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Executive Officer Asylum Decision Makers

Employer
Home Office
Location
London.
Salary
£27,001 - £31,051
Closing date
10 May 2019

Job Details

UK Visas and Immigration (UKVI) is one of four key business areas within the Home Office. We are undergoing an exciting period of change. Alongside the other areas of the Home Office, the department is embarking upon a transformational programme. Operational Excellence is at the forefront of what we do. 

Our strategic aims contribute to the Home Office strategic objectives: preventing terrorism and extremism; cutting crime and protecting the vulnerable; and reducing immigration and preventing abuse. 

Asylum Operations is responsible for registering, deciding and concluding asylum protection claims. The primary function of the directorate is to make high quality decisions on asylum cases and work with other parts of the organisation to ensure effective immigration control. 

Asylum decision makers make a real difference in people’s lives, offering protection to the most vulnerable and refusing those who do not qualify, ensuring effective immigration control and keeping the UK safe and secure. 

You will be working in a fast paced government department, working to tight deadlines. You will be required to consider large amounts of information, law, formulate clear and measured arguments and write letters on behalf of the Secretary of State explaining their decisions. All asylum decisions must be made in line with Home Office policy, guidance and with reference to relevant country information and case law. 

The work that you undertake is life-changing and in order to achieve your best you will be supported by an experienced team and given full training enabling you to make considered, timely and fair decisions. 

The Non-Suspensive Appeals Hub considers asylum claims in a non-detained environment. Decision makers conduct interviews and make decisions on asylum claims. Where the Secretary of State refuses a claimant's asylum and/or human rights claim as being clearly unfounded, the claimant is only able to appeal against that decision after they have left the UK. These cases are referred to as Non-Suspensive Appeals. 


Key responsibilities in this role include: 

• Conducting asylum face to face interviews to exacting standards, ensuring that all information necessary to make an appropriate decision is obtained within a decision making framework; 

• Carrying out case-working functions in order to make decisions on asylum cases within the decision making framework; 

• Producing asylum decisions whilst demonstrating sensitivity, emotional resilience and understanding of the needs of vulnerable adults and children;

• Developing specialist knowledge of legislation and policy, keeping up-to-date with guidance and case law and seeking advice and escalating to senior colleagues or specialist caseworkers; 

• Working positively with internal and corporate partners and stakeholders; 

• Updating systems accurately and within the agreed time frames and working to strict daily and weekly workload and targets; 

• Completing an agreed minimum number of interviews and decisions which is monitored weekly; 

• Providing accurate information in a professional and helpful manner by collecting and assessing relevant data and information from various sources; 

• Adapting to changing priorities and managing caseload accordingly, escalating where appropriate. 


Preferred Skills: 

We are looking for candidates who are: 

• Emotionally resilient, compassionate and able to keep composure during face to face interviews. Asylum cases and interviews can be upsetting and traumatic - helping people at a time of crisis in their lives; 

• Robust at making decisions whilst maintaining professionalism and sensitivity; 

• Committed to continuous improvement and thriving in an environment where performance matters; 

• Flexible, adaptive and creative in solving problems and dealing with change; 

• Able to effectively organise and plan; 

• Professional and customer-focused; 

• Objective and thinking in an analytical manner; 

• Able to demonstrate a strong sense of ethics and honesty; 

• Enjoy dealing with members of the public and external and internal stakeholders; 

• Able to demonstrate sound interpersonal, communication and relationship-building skills and thrive working as part of a team; 

• Meet the high standards of conduct and behaviour that is expected of a Civil Servant. 

Person specification

You must hold the qualifications cited below or relevant experience in a role that required you to make complex decisions in a rules-based environment. 

You will be asked if you have the below qualifications or experience. If you have either of these please ensure you select YES to BOTH QUESTIONS otherwise your application will be automatically rejected and not considered. The system is designed to accept a ‘yes’ answer to both questions even if you meet only one criteria. 

If you do not hold the required qualification, you are therefore required to provide a 250 word statement detailing your previous experience and skills, specifically: 

• In a role which required/s you to make complex decisions in a rules based environment.

Qualifications

In order to be eligible to apply for this role you must hold the below Qualifications, which you will need to demonstrate in your application and at interview. 

• The MINIMUM of Two A Levels (A*-E Grade) and 5 GCSEs at Grade A*-C in both Maths and English. 

Please note this can include equivalents at the same levels, for example GCSE Maths and English A*-C could be CSE Grade 1, O Levels A-C, or Standard Grades. Equivalent qualifications for the A Level requirement could include a wide range of formal or vocational training as determined by Ofqual such as some BTEC and higher level NVQ’s. 

You must have already been awarded the qualification(s) and must be able to provide your certificate(s) at the interview. 

Security

Successful candidates must meet the security requirements before they can be appointed. The level of security needed is counter-terrorist check

 

Company

The Home Office leads on immigration and passports, drugs policy, crime policy, counter-extremism and counter-terrorism and works to ensure visible, responsive and accountable policing in the UK. These issues are at the heart of the Government’s agenda. The challenges the Department faces are significant and can change rapidly in the global environment in which we operate. This makes it one of the most exciting and stimulating Departments to work in.

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