By 
Foreign and Commonwealth Office Graduate Internship Scheme
Internship up to 9 months
Closing date: 11 Mar 2019
£19,384 per annum plus £5,000 Location Allowance (pro-rata)
Business areas:
- Administration / Corporate Support
- Communications / Marketing
- Customer Insight
- Defence
- Operations
- Economist
- Environment and Sustainability
- Human Resources
- Humanitarian
- Policy
- Press Relations
- Procurement and Contracts Management
- Security
The UK’s relationship with the rest of the world has rarely been so complex – or so interesting. Across the globe, the UK faces both challenges and opportunities. The FCO has teams working on everything from crisis in Syria, to helping British nationals in distress overseas, to creating new opportunities for British business, particularly in the fast growing economies, as well as managing a global network of posts overseas.
This is a unique opportunity to be right at the heart of the FCO’s work and to understand what it takes to run an effective global organisation. You will participate fully in the work of the FCO department into which you are placed and have an opportunity to influence how policy is made and delivered.
All the placements offer an in-depth insight into the work of the host FCO department and plenty of opportunity to learn more about, and experience, the wider FCO. No two placements are the same, and could be in any of the following departments:
• Geographical – Polar Regions, Western Balkans, Asia Pacific, Middle East and North Africa, East and West Africa
• Policy Themed – Economics, Defence Strategy, Cyber Engagement, EU Strategy, Climate Change and Environment, Human Rights, Counter Terrorism
• Customer Services – Consular, Parliamentary, Protocol, Crisis and Disaster Management
• Corporate – Internal and External Communications, Security, Human Resources, Press, Procurement
Please see the two ‘Day in the life of a Graduate Intern’ within the attached candidate pack for examples of the type of work you can expect to be involved in.
You will be part of a friendly and supportive team, where everyone is committed to diversity and encouraged to seek out development opportunities. Roles will allow successful candidates to develop their skills in relation to the Civil Service Success Profiles framework. You will be given a wide range of support, along with plenty of opportunities to learn about FCO work outside of your specific role. This may be through participating in Learning and Development (L&D) events and using FCO and Civil Service L&D tools. You may also have the opportunity to complete parts of the Diplomatic Academy Syllabus.
The type of placements we offer are suitable for those looking for general FCO work experience and NOT specific career related experience or experience relevant to ongoing academic studies. We carefully select suitable Internship placements from across the organisation in a range of roles offered by all our Directorates. Individuals are assigned to a Department for the duration of their Internship and we do not offer the option for Interns to select a placement or request a preference for a particular area of work for their Internship.
We are hoping to be able to offer Interns the opportunity to apply for the Civil Service Fast Pass Scheme, which is run by the Cabinet Office Diversity Team. The Scheme offers you the chance to be fast-tracked through to the assessment stage of the Civil Service Fast Stream application process if you receive a positive evaluation after the first six weeks of your placement. Further details on this will be provided at the beginning of placements, should the Cabinet Office Diversity Team confirm this is possible.
Please note:
• These Internships offer an insight into working in the FCO and valuable experience for future job applications.
• All Internships are expected to end in May/June 2020, depending on an Intern’s start date in 2019. Successful candidate’s indicative start date is August/September as an exact start date is dependent on candidates completing their pre-appointment checks and security clearance.
Please read the attached Candidate Pack in full for further information on the roles and responsibilities, minimum criteria required and details of the internship. The Candidate Pack also explains the selection process and notes what applicants will be assessed on at the first sift and at interview.
We want to encourage applications from the most talented people from all backgrounds.
Please note that the FCO carries out name-blind (anonymised) recruitment to help build a more diverse and inclusive workplace.
Qualifications
A Graduate with at least a 2:2 degree (first degree). For those graduating in 2019, we will need evidence of your predicted grade. If your degree was awarded by a non British university you must provide satisfactory evidence that it equates to a British degree, i.e. via NARIC. It is also essential that you provide evidence of your qualifications if called to interview.
Behaviours
We’ll assess you against these behaviours during the selection process:
- Delivering at Pace
- Making Effective Decisions
- Working Together
- Managing a Quality Service
Technical skills
We’ll assess you against these technical skills during the selection process:
- Motivation & personal development
- Benefits
- Pensions
- Civil Service pension schemes may be available for successful
- candidates.
Successful candidates must meet the security requirements before they can be appointed. The level of security needed is security check.
This vacancy is using Success Profiles, and will assess your Behaviours, Strengths, Experience and Technical skills.
For more information, please read the candidate pack.
Feedback will only be provided if you attend an interview or assessment.
Open to UK nationals only.
The Civil Service Code sets out the standards of behaviour expected of civil servants.
We recruit by merit on the basis of fair and open competition, as outlined in the Civil Service Commission’s recruitment principles.
The Civil Service embraces diversity and promotes equality of opportunity. There is a guaranteed interview scheme (GIS) for candidates with disabilities who meet the minimum selection criteria.
If you have any questions about the internship or the recruitment process please email fcorecruitment.grs@cabinetoffice.gov.uk Please include the seven digit vacancy reference number (1617790) in the subject line of your email.