DFAT LE4 Research Officer

AUSTRALIAN CONSULATE-GENERAL GUANGZHOU

Agency	Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade
Location	Australian Consulate-General, Guangzhou
Position Number	16002
Position Title	Research Officer
Classification	LE4
Section	Political Economic
Reports to (title)	Deputy Consul-General
Status	Ongoing, Full-time
Gross Annual Salary	RMB 154,692

 

The Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade (DFAT) section of the Australian Consulate-General in Guangzhou is seeking applications for the locally engaged staff position of Research 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

Under general direction, the Research Officer is responsible for undertaking a range of political, social and economic research, analysis and reporting activities, including media monitoring.

 

The key responsibilities of the position include, but are not limited to:

• Conduct research and analysis on key issues covering Chinese political, economic and social issues, and prepare written reports on policy settings
• Monitor, translate and analyse media reports and key publications (local and international), identify emerging issues, and prepare timely and relevant advice on key issues of relevance
• Prepare a range of written correspondence and reports, including draft cables and briefings based on research and analysis
• Coordinate meetings for Australian officials and undertake relevant follow up
• Coordinate logistics, draft programs and contribute to program development for ministerial and official visits, including making appointments with high-level officials and providing advice on meetings and events
• Develop and strengthen strategic relationships, negotiate and liaise across a broad range of stakeholders to provide an effective Australian contribution on government including business contacts, to expand networks and advocate for Australia’s foreign, trade and investment priorities
• Interpret and translate between Chinese and English
• Provide note taking duties and prepare meeting records of conversation
• Support the Consulate’s public diplomacy and visits programs

 

Qualifications/Experience

• Previous experience working in a research environment, particularly political/economic/social science fields
• Tertiary qualifications in a relevant field would be an advantage
• Demonstrated ability to deliver strong oral and written analysis of political and economic issues
• Strong organisation and time management skills. Ability to multi-task and reprioritise in response to changing requirements
• Strong interpersonal skills, and a demonstrated ability to build networks and liaise with a range of stakeholders
• Strong negotiation, and written and spoken communication skills
• Strong computer skills and previous experience using the Microsoft Office suite of applications and electronic data management systems
• Good understanding of Australia’s foreign and trade policy priorities, especially as they relate to China, would be an advantage
• Good understanding of the South China political, economic, social and business context would be an advantage
• Previous professional experience acting as a translator and/or interpreter would be an advantage
• Fluency in written and spoken English and Chinese

 

Additional information

The position is initially for a period of 12 months and a probation period will apply.  The successful applicant may be offered a further contract. The successful applicant is required to complete relevant pre-employment procedures before commencement.

Applications are invited from both Chinese and Australian Nationals.  If the successful candidate is an Australian citizen, they will be responsible for their own transfer and ongoing costs associated with working in China.  If necessary, the Consulate-General will provide a letter to assist in obtaining an appropriate work visa for China. Australian national employees receive a salary loading in lieu of local benefits they are not eligible to receive.       

 

How to Apply

Submit an application via email to [email protected] by 9:00am, Thursday 27 July 2023.  Incomplete applications, and 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, must include:

• Completed ‘Application for Locally Engaged Staff Employment’.  See Attachment A.
• Curriculum Vitae (maximum 2 pages)
• Your application pitch (maximum 750 words).  See Attachment B. Your pitch should tell us why you are the best person for this position.  We want to know why you want to work at the Australian Consulate-General in Guangzhou, 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.

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:

1. General statement about the criterion
2. Specific example/s to support the criterion
3. 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?