'A career in the Diplomatic Service
has to be one of the most exciting and
challenging on offer to economics
graduates today. You get to live and work in places you
would never see as a tourist. And you get involved in the most
important policy issues facing the UK.’
Creon Butler,
FCO Chief Economist.
A career with the Diplomatic Service in
the Foreign and
Commonwealth Office
offers you a lead role in protecting and promoting British
interests abroad and advising and supporting ministers in
formulating foreign policy.
The Diplomatic Service is
looking for economists who can apply their economic skills and
knowledge to policy issues in international macroeconomics,
trade, financial markets and development; supplying the
economic policy element of foreign policy issues.
Reporting to ministers and senior government officials,
you’ll enjoy a uniquely challenging and varied workload,
where no two days are the same.
After two years in London
working on global economic policy or EU issues, you will go
overseas as a diplomat to a key G8 or EU partner, or to a
major emerging or developing market.
Current examples include jobs in Japan, Mexico and
Russia. There you will act as the UK government’s eyes and
ears on key economic issues and push forward the UK’s views
of good global governance
After that you will have
a wide range of high-flying international economist jobs to
choose from in London and overseas. You will also have the
option to move into other foreign policy areas anything from
complex arms negotiations in Geneva, to the latest plans to
expand the European Union. Whichever path you choose, you can
expect to spend a substantial amount of your career overseas.
Applications
If
you wish to be considered for the Diplomatic Service economist
option you must apply for the first round of the GES
scheme (hyperlink to the on line application form)
- closing date 31 October 2008. You
must also select the Diplomatic Service as your first
option. The recruitment process is a combination of the
Government Economic Service and the Diplomatic Service
reflecting the need for graduates with both economics and
wider skills.
Requirements
You must
have, or expect to gain in 2008, a 2:1 degree or above
or postgraduate degree in economics. Joint or mixed degrees
are acceptable, provided that 50% of the course modules are in
economics.
As well as having the
requisite skills for the GES you will also need to demonstrate
that you can, with appropriate training and experience, learn
how to build networks of key contacts, which form the core of
diplomatic work.
To
join the FCO you must be a British citizen.
You must have been resident in
the UK for at least two of the previous 10 years, at least one
year of which must have been a consecutive twelve-month
period. Furthermore,
to enable to the appropriate security checks to be carried
out, you must have resided for at least three consecutive
years in one country.
All
applicants should be aware that a lack of sufficient
background information might preclude an applicant from being
granted security clearance. If you hold dual nationality
(i.e. you are a British citizen and are also a national
of another country), you should check on www.fco.gov.uk.
The
starting salary for Diplomatic Service Economists is currently
£24,759 with additional salary for a relevant MSc or previous
experience.
For
further information about the Diplomatic Service see www.fco.co.uk.
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