Personal Assistant to the Ambassador
Embassy of the State of Kuwait
Total years of experience :15 years, 8 Months
• Arranging travel, visas and accommodation for the Ambassador
• Screening phone calls, enquiries and requests, and handling them when appropriate
• Meeting and greeting visitors at all levels of seniority
• Organising and maintaining diaries and making appointments for the Ambassador and his deputy
• Dealing with incoming emails, faxes and post, often corresponding on behalf of the diplomatic mission
• Carrying out background research and presenting findings
• Producing documents, briefing papers, reports and presentations
• Organising and attending meetings and ensuring the Ambassador is well prepared for meetings;
• Devising and maintaining office systems, including data management and filing
• Developed and sustained an extensive network of contacts within the local business community aimed at enhancing economic relationships between the Kingdom of the Netherlands and the State of Qatar
• Managed all correspondences with both Dutch and Qatari companies, branch organizations and / or the Ministry of Economic Affairs on various commercial / economic matters
• Undertook the ongoing maintenance of the Embassy’s internal data-base containing all relevant commercial, economic and business relationship information
• Provided a focal point in terms of a source of trade information for Dutch companies undertaking business locally
• Assisted in the organisation and smooth running of any Dutch economic and trade-related promotional events
• Entirely responsible for the economic section of the Embassy’s local website ensuring that all commercial and trade-related information was relevant and kept up-to-date
• Performed extensive in-depth market research activities on behalf of Dutch companies wishing to establish a presence in Qatar and liaised with their potential Qatari counterparts
• Managed the logistical planning of all Dutch ministerial / company delegations visiting the State of Qatar in addition to organising all aspects for such visits (hotel reservations, conferences, meetings, etc.)
• Handled the organisation of all official events hosted at the Dutch Ambassador’s residence in terms of catering, invitations, decoration arrangements, etc.
• Attended various trade related seminars, conferences, etc. on behalf of the Embassy
• Interviewed visa applicants during the initial screening process and ensured that all documentation submitted was correct and complete for further processing
• Collected payments from visa applicants and processed settlement receipts
• Issuance of visa stickers for approved applications and the handover of passports to visa applicants
• Managed the archiving process of all visa and passport applications
• Sorted through incoming emails received via the Embassy’s general email address on a daily basis and assigned them to the relevant personnel
• Provided assistance for Dutch nationals in relation to passport renewals, consular statements, consular cases, document attestations, etc.
• Managed all correspondences with the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and all Diplomatic Missions
• Undertook the role of the Dutch Ambassador’s personal assistant in relation to various administrative requirements
• Responded to all telephone enquiries and attended to any walk-in visa clientele
• Prepared the invitations and guest lists for all Embassy events and promotional activities
• Sorted through incoming emails received via the Embassy’s general email address on a daily basis and assigned them to the relevant personnel
• Prepared and reconciled cash balance spreadsheets against bank account statements
• Handled all petty-cash related transactions
• Managed all correspondences with the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and all Diplomatic Missions
• Responded to general emails related to consular matters and all visa enquiries
• Updated and maintained the integrity of the Embassy’s various contact lists
• Translation of various documents from Arabic to English and vice versa
• Responded to all incoming telephone enquiries