View Vacancy - UK Visas - Regional Integrity and Assurance Manager, Americas

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 do not discriminate on the basis of disability, race, colour, ethnicity, gender identity, religion, sexual orientation, age, veteran status or other category protected by law. We promote family-friendly flexible working opportunities, where operational and security needs allow.
Other British Government Departments (Partners across Government, including UK Visas)
UKVI (UK Visas and Immigration)

Main Purpose of Job:

The British Government’s Consulate in New York has an exciting opportunity for a driven person to join the UK Visas & Immigration team as the Regional Integrity and Assurance Manager. This opportunity is a rewarding role which supports and further develops the special relationship between the UK and the US, supporting work at the forefront of international diplomacy in order to make a real difference globally.

The US Network offers a unique career enhancing opportunity and is committed to supporting its staff through a variety of benefits including generous leave, insurance packages and a highly competitive 401k programme.  It also promotes a culture of flexibility which enables people to better maintain wellness through an excellent work/life balance approach that encompasses hybrid working, including working from home and flexible hours, where possible.  In this role you would be working in a diverse international environment to support UK diplomats, armed forces personnel and other country based staff operating across the British Government’s network of Consulates and Government Offices in the United States. This network provides a platform for approximately 30 Government departments and agencies to conduct their work in the United States and is made up of over 900 staff with a rich and diverse background, skill sets, and experiences.

The jobholder will be responsible for oversight and assurance of the quality of customer-facing visa services delivered by Commercial Partners on behalf of VSI across Americas Region.  It will be matrix managed by SRS and the Head of Americas, with SRS provided direction and tasking and the Head of Americas providing regional and pastoral support.

Working closely with the VSI Supplier Relationship Services (SRS) and Integrity Network Teams in the UK, you will hold Commercial Partners to account in region for delivery; ensuring that they are meeting contractual obligations, offering an excellent customer experience, acting with transparency and integrity, and delivering value for money for the UK taxpayer.

The role will oversee all services delivered by Commercial Partners including USCIS and the US Department for Homeland Security.  This will include Visa Application Centres), Added Value Services, Vignette Management, Remote Printing, and Secure English Language Testing as well as auditing the integrity of remaining in-house VSI operational functions.

The role is demanding but offers great developmental opportunities, and would suit an innovative self-starter who is confident in working with senior stakeholders.

The role will require regular travel across the region, as well as remote task management of Visa Outreach Officers and other government partners, and will be matrix managed by the Supplier Relationship Services (SRS) Team in the UK and the Head of UKVI Americas. There will be a medium / high requirement for travel regionally and internationally.

Roles and Responsibilities:

  • Local management of the relationship with Commercial Partners (CPs), delivery partners (e.g. USCIS) and unique regional arrangements (e.g. British Embassy Havana Visa Application Centre) ensuring excellent service delivery of customer-facing services in your region
  • Co-ordinate locally with CPs and delivery partners to ensure readiness to meet visa application and printing demand (demand requirements provided by Visa Service Line Managers); and work with CPs and delivery partners (& teams in UK where required) to resolve regional operational issues (eg. VAC access/capacity, PV appointments, passport banks, courier routings)
  • Maintain Business Continuity Plan in tandem with commercial partners, and ensure continuity of CP service by resolving any operational issues impacting on service delivery
  • Liaise with CPs and delivery partners when bespoke arrangements are required due to exceptional circumstances or process disruptions (e.g. limited VAC access, sharing VAC facilities).  This will include providing support in obtaining permissions from local authorities and liaising with relevant FCDO teams to deliver continuity of service
  • Administer CP-used FCDO kit (FC laptops); working with FCDOS to support IT troubleshooting and management of equipment (printers etc)
  • Liaise with CPs on the review process for auditing PSAs and contributing to the sign off of PSAs for new VACs and VAC moves.
  • Dip sample CP personnel clearances; working with central teams to ensure compliance with CP Personnel Clearance SOPs
  • Work with strategic communications and the outreach officer network to manage reputation and customer satisfaction related to CPs and ensure effective customer communications

 Commercial Partner Assurance

  • Work with SRS leads to deliver a risk-driven annual Americas plan for VAC inspections, audits, integrity checks; driven by data and market insight to prioritise highest risk locations and making full use of Visa Outreach Officers and PAGs to increase capacity
  • Task manage Visa Outreach Officers to support delivery of your regional assurance plan; and increase capacity to conduct on-going assurance through increased use of FCDO/PAG ‘mystery shoppers’ and  exploring options with FCDO/PAGs/5M partners to assure ‘difficult to access posts’
  • Performance monitor CPs against contractual requirements, identifying trends and addressing poor performance, escalating in the region and centrally where necessary. Monthly sign-off of CP performance reporting
  • Monitor appointment booking and AVS selling trends to proactively identifying any manipulation or mis-selling of services
  • Investigate integrity allegations and complaints relating to commercial partners staff and working with Central Team to escalate and resolve
  • Utilise reporting and increased assurance activity and work with Visa Outreach Officers (who should be monitoring customer & stakeholder feedback and local social media) to proactively identify areas of potential concern and work with Supplier Relationship Services (SRS) team in the UK and CPs locally to mitigate
  • Protect VSI reputation through early identification and tackling of any integrity, mis-selling, corruption and general customer service quality issues
  • Manage Incident Reports and GDPR breach reporting to UK SRS and other relevant central teams
  • Audit and assure CP remote print and vignette management operations
  • Conduct physical audits of Secure English Language Testing (SELT) centres (in-person and virtually)

