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UKVI Manager

Employer
DURHAM UNIVERSITY
Location
Durham, United Kingdom
Salary
£33,797 - £40,322 per annum (pro rata)
Closing date
18 Jan 2021

HR & OD

Grade 7: - £33,797 - £40,322 per annum (pro rata)
Fixed Term - Part Time
Contract Duration: 6 months
Closing Date: 18-Jan-2021, 7:59:00 AM

Job Family: Business Process and People Services
Department: Human Resources
Responsible to: Assistant HR Director (and Employment Lawyer)
Responsible for: HR Administrator (UKVI and Relocation Support)
Grade: Grade 7
Working arrangements: Part-Time 0.5FTE (17.5 hours per week)
Start Date: As soon as possible
Anticipated Interview Date: 14th / 15th January 2021

Job Family: Business Process and People Services

OUR CHARACTERISTICS: We are a globally outstanding centre of teaching and research excellence, a collegiate community of extraordinary people, in a unique and historic setting.

OUR VALUES: We are inspiring, challenging, innovative, responsible and enabling.

Durham University

Durham University is one of the world's top universities with strengths across the Arts and Humanities, Business, Sciences and Social Sciences. We are home to some of the most talented scholars and researchers from around the world who are tackling global issues and making a difference to people's lives.

The University sits in a beautiful historic city where it shares ownership of a UNESCO World Heritage Site with Durham Cathedral, the greatest Romanesque building in Western Europe. A collegiate University, Durham recruits outstanding students from across the world and offers an unmatched wider student experience.

Durham University seeks to promote and maintain an inclusive and supportive environment for work and study that assists all members of our University community to reach their full potential. Diversity brings strength and we welcome applications from across the international, national and regional communities that we work with and serve.

It is expected that all staff within the University:

  • Contribute to our learning culture by engaging in mentoring, training and coaching.
  • Positively contribute to fostering a collegial environment; as well as demonstrating commitment to equality, diversity and inclusion.
  • Have due regard to Health and Safety requirements appropriate to grade and role.

Family key attributes

Roles in this family provide a comprehensive service and deliver the efficient administration and governance of the University.

Overall family purpose

  • Deliver direct and indirect services to stakeholders.
  • Provide advice and answer queries as part of an enquiry-desk/help-desk function.
  • Respond to and manage requests for information and resources.
  • Deliver services to meet regulatory requirements and procedures. 
  • Plan and deliver a joined-up approach to University business and people services.
  • Align business processes and services to meet operational and strategic policy objectives.  
  • Deliver business processes to ensure effective management, governance and the economic viability of the University. 
  • Encourage, collaborate and participate in the development of productive cross-institution relationships and working.
  • Provide excellent professional services that meet strategic and operational goals and business needs.
  • Carry out monitoring, analysis, development and planning to design new services and service updates for continuous improvement whilst meeting changes in regulations.
  • Engage with specialist professionals, consultants, and suppliers to exchange knowledge and facilitate partnership working.
  • Work collaboratively and network across the University with staff in other families to ensure a smooth, timely and high-quality delivery of service.
  • Align and deliver programmes and activities to meet operational and strategic objectives to enhance the stakeholder experience.
  • Engage and encourage participation with external professionals, schools, alumni and donors.

Link to key strategic plan

  • An economically sustainable approach to delivering Professional Services across the University;
  • A joined-up approach to University professional services, regardless of location or line management;
  • A culture and practice of continuous improvement; 
  • Design services that meet business need;
  • A stakeholder-focused orientation, offering satisfying careers to all staff;
  • Support and facilitate programmes that offer intellectual challenge, cohesiveness and a strong sense of progression;
  • Ensure that an increasingly diverse workforce is treated equally, fairly and with respect, and that all staff are demonstrably valued and actively engaged.

The Department and role purpose

The UKVI Manager will facilitate the UKVI elements of the onboarding of all staff who require a visa with particular focus on senior, executive and specialty staff (and will assist their families). The post will be a key position with the University to achieve the objective of attracting and recruiting world-leading colleagues to Durham.

The UKVI Manager will lead on staff UKVI and DBS across the University, providing guidance and ensuring that appropriate policies, practices, documents and procedures are in place and kept up-to-date. The post-holder will keep abreast of UKVI and DBS changes and will ensure timely and effective solutions are proposed and implemented.

The UKVI Manager will work closely with the Recruitment Manager to support and facilitate all recruitment across the University, as well as recruitment campaigns. The UKVI Manager will work closely with the HR Business Partners when managing all staff related UKVI issues related to colleagues who work at the University.

