Washington, USA Job Summary The FCDO, formed from the merger of the Foreign and Commonwealth Office and the Department for International Development in September 2020, leads the UK's international diplomatic, development, and consular efforts. It employs around 17,000 staff across 179 countries and territories, supported by 12 agencies and public bodies. UK-based staff work in London, East Kilbride, and Milton Keynes. You can find out more about the organisation by looking at FCDO on gov.uk. His Majesty’s Ambassador to The United States is the largest and most complex Head of Mission role in the FCDO, testing every aspect of leadership. The US is one of our closest allies and the relationship is more important than ever. The US is the world's strongest power, and an essential partner for the UK on all of the Government’s international priorities. It is the UK’s largest single trading partner. Please refer to the candidate pack for further information. Job Description Please refer to the Candidate Pack attached at the bottom of this page. The successful candidate will be required to start in this role Early 2026. Please refer to the Candidate Pack attached at the bottom of this page. The successful candidate will be required to start in this role Early 2026. Person specification Please refer to the Candidate Pack attached at the bottom of this page. Going overseas is a significant life event for you and your family. Before applying for overseas roles, we strongly encourage you to have fully researched the job, post and country. Alongside your salary of £155,000, Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office contributes £44,903 towards you being a member of the Civil Service Defined Benefit Pension scheme. Find out what benefits a Civil Service Pension provides. Learning and development tailored to your role An environment with flexible working options A culture encouraging inclusion and diversity This role is offered by the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office (FCDO). For Internal Candidates FCDO officers will be given a tour length and agreed end of tour date. All other terms and conditions will remain as per your legacy Department’s Terms and Conditions. Across Government applicants. level transfers your salary will remain the same as in your current department provided it is within the current department’s minimum and maximum bands. If your current department’s rate is below the FCDO’s minimum, the FCDO will increase your salary to its minimum for the duration of the loan. If you are in receipt of any allowances, please be aware these will not be honoured by the FCDO unless the role you are applying for attracts a similar FCDO allowance. In these cases FCDO rates of allowances will be paid. Please note any move to the FCDO from another employer will mean you can no longer access childcare vouchers. This includes moves between government departments. You may however be eligible for other government schemes, including Tax-Free Childcare. Determine your eligibility at https://www.childcarechoices.gov.uk/. Civil Service Pension - Your pension is a valuable part of your total reward package where the employer makes a significant contribution to the cost of your pension and your contributions come out of your salary before any tax is taken. This means, if you pay tax, your take-home pay will not be reduced by the full amount of your contribution and your pension will continue to provide valuable benefits for you and your family if you are too ill to continue to work or die before you retire. For more information, visit civilservicepensionscheme.org.uk If you are transferring from another employer who offers the Civil Service pension arrangements, you will continue to be covered by those arrangements for the duration of this appointment. Appointees may choose to join the alpha or partnership schemes offered by the Civil Service Pension Scheme. If you join alpha, an occupational pension scheme which provides a defined benefit worked out on a Career Average basis, details of the contributions you will pay are shown here. Employer pension contributions cover the rest of the cost of the scheme. Annual Leave - Full time new entrants to the FCDO will be entitled to 25 days annual leave per annum, increasing by 1 day for each year of service up to a maximum of 30 days, plus 9 public and privilege holidays per year. Existing Civil Servants will retain their current entitlement. We also offer competitive maternity, paternity and parental leave. Employee Assistance Programme - This provides a 24/7 confidential counselling service on such matters as financial problems, childcare, social security benefits, elder residential care etc. Learning and Development - The FCDO recognises that workplace learning is vital to success and needs to be accessible to all. We strive to create the right environment to empower staff to take responsibility for their own learning and developing both personally and professionally. You will have access to formal and informal learning opportunities to help you develop the right skills, competences and knowledge at the right time. The International Academy provides a first-class learning facility, ensuring that all staff have the knowledge and expertise needed to represent the UK and pursue the national interest. Selection process details This vacancy is using Success Profiles (opens in a new window), and will assess your Behaviours and Experience. An application form and the job profile can be found at the bottom of this advert. To apply please submit all documents listed below to HRD.SeniorAppointments@fcdo.gov.uk no later than 23:55 Sunday 2 November. Your CV, with educational and professional qualifications and full employment history, including an explanation of any gaps in your employment history, and details where possible of budgets and numbers of people. A short covering statement of no more than two A4 sized pages (1000 words) explaining why this appointment interests you and how you can evidence your suitability for the role, with particular reference to the criteria in the Person Specification section. Notes Please save your