The British Government is an inclusive and diversity-friendly employer. We value difference, promote equality and challenge discrimination, enhancing our organisational capability. We welcome and encourage applications from people of all backgrounds. We do not discriminate on the basis of disability, race, colour, ethnicity, gender identity, religion, sexual orientation, age, veteran status or other category protected by law. We promote family-friendly flexible working opportunities, where operational and security needs allow. The FCDO operates an agile workforce and to facilitate this, you may be required to undertake other duties from time to time, as we may reasonably require. Job Category Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office (Consular Roles) Job Subcategory Consular Job Description (Roles and Responsibilities)
Who are we?
The British Consulate Santa Cruz de Tenerife is part of a global network representing British political, economic and consular interests overseas and is now recruiting for a Consular Officer.
With around 400,000 British residents and 18 million British visitors (pre-pandemic) annually, Spain is the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office’s busiest consular operation globally. The selected candidate will form part of the Spain consular team, which operates over eight consulates. They will work at a national level, contributing to national plans and providing remote support across the network, as well as occasionally travelling to other consulates across Spain (including overnight stays and out-of-hours travel) to provide in-person resilience when required.
Roles and responsibilities:
1. Deliver first class consular assistance to vulnerable British nationals, managing a high volume of often complex casework including hospitalisations, deaths, detentions and cases of rape or sexual assault. Examples of the support required may include: Visiting patients and providing support to families in distress in cases of serious hospitalisation;Providing empathetic advice and support to bereaved families, including in cases of murder, suicide or violent/accidental deaths, accompanying to the funeral director/mortuary as required;Providing advice to detainees and visiting prisoners;Accompanying victims of sexual assault to court, hospital or in their contact with the police.
2. As part of providing resilience to consulates across Spain, you will be required to provide remote consular assistance to British nationals. You may also, on occasions, be asked to travel to provide physical resilience (this will likely include out of hours travel and overnight stays);
3. Liaise with local Spanish stakeholders, such as funeral directors, police, courts and social services, as well as local authorities and charities providing support and assistance to British nationals;
4. Support the delivery of the Spain prevention strategy. Activities may include engaging with a variety of local stakeholders and assisting in the evaluation of prevention activity at post;
5. Support the delivery of projects/change programmes. Activities may include collation and analysis of information, deadlines, reporting on progress and working with team members across Spain;
6. Work with colleagues across Spain, to support the updating and publication of digital resources;
7. Assist in the preparation/response to possible crisis situations involving large numbers of UK nationals, such as forest fires, flooding, large scale accidents, security incidents, etc.;
8. Provide office support, including issuing of Emergency Travel Documents for UK nationals and organising events internal/external events or meetings as needed.
This role offers the opportunity to make a meaningful difference by supporting British nationals in vulnerable situations across Spain. Essential qualifications, skills and experience
Our Ideal Candidate demonstrates:
9. Full professional proficiency in English and Spanish (written and spoken, minimum of C2 level for CEFR framework*);
10. A minimum of three years’ experience in a customer-facing role, with a strong commitment to delivering high-quality customer service;
11. Excellent communication and customer service skills, including a proven ability to support customers in traumatic or emotionally demanding circumstances;
12. Excellent interpersonal skills, with the ability to work collaboratively and flexibly with colleagues across Spain, the Wider Europe Network and the UK;
13. Proven ability to liaise with external stakeholders and manage a range of relationships effectively;
14. Demonstrated resilience, with the ability to work effectively in emotionally challenging situations;
15. Strong attention to detail, with sound analytical and problem-solving skills;
16. Ability to work at pace, prioritise effectively and manage a high and demanding workload, with strong organisational skills;
17. Good IT skills, including the use of Outlook, Microsoft Office (Word, Excel) and other standard tools;
18. Willingness to occasionally work out of hours and travel across Spain (including overnight stays), when required.
Desirable qualifications, skills and experience
Nice to have:
19. A university degree;
20. Experience in a social work, welfare, or support-focused environment;
21. Knowledge of the tourism sector in the Canary Islands;
22. An understanding of the challenges faced by British nationals in Spain, both residents and visitors;
23. Experience or familiarity with Salesforce or similar case management systems;
24. A full Spanish driving licence.
Required behaviours Changing and Improving, Delivering at Pace, Making Effective Decisions, Managing a Quality Service, Seeing the Big Picture Application deadline 16 June 2026 Grade Administrative Officer (AO) Type of Position Full-time, Permanent Working hours per week 37.5 Region Europe, Eastern Europe & Central Asia Country/Territory Spain Location (City) Santa Cruz de Tenerife Type of Post British Consulate Number of vacancies 1 Salary Currency EUR Salary 35,484.83 Type of Salary yearly Start Date 3 August 2026 Other benefits and conditions of employment
Please be advised that Consular positions at the FCDO entail dealing with crisis and casework in situations that may involve death, detention, rape, assault, post-mortems, prison visits and highly distressed customers. Candidates should therefore have a high level of resilience to trauma.
This is a full-time, permanent contract at Administrative Officer (AO) level, based in Tenerife.
The successful candidate is subject to a confirmation of a background check, security clearance and the successful completion of a probationary period.
The successful candidate will be enrolled in the Spanish Social Security Scheme and will therefore not be entitled to any gratuity from the Embassy based on gross annual salary.
The Embassy is a Diplomatic Mission with tax exempt status and does not collect taxes for other States. Employees are fully responsible for payment of income tax at the legally required rate. Staff recruited locally by the British Embassy in Spain are subject to terms and conditions of service according to local Spanish employment law.
Visa/work permit requirements: Candidates must currently hold the independent right to live and work in Spain and be prepared to ensure that right remains throughout the scope of the contract.
Working patterns: Normal working hours are 37.5 per week: 8.00am to 16:00pm from Monday to Friday. Flexible working arrangements, including hybrid working, may be available depending on business needs and operational requirements.
Learning & Development: We offer time and financial support for the successful candidate to take advantage of professional learning and development opportunities inside and outside of the organisation. All new hires undertake a workplace induction and there are a number of mandatory e-learning courses that must be completed in order to pass probation.