View Vacancy - VNM - UKVI Country Manager

This role is a key management position for UKVI in South East Asia. UKVI receives approximately 13,000 visa applications from Vietnam each year. These applications are handled and assessed by UKVI in Bangkok and Sheffield. The country manager role is designed to support UKVI case working operations and ensure that all UKVI’s customer service and border security objectives are delivered in Vietnam. 

Each visa application is processed in accordance with the immigration rules, government policy and UKVI’s customer service targets. To support this activity in Vietnam, the country manager will be responsible for delivering UKVI’s collaborative relationships with:

• VFS-Global in Hanoi, Ho Chi Minh and Da Nang to ensure all Visa Application Centre activity fully accords with UKVI’s customer service standards and UKVI’s SLA with VFS-Global.
• FCO and PAGs at the Hanoi embassy to ensure UKVI’s role in HMG’s Prosperity and Security agendas is fully embedded in the work of the mission.
• British Council – to ensure the UK attracts the brightest and best students whilst simultaneously tackling abuse of the UK’s education routes.
• Day to day liaison with UKVI in Bangkok and Sheffield.
• Outreach work: public speaking and presentations about the role of UKVI in Vietnam with particular emphasis on Education, Business and Tourism.
• RALON liaison to ensure Intelligence about threats to the visa system are exchanged between UKVI and RALON
• Customers: document verification and customer interviewing, including making enquired with third parties such as employees, banks and other organisations, to help ensure the veracity of information provided by visa applicants.

You will need a clear vision of the purpose of this role and a close eye to detail.  Your skill in managing both strategically and in detail, will be core to your success. UKVI has an ethos of continuous improvement and you will play an important part in improving UKVI’s procedures. This is a high volume, fast moving environment that requires a particularly strong skills and experience set. 

Roles and Responsibilities

• To  deliver Vietnam enrichment activity by undertaking enrichment checks and interviews within agreed priorities and customer service-standards. Ensuring reports are clear, accurate and timely, highlighting risks and emerging trends. To analyse verification results to better focus UKVI’s enrichment work on the highest risk applicants.
• To manage the relationship with VFS in Vietnam by acting as a gateway between VFS and UKVI to support efficient and effective visa processing in Bangkok and Sheffield.
• To manage the relationship with FCO Hanoi by acting as a gateway between FCO, PAGs and UKVI to deliver a streamlined relationship whereby all parties support each other’s objectives within available resources.
• To manage the relationship with the British Council to promote UKVI’s Prosperity & Security priorities by delivering student outreach activities and acting as a gateway to UKVI for the British Council for priority enquiries.
• To manage the relationship with VFS-Global in Vietnam to ensure the 3 Visa Application Centres all meet UKVI’s customer Service and Service Level Agreement standards.
• To plan and deliver UKVI’s corporate outreach to external stakeholders to promote good customer service and border security.
• To undertake VAC and SELTs inspections in Vietnam.

• Current and proven ability to self-manage complex and competing operational demands without day-to-day supervision.
• A sound understanding of UKVI’s Customer Service and Border Security requirements.
• A sound understanding of the work of VFS Global – UKVI’s outsourced partner.
• A sound understanding of the work of the British Council to promote UK education and a proven ability to present UK government messages to external audiences.
• Excellent communication skills in English and Vietnamese – with the ability to identify misrepresentations (documentary and verbal) and handle challenging conversations with internal and external stakeholders.
• A proven track record of successful personal delivery in a high volume, customer oriented, fast moving and pressured working environment.
• A proven ability to establish and develop collaborative relationships.

The post holder will require demonstrable strengths in:

• Administration and process management
• Establishing and maintaining collaborative relationships internally and externally
• Reseraching, probing and and testing information to establish its accuracy and veracity in a professional and customer service orientated manner
• Ability to deliver under significant operational pressure and to multi-task competing, demanding and resource intensive activities without day-to-day line management support