Senior Political Analyst
Location: Addis Ababa, Ethiopia
Deadline: 06 May 2026
Job Description
Main purpose of job:
British Embassy Addis Ababa is one of the UK’s largest posts in Africa. Its work covers a raft of issues spanning security and conflict, managing a complex bilateral relationship, humanitarian aid and access, and stopping illegal migration.
You will lead on synthesising HMG’s understanding, influencing and reporting on Ethiopia’s complex internal politics. This role will work to the Head of Political, covering the closely linked issues of Ethiopian internal politics and conflict dynamics.
Your job would be to connect Ethiopian priorities with HMG approaches in Ethiopia, getting under the skin of Ethiopian politics and understanding the UK’s role in delivery. Building and maintaining networks with contacts across the country is essential. You will also need to work closely with external political and conflict colleagues given the cross-border linkages and national security interests.
This is an exciting, challenging role in which the job holder will have the opportunity to develop political skills and apply analysis to delivery. The successful candidate will gain experience linking up policy from London and at Post, producing effective reporting on high priority topics, leading a policy area as well as some travel in the country.
This is a perfect role to hone key analysis and diplomacy skills including developing relationships with senior interlocutors, producing timely reporting, and developing policy/strategy on key issues. There will be opportunities – and encouragement – to take forward your own initiatives.
Roles and responsibilities:
- Lead advisor in the British Embassy on political developments within Ethiopia and in the Horn of Africa.
- Provide written reporting and oral briefing in English to senior stakeholders including the Ambassador and senior officials in London.
- Work with political team colleagues and teams across the British Embassy to advise on the political implications of development and cultural programmes.
- Lead political analysis of Ethiopian and Horn of Africa politics; to identify trends and developments as well as communicate.
- Engaging with colleagues from across the Embassy to advise on the political implications of their work on a range of issues.
- Building a range of networks within Ethiopian and Horn of Africa politics through effective engagement, visits and events.
- Take on various corporate responsibility roles.
Essential qualifications, skills and experience
- Fluent Amharic and English.
- Experience of working with challenging stakeholders’
- Strong interpersonal skills
- Experience of building networks outside your organisation
- An interest in conflict dynamics, and the politics of Ethiopia and neighbouring states
- A proactive approach and a ‘can do’ attitude
- A proven track record of professional, high-quality reporting and analysis.
Desirable qualifications, skills and experience
- Experience of political reporting in Embassies based in Addis Ababa is desirable.
- Knowledge of other Ethiopian languages such as Afan Oromo or Tigrigna would be an advantage.
Required behaviours
- Communicating and Influencing, Delivering at Pace, Seeing the Big Picture.
Other benefits and conditions of employment
- BE Addis offers L&D opportunities to all staff, providing opportunities to develop job and career skills.
Additional information
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.
- The British Embassy will never request any payment or fees to apply for a position
- The base salary is subject to tax and other statutory deductions
- Employees recruited locally by the British Embassy in Addis Ababa are subject to Terms and Conditions of Service according to local employment law in Ethiopia.
- All candidates must be legally able to work and reside in the country of the vacancy with the correct visa/work permit status or demonstrate eligibility to obtain the relevant permit
The responsibility lies on the successful candidate to:
1.Obtain the relevant permit
2.Pay the fees for the permit
3.Make arrangements to relocate
4.Meet the costs to relocation - Employees who are not liable to pay local income tax on their Mission salary may have their salaries reduced by the equivalent local income tax amount.
- Information about the Civil Service Success Profiles can be found on this link: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/success-profiles
- Reference checking and security clearances will be conducted on successful candidates
- Please log into your profile on the application system on a regular basis to review the status of your application
- Appointable candidates who were unsuccessful may be placed on a ‘reserve list’. If during the reserve period of 12 months the same or a largely similar role becomes available, that role may be offered to the second or subsequent candidate
