View Vacancy - DXB - Head of UKVI Outreach Europe, Central Asia and Middle East Region (SEO)

The British Embassy Dubai has a vacancy for a Head of UKVI Outreach Europe, Central Asia and Middle East Region with UK Visas and Immigration (UKVI), job grade SEO on a fixed-term contract for one (1) year.

This is a key leadership role in UKVI – and will involve establishing and leading one of the regions within the new UKVI international network. 

The key functions of your team will be:

•  Representation and Stakeholders: Effectively managing relationships across Europe, Central Asia and Middle East with HMG, host governments and industry stakeholders; distributing UKVI communications overseas; and upskill HMG partners and stakeholders in UK visas to reduce escalations to UKVI
• Assurance and Integrity: Matrix managing 2 SRS Assurance and Integrity Leads to overseas customer experience at UK Visa Application Centres and Secure English Language Centres, and supporting the mobilisation of the new VAC contract in region.
• Customer and Market Insight: leading your team to collect and share regional insight and intelligence on customer markets, driving continuous improvement of the UKVI Customer Offer and supporting harm and risk management of visa application.
• Supporting Operations: assisting with high profile/value applications and Implementing and expanding innovations that support streamlined processing (such as the Global Partnership Programme)

This is a new role and so you will be responsible for setting the strategic vision for the team,

ensuring buy-in from internal and external stakeholders, and integration with wider international network, decision-making centres in the UK and overseas, Visa Service Line Teams and other enabling functions including Supplier Relationship Services, External Relations, UKVI Contact Teams and Customer Services Insight Team. 

It is a high-profile role which will involve working closely with very senior stakeholders including Heads of Mission, Trade Commissioners, Host Governments, Visit Britain and the British Council. 

This region encompasses some of the networks most important markets for prosperity, inbound travel, and immigration harm, as well as some of the more complex FCDO relationships and operational logistics.

The Visa Outreach Officer global network is a core part of UKVIs overseas delivery plan as visa applications are increasingly assessed in the UK, and customer facing services are digitised as part of our Future Borders and Immigration Strategy.

The successful candidate will be a dynamic, driven, imaginative self starter with a strong focus on teams and people, and a track record leading international teams, forging good working relationships with a wide range of partners and delivering complex work at pace.

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 promote family-friendly flexible working opportunities, where operational and security needs allow.

Duties and responsibilities:

Initial phase – Team Design and Implementation

•  Engaging with internal and external stakeholders and partners across government (PAGs) to establish new relationships, identifying and mapping support requirements, and areas for potential development.
• Own and develop existing and new relationships with FCDO and other PAGs in key markets across their area of responsibility, including delivering difficult messaging, understanding needs, and developing trust.
• Support the training and onboarding of the visa outreach team across Europe, the Middle East and Central Asia, including Pakistan, identifying requirements in key markets, evaluating and engaging with existing resource.
• Work with SRS to imbed the new Assurance & Integrity overseas model, ensuring SRS leads are getting direction needed from centre and are fully part of regional team.
• Develop a core understanding of the UKVI operational delivery model on a regional and global level, including relevant harm and prosperity agendas across all visa work streams, and ensure regional team is working to support harm prevention.
• Support the design and development of BAU sector-specific services that deliver operational benefit and support external stakeholders and PAGs in key markets, for example the Global Partner Programme.

BAU – Co-ordination and Engagement

•  Strategic direction and line management of 5 x HEO Visa Outreach Officers (VOOs) and matrix management of 2 x SRS Assurance and Integrity Leads.
• Performance management of Visa Outreach Officers against agreed KPIs, assessing return on investment for Outreach Network and monitoring business case for continuing overseas roles
• Co-ordinate VOOs work across region to ensure consistency in role and impact, use of global tools and efficiencies of scale. Use oversight role to identify global issues and escalate as appropriate to operational teams.
• Mentor and develop the team to become expert in local visa market; relationship and reputation management, communications distribution and customer insight.
• Operate as part of the International Network senior leadership team helping to support development of an effective global network.
• Build and maintain relationships with colleagues across UK Visas and within the Home Office to ensure Outreach Network is fully integrated into VSI governance model; and operates to support UK teams
• Support VOOs to effectively manage relationships with Heads and Deputy Heads of Mission, host government and senior industry stakeholders, with impact measured via annual surveys of Heads of Mission and stakeholders
• Effectively manage the Regional Outreach Inbox, ensuring queries from HMG, businesses & governments are responded to within 24 hours and provide guidance / advice on escalated cases to Outreach Officers
• Manage a regional programme of upskilling for government partners and stakeholders, reducing enquiries and escalations to International Network and Operational Teams
• Participate in industry, public and media events with FCDO, DIT, Visit Britain and British Council, as required to promote UK visa offer
• Identify opportunities for customer service innovation and income generation in region, and support roll-out of innovation pilots
• Co-ordinate and deliver of quarterly customer insight recommendations report, co-ordinating insight with regional partners (FCDO, DIT, BC, CP) on customers’ needs, expectations and experience of visa services
• Co-ordinate regional support Visa and Citizenship Application Services implementation overseas in line with Supplier Relationship Services timeline
• Ensure streamlined processing schemes (including the Global Partner Programme) are consistently implemented across region in your geographical remit
• Provide regional critical incident or major event support other ad-hoc tasks as directed to support UKVI regional operations/objectives

Resources Managed

• Direct line management of 5 Visa Outreach Officers (VOO)
• Matrix line management for 2 SRS Assurance and Integrity Leads located across Europe, Central Asia and Middle East.
• Management of Regional T&S budget.

 The above list is not exhaustive, and the jobholder will be required to be flexible and take on other ad hoc tasks as required.

Key behaviours required:

• Leadership - Show pride and passion for public service. Create and engage others in delivering a shared vision. Value difference, diversity and inclusion, ensuring fairness and opportunity for all.
• Communicating and Influencing - Communicate purpose and direction with clarity, integrity, and enthusiasm. Respect the needs, responses, and opinions of others.
• Working Together - Form effective partnerships and relationships with people both internally and externally, from a range of diverse backgrounds, sharing information, resources, and support.
• Changing and Improving - Seek out opportunities to create effective change and suggest innovative ideas for improvement. Review ways of working, including seeking and providing feedback.
• Seeing the bigger picture - Understand how your role fits with and supports organisational objectives. Recognise the wider Civil Service priorities and ensure work is in the national interest.

Eligibility

Applicants must be able to obtain an appropriate level of UK Security Clearance and be able to obtain a valid UAE police clearance certificate. Higher clearances can be granted only to certain nationalities. For this reason, candidates must be of British, American, Australian, Canadian, or New Zealand nationality in order to gain and maintain the level of clearance required. 

• Experience of managing large-scale operational teams in an international environment
• Experience of leading teams remotely across multiple locations
• Experience in dealing with senior stakeholders including Ambassadors and Foreign Ministries
• Proven ability to plan and deliver long-term projects, manage workload and deliver results
• Ability to work under pressure with minimal supervision, identifying key issues and taking necessary action.
• Delivering important, complex, and sometimes difficult messages clearly and sensitively using high quality written and verbal communication.
• Ability to travel frequently across the region