British High Commission Decision Support Officer South Africa Jobs
British High Commission Decision Support Officer South Africa Jobs
Job Category Other British Government Departments (Partners across Government, including UK Visas)
Job Subcategory
UKVI (UK Visas and Immigration)
Job Description (Roles and Responsibilities)
Main purpose of job:
To provide valuable support to the visa application process by conducting mandatory checks/referrals on visa applications, liaising with colleagues in the UK on referred applications and managing the referred case process to ensure that applications are processed in a timely manner.
Act in accordance with the Code of Conduct and Home Office Values at all times.
Roles and responsibilities:
Conduct a pre-sift of all applications that have a record as a result of the mandatory biographic and biometric checks. Deal with any that don’t relate directly to the applicant.
Complete and send off any mandatory referrals to colleagues in the UK; dealing with the response; and passing the application to an operational manager to resolve.
Complete and send off any dependant territory application referrals; dealing with any response; and passing onto a decision maker to assess.
Managing the biographic referral process, sending off referrals to the UK and logging the responses so that the application can be assessed.
Using the outstanding application spreadsheet to manage the referred/deferred applications, chasing where necessary and ensuring that all deferred/referred applications are processed within customer service targets.
Monitoring the outstanding settlement applications using the tracking spreadsheet to ensure that the oldest priority and standard applications are ready for assessment and assessed first.
Will include sending off mandatory biographic checks, requesting asylum interview records from the UK and monitoring these requests.
Pre-assessment of exempt/gratis visa applications to confirm that the applicant has applied under the correct category.
Essential qualifications, skills and experience
Good communication with excellent spoken and written English.
Computer literacy with accurate typing skills of at least 25 words per minute.
The ability to work quickly and reliably with little supervision to meet challenging targets.
Ability to work well under pressure.
Excellent team players - this is an all for one, and one for all environment.
Flexibility and a positive attitude to working in a forward thinking, modern and motivated department, which is working at the forefront of visa work.
We are committed to improving standards and procedures - and we are looking for like-minded employees.
Language requirements:
Language:
English
Level of language required:
Fluent
Desirable qualifications, skills and experience
It is extremely important that the successful candidate is adaptable and shows a willingness to undertake a variety of tasks in a busy environment.
There may be the need to work flexible hours.
A positive attitude is essential as is the ability to work as part of a team.
Required competencies
Making Effective Decisions, Collaborating and Partnering, Managing a Quality Service, Delivering at Pace
Application deadline
26 November 2018
Grade
A2 (L)
Type of Position
Fixed Term
Region
Africa
Country/Territory
South Africa
Location (City)
Pretoria
Type of Post
British High Commission
Other benefits and conditions of employment
The British High Commission pays in full for the Key Care Plus option on Discovery Health for staff including spouses/partners and dependants.
Once you have successfully completed your probation the British High Commission will contribute 9% of your monthly salary to a Provident Fund.
Annual leave entitlement of 25 days
Working hours per week of 36.5
Additional information
Security Clearance Level required: LE
Confidential.
Employment will be subject to obtaining the appropriate security clearance.
Please note that only nationals of UK, EU countries, USA, Canada, Australia, New Zealand are likely to meet this requirement.
If you are considering a career with UKVI, and would like to know how we operate, then this is an ideal starting opportunity.
The international arm of UK Visas and Immigration is an integral part of the Home Office working to help deliver the department’s three objectives of:
Protecting our border and our national interests.
Tackling border tax fraud, smuggling and immigration crime.
Implementing fast and fair decisions.
Following the introduction of a visa regime for South African passport holders in July 2009 Pretoria has become one of UKVI’s largest visa issuing posts.
The operation has since expanded to include decision-making for Southern, East and Central Africa and now dealing with in excess of 160,000 visa applications per year.
We are committed to providing a first class service. Staff are expected to be flexible and make fair and defensible decisions on visa applications quickly, balancing the need for a high level of customer service with the requirement to maintain the integrity of the immigration control.
We are at the forefront of innovation, always prepared to react positively to change and try new ways of working.
All applicants must be legally resident in South Africa and eligible to apply for UK security clearance.
Reference checking, police/security and medical clearances will be conducted.
If you have not heard from us within 3 weeks of the closing date, please consider your application unsuccessful.
Please complete the application form in full as the information provided is used during screening.
Please check your application carefully before you submit, as no changes can be made once submitted.
The British High Commission will never request any payment or fees to apply for a position.
Employees recruited locally by the British High Commission in Pretoria are subject to Terms and Conditions of Service according to local employment law in South Africa.
The responsibility lies on the successful candidate to;
Obtain the relevant permit
Pay fees for the permit
Make arrangements to relocate
Meet the costs to relocation
The British High Commission do not sponsor visas/work permits except where it may be local practice to do so.
Employees who are not eligible to pay local income tax: e.g. certain third-country nationals and spouses/partners of UK diplomats will have their salaries abated by an equivalent amount.
How to Apply
Information about the Foreign and
Commonwealth Office Competency Framework can be found on this link: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/civil-service-competency-framework Please note: AA=A1, AO=A2, EO=B3, HEO=C4, SEO=C5
Please log into your profile on the application system on a regular basis to review the status of your application.
We do encourage you to apply for your police clearance certificate at the time of your application
Please be aware that you will only be able to apply to vacancies for Local Staff roles with the British Government through this official tal.net site (operated by Oleeo).
Jobs may be advertised on third party websites, however our adverts will always link back to the official tal.net site. If you complete and send an application through any other site, we will not receive it.
Interested candidates should apply online by 26 November 2018
For more information and job application details, see; British High Commission Entry Clearance Officer South Africa Jobs