VSI Internal Operational Delivery Assurance

  • Audit and assure in-house print operations, including vignette management operations and vignette security.
  • Audit and assure VSI staff compliance with Code of Conduct, data protection and other internal security requirements, and investigating breaches or concerns.
  • Draft/Submit GDPR reports as needed.
  • Audit of IT systems to assure VSI staff compliance with policies and detect misuse or suspicious activity

Support CP innovation and customer offer development

  • Work with SRS, CPs and Service Line Managers on service delivery innovations (e.g. very small posts requirements, and verification APIs
  • Identify opportunities for innovation based on regional knowledge and insight
  • Provide feedback and insight to SRS on new AVS proposals      

VCAS

  • Support SRS with exit planning and VCAS mobilisation and implementation

Resources Managed:

Direct Line Management of –

  • 1 x Integrity & Assurance Support Officer (EO)
  • Motivated self-starter – proven ability to set strategic priorities, plan own workload and deliver without requiring significant management oversight. Ability to set milestones, track personal delivery and demonstrate impact
  • Ability to create, build and maintain strong productive relationships– a key element of the role will be liaising with a network of outreach officers in region; VSI SRS and Integrity teams in the UK and across the international network; and with commercial partners
  • Ability to hold delivery partners to account and to have challenging conversations where necessary
  • Regular travel in Americas region will be required to undertake VAC and SELTs visits, estimated to be monthly
  • Ability & willingness to travel both regionally & internationally
  • Under US State Department requirements, the UK Government in the US may only employ, as non-diplomatic staff, persons who are US citizens, US Permanent Residents or A visa holders with EAD cards*. If you hold a visa other than an A visa you are not currently eligible to work at our office. Please refer to our website for information on exceptions to this policy at www.gov.uk/government/world/usa. All selected candidates are subject to background checks and will require a security clearance prior to starting work. • A visas are acceptable at the Embassy and Consulates. The UK Mission to the UN (UKMIS) accepts G visas, and British Defence Staff (BDS) outposts accept A or NATO visas
  • Experience of working to deliver high quality public-facing services.
  • Experience of working with teams and across geographically-dispersed locations.
  • Experience in immigration/visas work
  • Experience in leading organizational and cultural change.
  • Experience in reputation management
  • Experience in data analysis
Communicating and Influencing, Developing Self and Others, Leadership, Managing a Quality Service, Seeing the Big Picture, Working Together
29 October 2023
Higher Executive Officer (HEO)
Full-time, Permanent
40
Americas, Caribbean & Overseas Territories
United States
New York
British Consulate
1
USD
$82,200 yearly
yearly
27 November 2023

Learning and Development Opportunities

The British Embassy and its US Network is committed to all employee’s ongoing learning and development needs. We offer a comprehensive platform for personalised learning for everything from soft skill development (communicating with impact, handling difficult conversations, time management) to more technical or professional skills necessary to complete your job (software training, formal qualifications etc.).

Please note: The British Embassy and its US Network is committed to all employee’s ongoing learning and development needs. We offer a comprehensive platform for personalised learning for everything from soft skill development (communicating with impact, handling difficult conversations, time management) to more technical or professional skills necessary to complete your job (software training, formal qualifications etc.).

The UK Government operating in the US offers a substantial benefits package including generous leave, a choice of medical insurance, 401(k) matching up to 7%, extensive learning opportunities and a great work/life balance.

Working Patterns:

Able to accommodate a varied working pattern

40 hours per week, in line with local standards. Flexible working available

The British Embassy and its US Network embraces hybrid working, allowing its staff to typically work from home 2 or 3 times a week.  We are an organization that also recognises the critical value of team work and we embrace and endorse collaboration by ensuring that all staff attend the office flexibly yet regularly. 

Given the level of interaction with colleagues across the globe, some early starts / late finishes will be a reality of the role, with the jobholder best managing that within the work week.

Appointable candidates who were unsuccessful may be placed on a ‘reserve list’. If during the reserve period of 6-12 months the same or a largely similar role becomes available, that role may be offered to the second or subsequent candidate. Employees who are not liable to pay local income tax on their Mission salary, eg some non-local national staff and some spouses or partners of UK diplomatic staff, will have their salaries abated by an equivalent amount. Internal candidates must inform their supervisor before they apply to a different position. Only successful candidates will be contacted. Please no phone calls. Due to the high volume of resumes we receive, we cannot guarantee consideration of your application if the submission instructions are not properly followed. The British Embassy is committed to a policy of equal opportunities and to creating a diverse working environment, free from discrimination, where everyone is included and treated fairly, based on merit alone. We are an equal opportunity employer, making all employment decisions without regard to race, gender, gender identity, religion, national origin, citizenship, disability, age, sexual orientation, political affiliation or any other criterion protected by law.

To be eligible for this role and in line with security clearance requirements to SC(O) level, candidates will need to hold one of the following nationalities:

  • UK
  • US
  • Australia
  • Canada
  • New Zealand
Please be aware that you will only be able to apply to vacancies for Country Based 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.

This opportunity is closed to applications.