documents starting with your name followed by the document name and date e.g. Adam Bloggs CV June 2023 Please ensure your application is factually accurate. Presenting the ideas or experiences of others or that generated by artificial intelligence as your own, will be considered plagiarism. For more on accepted uses of AI visit Artificial intelligence and recruitment, Civil Service Careers. Do not mark your emails 'PRIVATE' or 'RECIPIENT ONLY' as we will not be able to access them from our shared mailbox. If you have not received confirmation of receipt of your application by the closing date please email the HRD.SeniorAppointments@fcdo.gov.uk Once this job has closed, the job advert will no longer be available on Civil Service Jobs. You may want to save a copy for your records. Selection process: The Hiring Manager will assess all applications to select those demonstrating the best fit with the role by considering the evidence you have provided against the criteria set out in the Person Specification section. If shortlisted, you will be asked to attend a panel interview in order to have a more in-depth discussion of your previous experience and evidence provided in relation to the criteria set out in the Person Specification. Assessments: You may also be asked to participate in other assessments to test your leadership skills prior to interview. Interviews: Are likely to take place w/c 10 November 2025 and are likely to be either face to face or on TEAMS. With regards to Head of Mission Roles, recommendations for appointment are sent to the Foreign Secretary and Prime Minister for approval. Nationality and Residency: You will be eligible for appointment only if you are a British citizen ; and you have been resident in the UK for five out of the last ten years immediately prior to your application. Please read the details in full in the candidate pack to check your eligibility. Please note: at least one year of this must have been a consecutive twelve month period, unless you have served overseas with HM Forces, or in some other official capacity as a representative of Her Majesty’s Government, or have lived overseas as a result of your parent’s or partner’s Government employment. Dual Nationals: Applicants who are dual nationals may have a more challenging time in gaining the necessary security clearance and are therefore advised to contact the FCDO’s Personnel Security Team (email esnd.pst@fcdo.gov.uk) for advice in advance of submitting an application, attaching the candidate pack from this advert together with a short summary of your concerns. All cases are considered on an individual basis, depending on individual circumstances. Accreditation for Head of Mission roles: It will be your responsibility to check (e.g. by reference to Post Report/ or with Post) that, if appointed, there would be no obstacle to your accreditation. FCDO Security Clearances: The successful candidate will be asked to obtain the required security clearance (as outlined in the Job Profile) prior to starting in the role. Failure to get the required level of security clearance will result in the job offer being withdrawn. Applicants who would like to discuss security clearances should contact Personnel Security Team email esnd.pst@fcdo.gov.uk (attaching the job description from this advert and a summary of your concerns) who can explain any likely security clearance limitations. Feedback will only be provided if you attend an interview or assessment. Security Successful candidates must undergo a criminal record check. Successful candidates must meet the security requirements before they can be appointed. The level of security needed is developed vetting (opens in a new window).See our vetting charter (opens in a new window). People working with government assets must complete baseline personnel security standard (opens in new window) checks. Successful candidates must undergo a criminal record check. Successful candidates must meet the security requirements before they can be appointed. The level of security needed is developed vetting (opens in a new window).See our vetting charter (opens in a new window). People working with government assets must complete baseline personnel security standard (opens in new window) checks. Medical Successful candidates will be expected to have a medical. Nationality requirements Open to UK nationals only. Working for the Civil Service The Civil Service Code (opens in a new window) 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 (opens in a new window). The Civil Service embraces diversity and promotes equal opportunities. As such, we run a Disability Confident Scheme (DCS) for candidates with disabilities who meet the minimum selection criteria. The Civil Service also offers a Redeployment Interview Scheme to civil servants who are at risk of redundancy, and who meet the minimum requirements for the advertised vacancy. The Civil Service Code (opens in a new window) 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 (opens in a new window). The Civil Service embraces diversity and promotes equal opportunities. As such, we run a Disability Confident Scheme (DCS) for candidates with disabilities who meet the minimum selection criteria. The Civil Service also offers a Redeployment Interview Scheme to civil servants who are at risk of redundancy, and who meet the minimum requirements for the advertised vacancy. Diversity and Inclusion The Civil Service is committed to attract, retain and invest in talent wherever it is found. To learn more please see the Civil Service People Plan (opens in a new window) and the Civil Service Diversity and Inclusion Strategy (opens in a new window). This vacancy is part of the Great Place to Work for Veterans (opens in a new window) initiative. Once this job has closed, the job advert will no longer be available. You may want to save a copy for your records. Contact point for applicants Job Contact Name : Olly Robbins Email : HRD.SeniorAppointments@fcdo.gov.uk Recruitment team Email : HRD.SeniorAppointments@fcdo.gov.uk Further information If you wish to make a complaint you should email HRDirectUK@fcdo.gov.uk in the first instance.