View Vacancy – Assistant to the Defence Attaché (SRB26-011899)

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

Other British Government Departments (Partners across Government, including UK Visas)

Job Subcategory

MOD (Ministry of Defence)

Job Description (Roles and Responsibilities)

Who are we?

The British Embassy in Belgrade is part of a world-wide network, representing British political, economic and consular interests overseas and is looking to recruit an Assistant to the Defence Attaché.

Are you an organised and proactive professional with strong relationship-building skills and an interest in defence, security and international relations? The British Embassy in Belgrade is looking for a highly motivated individual to support the Defence Attaché in advancing UK defence objectives and strengthening the UK’s defence partnership with Serbia.

This is a varied and rewarding role at the heart of the Embassy’s work, offering the opportunity to engage with senior military and civilian stakeholders, support high-profile visits and events, contribute to political and military reporting, and play a key role in delivering defence cooperation activities.

Main purpose of job:

As the Assistant to the Defence Attaché, you will provide administrative, policy and operational support to the Defence Attaché, helping to coordinate the day-to-day activities of the Defence Section and contribute to strengthening bilateral defence engagement between the UK and Serbia.

Roles and responsibilities:

Supporting Defence Cooperation and Policy:

• Build and maintain a strong network of contacts across Serbian institutions and UK Defence stakeholders;
• Support defence engagement activities, military cooperation initiatives and training programmes between the UK and Serbia;
• Research, analyse and provide insights on defence and security issues to support decision-making and policy delivery;
• Assist with official visits and defence-related engagement activities, including occasional travel.

Supporting UK Defence Activity Overseas:

• Coordinate and process diplomatic clearances for military and official movements to and through Serbia;
• Liaise with the Serbian Ministry of Defence, Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Ministry of Interior to facilitate defence activities and ensure timely coordination.

Political and Military Reporting:

• Monitor Serbian media and relevant sources for defence and security developments;
• Prepare reports and briefings on issues of bilateral and regional interest;
• Provide translation support where required.

Representation and Event Management:

• Support the Defence Attaché in meetings and engagement with senior military, government and diplomatic contacts;
• Assist with the planning and delivery of remembrance events, commemorations and official visits;
• Coordinate representational activities and support hosting responsibilities, including occasional evening and weekend events.

Administrative Support:

• Manage the Defence Attaché’s diary, meetings, visits and correspondence;
• Arrange appointments and liaise confidently with civilian and military personnel at all levels;
• Maintain accurate records, databases and expenditure tracking;
• Take initiative, manage competing priorities and work effectively with minimal supervision.

Line Management:

• Line manage the Defence Section Driver;
• Support performance management, development planning and absence management in line with FCDO policies and procedures.

Essential qualifications, skills and experience

Our Ideal Candidate shows:

• Excellent fluent written and spoken English and Serbian (minimum C1 level of CEFR);
• At least 2 to 3 year’s experience of stakeholder and customer management;
• Excellent communication and interpersonal skills, with the ability to work co-operatively with others;
• Excellent administrative and organisational skills and attention to detail;
• Experience in budget management;
• Excellent IT skills: MS Outlook, Teams, Word, PowerPoint and Excel.
  

Desirable qualifications, skills and experience

Nice to have:

•Experience working in the defence sector/Ministry of Defence;
•An understanding of UK and Serbian politics, defence and security, NATO and EU;
•Experience working for a diplomatic mission, government department or multinational organisation.

Required behaviours

Communicating and Influencing, Delivering at Pace, Developing Self and Others, Working Together

Application deadline

18 August 2026

Grade

Executive Officer (EO)

Type of Position

Permanent

Working hours per week

39 (gross)

Region

Europe, Eastern Europe & Central Asia

Country/Territory

Serbia

Location (City)

Belgrade

Type of Post

British Embassy

Number of vacancies

1

Salary Currency

EUR

Salary

2816 gross

Type of Salary

monthly

Start Date

5 October 2026

Other benefits and conditions of employment

This is a permanent, full-time position of 5 working days, 39 gross hours per week.

The salary is gross and subject to payment of all mandatory social security contributions (19.9%) and tax (10%), in line with local regulations.

In addition to monthly salary, staff receives a meal allowance of €100 per month and transport allowance of 4,359.00 dinars per month (review each February) as per Terms & Conditions.

Alongside a competitive salary, we offer an attractive benefits package in line with our Country‑Based Staff Terms & Conditions. This includes private health insurance, competitive annual leave and public holidays, access to Embassy facilities, and on‑site parking.

The successful candidate will be subject to professional background and security clearance and must have pre-existing work authorization for Serbia in order to apply.

The successful candidate will be hired as a permanent member of staff under the terms and conditions which apply to all Country Based Staff (CBS) in employment relationship; tax and social contributions will be paid accordingly.

All contributions are deductible at the source. If for any reason the Employee is required to work for periods longer than the conditioned hours overtime may be paid.

Staff recruited locally by the British Embassy in Serbia are subject to Terms and Conditions of Service according to local Serbian employment law.

Learning and development opportunities: We want candidates with potential and ambition to grow. We are committed to supporting you with the following Learning and Development opportunities. Continuous learning and personal development is very important to us – everyone has strengths to build on, or challenges to overcome. Our L&D offer can help you achieve your best results. Early opportunities will include pre-arrival familiarisation training and formal training from London on our global digital communications approach and network.

The FCDO’s Diplomatic Academy offers a range of courses, including accredited qualifications to help you familiarise yourself with the work of the UK government internationally and how diplomacy works. And L&D funding is available to support your bids for further external training that will benefit you in the role.

As you develop in the role you might also explore job swaps or shadowing across our European network, formal training, and on-the-job training in a range of areas where you may need support.

Additional information

Please note that the deadline for applications is 23:55 on the day mentioned in the above field “Application deadline”.

We advise you to allow enough time to complete and submit your full application, since only applications completed and submitted before the deadline will be considered.

Please be aware that the deadline for submitting applications is considered to be the time zone for the country where the vacancy has arisen.

FCDO does not pay for travel related expense incurred in interviews (including Security Check) or accept any financial risk, including cancelation or reschedule costs. The FCDO will not meet the costs connected with relocation if offered a position.

*Please note for more information on the Common European Framework of Reference for Languages: Learning, Teaching, Assessment levels please click on the following link CEFR. Please bear in mind in case you are invited for an interview your language skill is going to be assessed.

Please ensure that your application is authentically written based on your own experiences. If AI tools are used, their usage must only be limited to specific tasks such as ensuring formatting consistency and keyword relevance. The core content, personal narratives, and responses to behaviour and skill-based questions must genuinely reflect your professional journey, experiences, and achievements. We place great importance on originality and individual effort throughout the application process. Any form of plagiarism will result in immediate disqualification.

Please be aware that you will only be able to apply to vacancies for Country Based Staff roles with the British Government through this official tal.net site (operated by Oleeo). Jobs may be advertised on third party websites, however our adverts will always link back to the official tal.net site. If you complete and send an application through any other site, we will not receive it.