Job offer

A consular assistant 

To be filled: Immediately/as soon as possible

Location: Kigali (Rwanda)

The Directorate for Development and Cooperation (SDC) is the body of the Federal Department of Foreign Affairs (FDFA) in charge of international cooperation. It is responsible for coordinating development cooperation, as well as Switzerland’s humanitarian aid. 

Swiss development cooperation is active in three priority themes in the Great Lakes region: governance and media, employment and economic development, and health. The SDC coordinates its actions in Rwanda, Burundi and the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) through a regional programme. 

Regional management is based in Kigali, Rwanda

As part of the strengthening of its administrative staff, the SDC in Rwanda is looking for candidates for the position of:

Consular Assistant 

The SDC is committed to participation, transparency and accountability, to equal treatment and non-discrimination, as well as to the effectiveness of its action and the partners involved with it. Overall, the objective is to contribute to the creation of an environment in which the rule of law and human rights, equality between women and men, the appropriate distribution of powers as well as macroeconomic stability to allow for economic development and the take-off of the private sector. 

POSITION : 

Consular Assistant  

Professional qualifications/skills

• Diploma in Management  / International Relations and / or Diplomacy
• Have at least 5 years of professional experience with proven experience in the field 
• Excellent analytical, synthesis and writing skills;

Languages

• Excellent command of French, English and Kinyarwanda. 
• Knowledge of German and/or Italian is an asset.

Social qualifications/skills

• Ability to work in a team;
• Self-reflection;
• Have great flexibility and good availability;
• Ability to anticipate, communicate, assert one’s opinion, address and manage conflicts

Skills and motivation for the position of Consular Assistant

• Demonstrated interest in human relations
• Master the administrative contexts and the management of procedures
• Have a good command of computer tools (Word, Excel, Database, Internet)

Driving skills

• Loyal, honest, conscientious, direct, assertive, and as a manager, be a model in mastering the various working tools and instructions of the SDC.

Qualifications required :

• Direction of touch
• Discretion and reserve
• Sense of courtesy
• Communication skills
• Sense of organization
• Self control

Field of activity / Purpose of the position

The consular assistant will be placed under the responsibility of the Head of Finance, Personnel and Administration (CFPA). He/she will be hired with a local contract according to Rwandan law.

Tasks and skills

Under the supervision of the CFPA, the Consular Assistant is required to perform the following tasks:

Consular affairs (visas, administrative acts, scholarships)

• Receives people applying to the Consular Agency and provides them with the necessary information and information
• Processes registrations and administrative acts requested by resident or visiting Swiss nationals
• Handles requests for consular assistance
• Receives applications for long-term visas and compiles complete files to allow decision-making while carrying out the necessary checks
• Ensures regular exchanges with the consular section of the Belgian Embassy in Rwanda (Kigali) for the follow-up of short-term visa applications
• Receives and sends consular files by diplomatic pouch to the Embassy in Nairobi, Kenya
• Supports professional visa applications from other representations for the staff of the Swiss cooperation office
• Performs various consular tasks at the request and instructions of the Swiss Embassy in Nairobi
• Processes mail, organizes and classifies the files of the Consular Agency
• Ensures the drafting of complex and/or confidential correspondence
• Assists the management in the implementation of the security plan in the event of a crisis or incident with Swiss nationals.
• Assists management in monitoring and updating the security plan and its various components
• Ensures the secretariat of the local security group
• Management of confederation scholarship files in collaboration with the executive assistant

Successful candidates will be submitted to a written test to confirm their technical, linguistic and editorial skills.

Location  : Kigali, Rwanda 

Occupancy rate:  50 -70%

Start date:  From May 2021

Please send your complete application file to the Great Lakes Regional Cooperation Office with the following documents:

• Cover letter
• Curriculum vitae
• Copies of diplomas
• Copies of work certificates
• 1 recent photo
• Contacts (telephone and email) of three referees

In view of the COVID-19 situation, please send the file by email to the address 

next :

[email protected]  with the mention “Consular Assistant”

Application deadline: April 10, 2022

Applications will be treated confidentially. Those whose file is incomplete or 

received by the SDC after the application deadline will not be taken into consideration. 

Only people meeting the required profile and having complied with the procedures for

application will be considered and only shortlisted candidates will be contacted.

Additional information on the SDC Grands Lacs website