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.
The British Embassy in Berne is part of a world-wide network representing British political, economic and consular interests.
We are currently recruiting for a Policy Intern in our Illicit Finance and Prosperity Team. It comes at a promising time for UK-Swiss and UK-Liechtenstein relations on the back of enhanced co-operation since the UK’s departure from the EU. It’s also an interesting time from an illicit finance perspective due to the Foreign Secretary’s illicit finance campaign, and the UK Government’s focus on growth.
We are offering you the opportunity to be part of a friendly working environment, where you can take responsibility for your own projects while learning about the world of diplomacy.
We are looking for a dynamic, creative and proactive individual. In order to do this job effectively, as well as policy and research skills, you will need to have excellent attention to detail in order to provide administrative support to the illicit finance and prosperity team; be able to provide different types of written reporting ranging from extended analysis to quick-fire updates; and understand and interpret the political landscape.
The role entails:
- Research and reporting: open source-research, horizon scanning, monitoring, reporting and limited external stakeholder engagement.
- Supporting to deliver requests from stakeholders in London: routine meetings, briefing requests, strategy contributions, weekly updates, UK government processes.
- Policy analysis: reporting on and carrying out in-depth analysis of relevant developments in policies to combat corruption and money laundering, economic policy and trade, and in particular in the context of Switzerland.
- Programme delivery and oversight: Supporting the delivery of Embassy events, programmes and campaigns including senior level inward visits, regional visits and other events.
- Administrative support: diary support, assisting with travel arrangements, budgeting, meeting arrangements, reporting and monitoring, and liaising with contacts.
Essential qualifications, skills and experience:
- Full professional proficiency in English and German (written and spoken, minimum of C1 level for CEFR framework* or equivalent);
- University degree, preferably in a related field;
- Excellent attention to detail, and organisational skills;
- Excellent communication skills (oral and written);
- Ability to work to tight deadlines and multi-task effectively.
Desirable qualifications, skills and experience:
- Experience in or with the Swiss or Liechtenstein governments and/or civil society organisations;
- Experience of working in public policy and/or international relations;
- Experience of undertaking research and/or producing written reports;
- Understanding of the financial sector, or compliance;
- Familiarity with UK culture;
- Proficiency in French or Italian.
Application deadline:17 July 2025
Type of Position: Full-time, Intern, Fixed Term
Working hours per week: 40
Duration of internship: 11 months
Monthly Salary: CHF2,190
Start Date: 1 September 2025
Other benefits and conditions of employment:
This is a full-time and fixed-term, internship contract for 11 months; of 40 hours per week inclusive of four compulsory 45-minute lunch breaks.
Embassy opening hours are 0730 – 1830 hrs (Monday – Thursday) and 0730 – 1330 hrs (Friday).
Gross monthly salary is CHF 2190.00. The Embassy also enjoys 13 Swiss/ UK public holidays per year.
The successful candidate will be subject to professional background and security clearances before a contract is offered.
*Staff recruited locally by the British Embassy in Switzerland are subject to terms and conditions of service according to local Swiss employment law and FCDO guidance for Country Based Staff.
Visa/work permit requirements: The successful candidate must have pre-existing work authorisation for Switzerland in order to apply.
All applicants should have the right to live and work in Switzerland. The British Embassy does not sponsor work permits.
Equal employment: We are committed to equal employment opportunity regardless of race, colour, ancestry, religion, sex, sexual orientation, age, marital status, disability or gender identity. We particularly encourage applications from candidates with protected characteristics. FCDO want to maximise the potential of everyone who chooses to work for us, regardless of their background.
Learning and development opportunities: The British Embassy in Berne believes in a strong learning and development culture, and works to give all staff the opportunity to build expertise and achieve personal goals through engaging on the job, learning from colleagues and from formal training courses.
The successful candidate will be able to enrol in learning activities during their internship, work directly with UK diplomats (including the Ambassador and Deputy Head of Mission), and engage with other interns working in the British Embassy in Berne.
Working patterns: The Embassy operates flexible working patterns within an extended working day and a ‘compressed hours’ working week (currently closing at 13:00 Friday). Working from home for one or two days a week is possible, depending on business needs.
Typical hours are 09:00 – 18:00 with a compulsory paid lunch break of 45 minutes (Mon-Thurs). Time off in Lieu is available in exceptional circumstances where staff are required to work beyond their contracted hours and where agreed in advance with line manager.
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.
British Embassy Berne has been re-awarded the Swiss LGBTI label, which is given to those organisations based in Switzerland that are committed to equal rights for LGBTI people within their company.
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.
The British Diplomatic Missions will not be able to meet the travel costs incurred when travelling to the interview, nor the costs connected with relocation if offered a job.
*Please note for more information regarding the Common European Framework of Reference for Languages, 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.