Core responsibilities:

  • Recognised professional practitioner and management and/or service specialist with responsibility for the management of team members.
  • Provide input to the design and development of service processes, techniques and deliverables for one or more service areas or projects. 
  • Manage operational service activities to ensure excellence in the stakeholder experience.
  • Contribute to the analysis of stakeholder feedback to help define needs and requirements, inputting to the design and planning of services.
  • Internal and external relationship development and partnership working, networking and participation to engage and influence future services and the University reputation.
  • Provide feedback on team and individual performance and identify development needs, conducting regular staff ADR and performance reviews.
  • Handle the vast majority of welfare issues within a team, referring more complex welfare issues to appropriate support services/senior management.
  • Delivery of ongoing coaching, mentoring and training to team members.
  • Maintain an awareness of current policy for University business goals such as widening participation and access.
  • Contribute to business meetings, working groups and sub committees at departmental and operational service levels.
  • Responsible for managing small budgets for consumables and some capital items, keeping records and processing invoices.
  • Devolve responsibilities to team members to ensure continuity of service provision and encourage skills development.

Role responsibilities:

  • Provide management for stakeholder service areas and/or processes ensuring a high quality and timely service to all stakeholders, including prospective, existing and past students and staff.
  • Manage and monitor performance and workload outcomes and/or staff, planning cover to ensure smooth service provision through peaks and troughs.
  • Analyse service data and provide reports to Service Heads, making recommendations for improvement as appropriate.
  • Provide advice to stakeholders in relation to University, School and/or Department policy, procedures and regulations.
  • Ensure the review and improvement of systems and procedures in line with University, School, Department or unit frameworks.
  • Distribute service information and provide advice to stakeholders regarding compliance and regulations.
  • Ensure regulations and procedures are updated to take account of internal and external changes.
  • Coordinate and oversee committee working and deal with complaints.
  • Awareness of the external environment and sector best practice to support high quality services.  
  • Any other reasonable duties.

Person specification - skills, knowledge, qualifications and experience required

Essential Criteria:

  • Excellent oral and written communication skills and the ability to develop excellent working relationships both internally and externally.
  • Proven IT skills, including use of Microsoft Office
  • Educated to degree level (or equivalent experience).
  • Professional individual with knowledge and expertise used to contribute to the delivery and development of services, events and activities within the organisation.
  • Experience of implementing policy and procedures and involvement with future changes for a service area.   
  • Knowledge and experience of ensuring compliance with regulatory and organisational policy and guidelines. 
  • Direct experience of managing UKVI in an organisation with a significant number of visa holders
  • Experience of providing specialist advice and guidance to a range of customers and colleagues, including more senior colleagues.
  • Experience of being able to network effectively and develop strong and productive working relationships, to influence perceptions of the University.
  • Experience of managing and developing a team or teams and/or line management qualification.
  • Substantial experience of working independently and effective time management and prioritisation
  • Demonstrable experience of delivering within an EDI agenda
  • Commitment to working with diplomacy and tact and remaining resilient in the face of challenge. 

Desirable

  • Experience of working in a complex organisation
  • Experience of working directly with UKVI issues in higher education
  • A comprehensive knowledge and understanding of the rapidly changing operations and culture of higher education 

Recruiting to this post 

In order to be considered for interview, candidates must evidence each of the essential criteria required for the role in the person specification below.

In some cases, the recruiting panel may also consider the desirable criteria, so we recommend you evidence all criteria in your application.

Please note that some criteria will only be considered at interview stage.

The post holder can work remotely for the duration of the contract.

How to apply

We prefer to receive applications online.

Please note that in submitting your application Durham University will be processing your data. We would ask you to consider the relevant University Privacy Statement https://www.dur.ac.uk/ig/dp/privacy/pnjobapplicants/ which provides information on the collation, storing and use of data.

What you are required to submit

  1. A CV; 
  2. A covering letter which details your experience, strengths and potential in the requirements set out above;
  3. Examples of how you satisfy the person specification including both Essential and Desirable criteria. This can completed in a table format and submitted as part of your application.

Please ensure that you submit all documentation listed above or your application cannot proceed to the next stage.

The post is part time, fixed term for a 6-month period and may be offered on a secondment basis subject to the agreement of the current line manager.

If an internal member of staff is appointed to this role on a secondment basis, for pension purposes this will be processed in line with Step-Up arrangements. For further details please see https://www.dur.ac.uk/resources/hr/policies/Stepup/StepUpandSecondmentPolicyv2.0.pdf

Contact details:

For further information please contact: Nicola Johnston on nicola.johnston@durham.ac.uk 

At Durham University, our aim is to create an open and inclusive environment where everyone can reach their full potential and believe our staff should reflect the diversity of the global community in which we work.  We welcome and encourage applications from members of groups who are under-represented in our work force including people with disabilities, women and black, Asian and minority ethnic communities.

We will notify you on the status of your application at various points throughout the selection process, via automated emails from our e-recruitment system. Please check your spam/junk folder periodically to ensure you receive all emails

DBS Requirement: Not Applicable.

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