Corporate Services Manager - San Francisco

The Corporate Services Manager (CSM) will manage operations at the British Consulate in San Francisco and lead a small team to ensure the Consulate functions properly and its teams and individuals can do their jobs effectively thanks to an excellent corporate services function. 

You will ensure your team and any outsourced service providers you work with are efficient and professional and provide cost-effective, timely and trusted support to the Consulate and its staff of around 40 people: a mix of diplomats posted from the UK and locally employed staff.

This role is a crucial part of the Consulate. It will ensure the Consulate is compliant in the areas of finance, HR, estates, security, IT and you and the team will provide support and advice on these and other associated administrative and operational issues.  

The position requires a practical, hands-on approach to ensure the functions and processes are efficient, smooth-running and represent good value for money.  

As the driving force for operational and corporate delivery, the jobholder will support senior leadership providing corporate, financial and local insight to inform decision making.

The US Network offers a unique career enhancing opportunity and is committed to supporting its staff through a variety of benefits including generous leave, insurance packages and a highly competitive 401k programme.  It also promotes a culture of flexibility which enables people to better maintain wellness through an excellent work/life balance approach that encompasses hybrid working, including working from home and flexible hours, where possible.  In this role you would be working in a diverse international environment to support UK diplomats, and other country-based staff operating in the United States. 

Roles and responsibilities

Delivery (60%):

• Manage all corporate delivery (with your team) including operations, finance, HR and protocol, working closely with the regional HR, finance and procurement hubs and the Global Processing Transaction Centre (GTPC).  Ensure full use of self-service access to corporate services and regionalised services.
• Management of the estate (the consulate office, the official Consul-Generals Residence and several leased properties), ensuring that UK and local standards are met through planned and reactive maintenance and in compliance with corporate procedures, including local and UK health and safety regulations and policy.
• Act as the ‘intelligent client, identifying requirements, appropriate service level agreements and key performance indicators to manage and monitor supplier contracts. (materiality/volume)
• Manage the San Francisco consulate budget in accordance with corporate policies to ensure on-budget expenditure and value for money.  
• Instil a continuous improvement mentality within the team, implement corporate projects and the change management required to deliver them.
• You may also oversee an officer who is responsible for events and visits including from high-level ministers.  

Strategic Planning and Leadership (15%):

• Support of the corporate agenda in the delivery of the wider San Francisco Consulate business plan and risk management. 
• Act as trusted advisor to consulate leadership, by ‘horizon scanning locally to enable proactive resource and activity planning.
• Maintain relationships with key stakeholders internally, within regional and global hubs and with external partners (at other diplomatic missions, government departments and suppliers) to maintain informed and current corporate/operational knowledge.
• Ensure local policies are reviewed and aligned to global and local requirements and adopted by all government bodies and individuals at the Consulate. 
• Lead and monitor the delivery of services against the local corporate services charter.

People (15%):

• Work with the Deputy Consul General to make the Consulate a great place to work, with particular focus in this role in championing staff, finding opportunities to improve benefits and the working environment while ensuring compliance with local labour law.
• Provide guidance and act as an escalation point on sensitive staff matters for diplomatic and country-based staff, including management issues and dispute resolution, engaging with specialist HR functions where necessary.  
• Champion and embed a collaborative and inclusive culture.

Resilience (10%):

• Respond to operational crisis, providing leadership and flexing team prioritisation as required.
• Ensure cross training within corporate services roles to provide resilience within the teams and across the region.
• Work with the Regional Corporate Services Lead to plan long term resource and development needs.
• Ensure wellbeing and engagement are maintained within the corporate services team, seeking regular feedback and embedding the values of resilience and respect.

Resources managed:

• Line management responsibility for between 1 and 3 other members of Corporate Services Team
• Budget management responsibility for post of approximately $100k