)
Erbil
Type of Post
British Consulate General
Number of vacancies
1
Salary Currency
USD
Type of Salary
monthly
Start Date
1 November 2025
Other benefits and conditions of employment
Working hours and remuneration:
The Consulate General aims to offer an attractive working environment and remuneration package for this role.
The role grade is at EO grade, with a base salary of US$ 2,604per month. This base salary is paid 13 times a year. In addition, a monthly security allowance of US$ 200 is payable for this role. The allowance is subject to review and may be altered or withdrawn at any time.
No accommodation nor relocation expenses are payable in connection with this position.
This position is for a full-time employment on a fixed term contract until April 2026. Employment is also subject to a 90-day probationary period.
Conditioned working hours are 38 hours per week. Normal working hours are from 09:00 to 17:00 from Sundays to Wednesdays and from 09:00 to 15:00 on Thursdays. The jobholder will be required to work in the office 5 days a week. There may be some flexibility for starting and leaving times as long as the conditioned hours are completed. This will be considered based on operational requirements and in agreement with the line manager, and in line with FCDO and Consulate policies.
We are committed to ensuring that you are able to maintain a suitable work-life balance. Annual leave entitlement is 21 days (on a pro rata basis) plus 17 public holidays (UK/ Iraq holidays).
The jobholder will also be required to travel to Baghdad on occasion for meetings at the British Embassy with their wider team.
We encourage a culture of continuous learning. Relevant training will be provided to the successful candidate, and all staff have access to the Civil Service-Learning platform, which gives access to training to improve job-specific skills. Country based staff are entitled to a minimum number of annual training days.
Additional information
How to apply:
Interested candidates must include to their online application form
- an updated Curriculum Vitae (CV).
- a covering letter/ motivation essay stating how you meet the requirements of the role; and
- specific examples in the relevant sections of the online application form of how you meet the key behaviours and skills required.
Please ensure that your application is authentically written based on your own experiences. If AI tools are used, their usage must only be limited to specific tasks such as ensuring formatting consistency and keyword relevance. The core content, personal narratives, and responses to behaviour and skill-based questions must genuinely reflect your professional journey, experiences, and achievements. We place great importance on originality and individual effort throughout the application process. Any form of plagiarism will result in immediate disqualification.
Applications that do not include this information will not be considered.
The closing date for applications is at 23:55 Erbil local time on 25 September 2025
Applications received after the stated deadline will not be considered.
Appointable candidates who were unsuccessful at interview may be placed on a ‘reserve list’. If during the reserve period of Twelve (12) months the same or a largely similar role becomes available, that role may be offered to the second or subsequent candidate.
Internal candidates (i.e., those who are currently employed by the British Embassy Baghdad/ British Consulate General Erbil) applying for this position should consider informing their current line manager upon submission of their application.
The start date mentioned in the advert is a tentative start date and the successful candidate will be required to undergo security-vetting procedures. Any offer of employment will be subject to the candidate achieving and maintaining suitable clearances and reference checks.
The recruitment process, including security clearance, is expected to take around 1-2 months. The security clearance process includes checks available in country and in the UK, dependant on the security level required for the role and the candidate’s profile and UK footprint. You may experience some delay in the progress of this recruitment campaign, and we are working hard to minimise any disruption.
The FCDO operates an agile approach to delivery. To facilitate an agile workforce, you may be required to undertake other duties from time to time as we may reasonably require. The British Consulate General Erbil is an equal opportunities employer, dedicated to inclusivity, a diverse workforce and valuing difference. Staff recruited locally are subject to Terms and Conditions of Service according to local employment law.
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.
