AUSTRALIAN CONSULATE-GENERAL
CHENGDU
|
Agency |
Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade (DFAT) |
|
Location |
Australian Consulate-General Chengdu |
|
Position Number |
PN11580 |
|
Position Title |
Research and Visits Officer |
|
Classification |
LE4 |
|
Section |
Political & Economic |
|
Reports to (title) |
Research, Visits and Public Affairs Manager |
|
Status |
Ongoing, Full-time |
|
Monthly Salary |
CNY10,182.5 |
The Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade (DFAT) section of the Australian Consulate-General Chengdu is seeking applications for the locally engaged staff position of Research and Visits Officer.
About the Australian Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade (DFAT)
The role of 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.
DFAT 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 position assists with reporting of events in south-west China, liaison with government, academic institutions and NGOs, supporting official visits to China and the organising of public affairs activities, including a regular consulate local media report.
The key responsibilities of the position include, but are not limited to:
- Promote Australia’s interests, in government relations, economic diplomacy (trade and investment), and public diplomacy in southwest China
- Develop, maintain and strengthen a network of contacts in local government, business, academia and media in southwest China. Plan and arrange official calls for the Consul General and A-Based officers.
- Conduct research and analysis on political, economic, and social developments in southwest China relevant to Australia’s interests and prepare written reports on these developments
- Support ministerial and other high-level visits, including preparation of visit programs, accommodation and transport arrangements, airport facilitation and meeting requests.
- Develop high level reports, briefings and talking points on current affairs including on local government policies, laws, economic and trade/investment policy developments.
- Represent and promote the interests of Australia at a range of forums, events and meetings and provide advice on Australian participation, operational and policy issues and prepare reports summarising key points and records of conversation for the Consul-General and other visitors as required.
- Assist the Public Affairs team to plan and execute public diplomacy programs as required, including managing the delivery of multiple concurrent events, coordinating guest lists, speakers, and overseeing event set up, and identifying and taking forward representational opportunities
- As part of the consulate team, perform other duties and back up to assist with other Consulate priorities as required
Qualifications/Experience
- Strong knowledge and awareness of the political, economic and media environment in China, specifically Southwest China. Understanding of Australia’s environment would be an advantage. Ability to develop and maintain a broad network of external contacts;
- Good research and analytical skills, including a demonstrated ability to understand and process a large amount of diverse information quickly and identify critical issues;
- Ability to engage other organisations and officials, such as Australian or Chinese agencies and partners, including managing complex projects and events, paying close attention to detail;
- Excellent oral and written communication skills in both English and Chinese, ability to assist with interpreting, translating and drafting formal Chinese and English language documents;
- Demonstrated sound judgement and proven ability to solve problems, be flexible and adapt to new tasks and situations;
- Ability to prioritise and meet deadlines and to work effectively as part of a team; and
- Good interpersonal skills, including the ability to collaborate with colleagues as part of a small team and develop good working relationships with a wide range of stakeholders.
Additional information
The position is initially for a period of 36 months. The successful applicant may be offered a further contract. The successful applicant is required to complete relevant pre-employment procedures, such as health and background vetting, before commencement.
Applications are invited from both Chinese and Australian nationals. Australian national employees will receive a salary loading in lieu of local benefits they are not eligible to receive.
A merit list, valid for 18 months, will be established for this position. The merit list may be used for other positions of the same level and similar capabilities.
How to Apply
Submit an application via email to [email protected] by 9:00am, Thursday 1 June 2023. Applications received after the closing date and time may not be considered. The subject line of your email should include the Position Number and Position Title you are applying for.
Your application, written in English, should include:
- Completed ‘Application for Locally Engaged Staff Employment’. See Attachment A.
- Your application pitch (maximum 500 words). See Attachment B.
- Curriculum Vitae (maximum 2 pages).
Applications must be in either Microsoft Word or PDF format, with a maximum email size of 3MB.
For inquiries regarding this position, please contact the Human Resources section at [email protected].
Please note that due to the large volume of applications received, we are unable to respond to each applicant. We endeavour to respond to applicants of interest within a period of four weeks from the application closing date. If you are not requested to attend an interview, please consider your application unsuccessful.
***************************************************************************
Writing an Application Pitch
Your application pitch is a chance to tell us why you are the right person for the job. We want to know why you are interested in the role, what you can offer us, and how your skills, knowledge, experience and qualifications are applicable to the role.
Your pitch is a marketing document, promoting how you are a strong candidate for the opportunity on offer. This means you should:
- Research the opportunity: read the position description, key responsibilities, and required qualifications and experience carefully; and research the department and its role.
- Know what you have to offer that is relevant: identify your relevant skills, knowledge, experience, qualities; map your relationships with colleagues, clients, and stakeholders to identify what experience is relevant; select examples that demonstrate relevant experience using your skills and knowledge, ones that are of a level of complexity to match the position you are pitching for.
- Make a persuasive case that what you have to offer will enable you to contribute, add value and deliver results.
You do not need to use a different example to demonstrate each of the skills required in the position overview. For example, if the position description states we are looking for a confident communicator, the ability to problem solve and work as part of a team, you could use one example that demonstrates all of these skills. You could then use another example that demonstrates the other skills required.
Try not to duplicate information that can already be found in your curriculum vitae but do highlight any specific examples or achievements that will demonstrate your ability to perform the role.
Try the three-part format as a way to organise your material:
- General statement about the criterion
- Specific example/s to support the criterion
- Link to job on offer
Consider using the STAR method when detailing your examples. The STAR method enables the selection committee to determine the context of the situation, what the task was and what actions you took to achieve a result.
Situation: Describe the situation that you were in or the task that you needed to complete. This should be a description of a specific event or situation, not a generalised description of what you have done in the past and should give enough detail for the panel to understand the context. This situation can be from a previous job, volunteer experience, university or any relevant event where you can demonstrate your skills against the position overview
Task: What was your role? What were you responsible for?
Actions: Describe the actions you took to address the situation. Include an appropriate amount of detail and keep the focus on YOU. What specific steps did you take and what contribution did you make? Be careful that you don’t describe what the team or group did when talking about a project. For example, the team may have achieved a good result however what part did you play, what specific things did you do to contribute to the end result?
Results: Describe the outcome of your actions. What happened? How was the issue resolved or how did the event end? What did you accomplish? What did you learn and what would you do differently next time? How did the end result impact on the objective of the organisation or team?