The UK and China signalled their intent to become ‘Global Partners’ during President Xi Jinping’s State Visit to the UK (October 2015). In this Golden Era of UK-China relations, our countries are working ever closer to help secure a stronger and prosperous future for each other’s peoples. A central pillar of this is our work with Chinese Government and partners to support criminal justice and legal reform including protection of human rights. This advertised role is at the heart of building the embassy’s understanding of legislative and judicial reforms in China – you will be the expert on rule of law in China. Central to this will be developing a range of quality reporting focused on legislative and judicial reform including on human rights, criminal justice and broader rule of law policy. The job holder will need to engage and maintain a strategic network of contacts, both in the UK and China.

Projects in this area are supported by the Magna Carta Fund for Human Rights and Democracy. The Magna Carta Fund, FCO’s dedicated strategic programme, seeks to promote and protect human rights, and support democracy and the rule of law. The successful candidate would become the lead on the UK’s China Network portfolio of projects on criminal justice and legal reform. The job holder will need to be plugged into the wider rule of law effort within the embassy, linking up with our Rule of Law for Business programme. The successful candidate will need to be a self-starter and is required to operate with a high level of autonomy and individual responsibility.

High quality reporting and analysis which informs and develops UK policy

• To provide timely and accurate assessment of the criminal justice system and judicial reform in China.
• To deliver in-depth reporting on legal reform and human rights related issues
• To use contacts to develop insights into future areas of reform and align our planning for projects to maximise opportunities for UK influence.

A wide network of contacts which deepen UK understanding of Criminal Justice and Legal Reform. The contacts should enhance our ability to promote UK objectives in China and work with Chinese partners to support Rule of Law.

• To develop further Embassy contacts within the Chinese government and within the wider legal community.
• To facilitate links between UK and Chinese organisations to promote UK objectives.
• To work with other project owners and sponsors (e.g. EU) to inject UK views and multiply UK influence.
• To identify alternative UK sources of funding and align independent projects with our objectives.
• To advocate UK objectives in meetings with senior actors in the legal community.

Lead on key bilateral visits that contribute to wider Rule of Law and human rights work. Identify opportunities where UK expertise can deliver change in China.

• To identify and deliver bilateral visits, providing expert insights, contact networking skills and project delivery experience to enhance the success of visits.
• To provide reporting and analysis and translation which supports to the UK/China Bilateral Human Rights Dialogue, including project updates and analyses of Dialogue themes.

Policy Advisor to criminal justice and legal reform projects which have impact in China and which support UK government objectives.

• To leverage relationships with Government departments and Judicial organs (e.g NPC, SPC, MoJ) to ensure bids are anchored within Chinese Government priorities.
• To ensure that all bids are aligned to China’s reform programmes (and can make a genuine impact) and target UK expertise accordingly.
• To monitor and intervene on project work if not meeting policy objectives.

• University-level education
• Knowledge of China’s legal system, judicial instutions and legal academic community
• Experience of delivering projects with Chinese government, think tanks and NGO partners, with an emphasis on strong negotiating skills
• Fluent in English and Chinese

• Knowledge of UK judicial system
• Legal knowledge/experience
• Background in law and/or human rights
• Project management experience

This is a one year fixed-term employment with possibility of renewal.

We offer a competitive package, which includes basic salary, good leave entitlement, and insurance plan, etc. The gross starting salary (before all deductions) for this position is CNY 27,596 / month for Chinese Nationals and an abated monthly salary of CNY 35,959 / month for British Nationals and spouses/ partners (all nationalities) of diplomats who are ‘W’ (diplomatic) visa holders and meet passport criteria.

We also offer excellent development opportunities and a 22-day annual leave entitlement in pro rata. For more details on our Total Rewards Package, please visit our website http://www.gov.uk/government/world/china.

Staff recruited locally by the British Embassy Beijing is subject to Terms and Conditions of Service according to local Chinese employment law.

All applications must be received before 11:55PM (China Standard Time) on 05 August 2019.

Incomplete application forms will not be taken into consideration, so please ensure you provide the information requested. We regret to advise that we will only be contacting short-listed candidates. Applicants called for an interview will be assessed on the core competencies listed above.

To those applicants not short-listed, we extend our appreciation for considering the British Government as a potential employer.