Profession diplomat

Diplomats advise governments on policy matters, oversee the interpretation and implementation of government policies and legislation by government departments and agencies, represent their country abroad and act on its behalf, or carry out similar tasks in intergovernmental organisations. They plan, organise, direct, control and evaluate the overall activities of municipal or local, regional and national government departments, boards, agencies or commissions in accordance with legislation and policies established by government and legislative bodies.

Personality Type

• Enterprising / Social

Related professions civil service national

• Government licensing official
• Government property inspector
• Government tax or excise official
• Legislator
• Policy advisor
• Policy or administration professional, all other
• Political scientist
• Regulatory government associate professional, all other
• Senior government official
• Senior non-legislative official

Knowledge

• Foreign affairs

  The operations of a foreign affairs department in a government or public organisation and its regulations.

• Government representation

  The legal and public representation methods and procedures of the government during trial cases or for communication purposes, and the specific aspects of the governmental bodies being represented in order to ensure accurate representation.

• Diplomatic principles

  The practices of facilitating agreements or international treaties with other countries by conducting negotiations and attempting to protect the interests of the home government, as well as facilitating compromise.

Skills

• Develop international cooperation strategies

  Develop plans which ensure a cooperation between international public organisations such as researching different international organisations and their goals and assessing possible alignment with other organisations.

• Show intercultural awareness

  Show sensibility towards cultural differences by taking actions which facilitate positive interaction between international organisations, between groups or individuals of different cultures, and to promote integration in a community.

• Maintain relationships with government agencies

  Establish and maintain cordial working relationships with peers in different governmental agencies.

• Observe new developments in foreign countries

  Observe political, economic and societal developments in the assigned country, gather and report relevant information to the relevant institution.

• Apply diplomatic principles

  Apply the processes involved in the creation of international treaties by conducting negotiations between representatives of different countries, protecting the home government's interests, and facilitating compromise.

• Analyse problems for opportunities

  Identify and anticipate problems in order to choose a course of action, come up with appropriate solutions or even identify opportunities for further development.

• Assess risk factors

  Determine the influence of economical, political and cultural risk factors and additional issues.

• Coordinate government activities in foreign institutions

  Coordinate the activities of the home country's government in foreign institutions, such as decentralised government services, resource management, policy management, and other government activities.

• Establish collaborative relations

  Establish a connection between organisations or individuals which may benefit from communicating with one another in order to facilitate an enduring positive collaborative relationship between both parties.

• Speak different languages

  Master foreign languages to be able to communicate in one or more foreign languages.

• Build international relations

  Build positive communication dynamics with organisations from different countries in order to build a cooperative relationship and optimise information exchange.

• Apply diplomatic crisis management

  Deal with threats to the home nation before, during and after they have occurred in order to help bridge the gap between the home nation and foreign nations.

• Make diplomatic decisions

  Consider several alternative possibilities carefully and in a diplomatic way before making a choice in order to facilitate decision-making for political leaders.

• Perform political negotiation

  Perform debate and argumentative dialogue in a political context, using negotiation techniques specific to political contexts in order to obtain the desired goal, ensure compromise, and maintain cooperative relations.

• Represent national interests

  Represent the national government's and industries' interests concerning various matters such as trade, human rights, development aid, environmental issues and other aspects of the political, economic or scientific cooperation.

Optional knowledge and skills

Source: Sisyphus ODB