Foreign & Commonwealth Office Job Vacancy Application Details

UK Visas and Immigration is responsible for making millions of decisions every year about who has the right to visit or stay in the United Kingdom, with a firm emphasis on national security and a culture of customer satisfaction for people who want to visit legally.UK Visas and Immigration in South Africa is a decision-making hub for UK visa customers in 27 Sub-Saharan Africa countries. Every year, more than 160,000 people from across Africa visit the UK for leisure, family, business and education. The Entry Clearance Assistant role is critical to ensuring that UKVI Africa delivers against our global customer service commitments to process visa applications within agreed timelines.

The job holder will perform general office administrative duties and assist with the efficient running of the visa operation centre. The successful candidate must be able to perform administrative duties from various digital platforms and be flexible to move between departments as and when needed.

Main Duties and Responsibilities:

Data Checking

To data check visa application information electronically by linking and uploading applications, conducting mandatory checks, entering required information and reporting on Service Level Agreement failures including data errors. Successful candidates will be required to meet a daily benchmark at a high level of accuracy.

Dispatch

To ensure that physical applications and notices and their digital complement are dispatched in accordance with the standard operating processes and within the required timeline. To maintain accurate records of all applications dispatched by UKVI and received by the commercial partner.

Special Handling Unit

To carry out administrative duties within the Special Handling Unit including the facilitation of special applications and addressing queries and complaints, whilst keeping accurate records of all pending applications handled within the team.

Enrichment and Verification

To verify documents and/or circumstances as requested by decision making teams within the operation

Visa Writers

To issue, and despatch visa decisions as required, ensuring that they are accurately completed and issued in line with correct guidance and best practice. Maintaining accurate records as necessary and regularly interact with the commercial partner for reconciliation of inventory against such records.

Other

To perform other ad-hoc duties connected with the UKVI’s requirements including new and developing operating procedure

• Basic IT skills and proficient in Microsoft Excel
• Display strong organizational, analytical and time management skills
• Numeracy
• Educated to Matric level or equivalent
• Will take responsibility for the quality of their own work and work well in a team
• Strong customer focus with good attention to detail

• Data Capture experience
• Office administration duties

Learning and development opportunities:

• In house training and mentoring will be provided
• Use of Visa Management databases and tools
• Training in information protection, all aspects of Entry Clearance assistance, diversity and inclusion

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

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.
• 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;
• 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 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 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
• 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.