AUSTRALIAN HIGH COMMISSION, NEW DELHI
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Office Circular 06/12 – Vacancy Notice of Visa Officer A
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APPLICATIONS FOR VACANCIES AT THE VISA OFFICER A (VOA) LEVEL
The Immigration and Citizenship Section of the Australian High Commission, New Delhi is seeking suitably qualified people to submit applications for expected vacancies at the VOA level arising in the next 12 months. A Job description for the position is attached. Selection will be made strictly on the merit principle.
NOTE FOR ALL APPLICANTS
• Applications must be typed. Handwritten applications will not be accepted.
• Applicants must submit the following documents:
(1) a completed Registration and Personal Particulars Form; and
(2) a written statement addressing each of the selection criteria for the position/s applied for. Applications not meeting these criteria will not be considered.
• Conform to word limits where specified.
• Provide examples of relevant work experience where specified.
• The application process involves questions about your current and past personal and family relationships and living circumstances. It is in your own interest to be honest and accurate in disclosing details about yourself. If you feel uncomfortable about disclosing this information, you should reconsider your application.
• Late applications will not be considered
HOW TO APPLY
Applications addressing the selection criteria should be forwarded by email to:
[email protected]
OR
The Human Resources Section of the Australian High Commission,
1/50G Shantipath, Chanakyapuri, New Delhi 110021, by
12 noon Monday, 10 September 2012.
Please note there is no age restriction for applicants who wish to apply for any of the below positions.
All prospective applicants should also take the time to familiarise themselves with the Australian High Commission’s Code of Conduct and the Department of Immigration and Citizenship’s organisational values.
JOB DESCRIPTION - VISA OFFICER A
Visa Officers A (VOA) are senior locally engaged assessing and/or decision-making officers within the Immigration and Citizenship Section. They may be placed in a visa or citizenship processing team or within the New Delhi Integrity Section (NDIS), undertaking verification checks or assisting with investigations. VOAs work under the direct supervision of a Team Leader and may be expected to assist in the operational management of their team. VOAs also provide guidance and mentoring to junior officers. VOAs are also expected to demonstrate a very high level of flexibility and knowledge of various areas of visa processing and be willing to assist in other teams, often with little notice, for short to medium periods of time.
Under the direction of a Team Leader, Visa Officers A may perform the following duties:
• managing/assessing visa caseloads and/or referrals for integrity checking, prioritising cases for interview and assessment, carrying out integrity interviews and undertaking investigations for integrity checking;
• preparing reports, case-notes, interview notes, correspondence and other material in relation to visa matters;
• dealing with client queries by phone, email and in person;
• maintaining accurate files, electronic and other records;
• providing translation and interpretation of community languages as required; and
• willingness to travel and represent the Immigration and Citizenship Section to clients, agents and other stakeholders as required.
The commencing salary for Visa Officer A will be INR 50,987 per month in the range INR 50,987 to INR 60,298.
SELECTION CRITERIA: VISA OFFICER A
Criterion1
Give an example of a time when you have recognised the need for change in work practices or processes and made a suggestion for improvement.
In your answer, please ensure you address the following:
What was the situation and what was your role?
Why did you recognise a need for change?
What suggestion did you make?
How did your suggestion(s) improve practices or processes in your work area? (Maximum 300 words)
Criterion 2
Give an example of a time when you have made a contribution to planning the activities of a work area or team.
In your answer please ensure you address the following:
What was your role in the work area or team?
What was the contribution that you made?
What effect did your contribution have?
(Maximum 300 words)
Criterion 3
Provide an example of a situation in which you have recognised the need to act professionally when providing a service to an important or high-profile client or stakeholder
In your answer please ensure you address the following:
What was the situation? What role you were performing?
Why was the client or stakeholder important or high-profile?
What service were you providing? What action did you take to ensure that you acted professionally when providing the service to this client or stakeholder?
What was the outcome? How did you know if you had been successful in acting professionally? (Maximum 300 words)
Criterion 4
Describe a situation in which you have drawn upon your specialised knowledge of workplace policies, procedures or guidelines to make a decision about a program delivery issue
In your answer please ensure you address the following:
What was the situation? What role you were performing?
What were the workplace policies, procedures or guidelines? Why did you have specialised knowledge of these?
What was the program delivery issue? How did you use your knowledge of workplace policies, procedures or guidelines to help you make a decision about the issue?
What was the outcome of your decision?
(Maximum 300 words)
CODE OF CONDUCT FOR LOCALLY ENGAGED STAFF
INTRODUCTION
The key underlying principles of conduct for locally engaged staff employed at the Australian High Commission, New Delhi are:
1. To act in accordance with the local law and applicable Australian law;
2. To deal equitably, honestly and in a professional manner with both the public and colleagues;
3. To ensure there is no real or apparent conflict of interest; and
4. To ensure their professional or personal behaviour does not bring the Australian High Commission or Australia into disrepute.
LES must at all times behave in a way that upholds the integrity and good reputation of the High Commission.
• Personal behaviour should be appropriate
• Dress and appearance should be in accordance with standards appropriate to an employee's duties
• LES should not be under the influence of alcohol, drugs or other prohibited or performance impairing substances in the work place
• The High Commission is a smoke-free work environment
LES must behave honestly and with integrity in the course of his/her employment with the High Commission.
LES should not use their official position to improperly influence or try to influence colleagues or members of the public by giving them gifts or by entering into financial or other arrangements with them.
LES must act with care and diligence in the course of their employment with the High Commission.
In the course of their duties LES are required to:
• be fair and impartial;
• give others likely to be affected by a decision an opportunity to have their case considered promptly;
• explain the reasons for action/decisions;
• at all times act according to local law and applicable Australian law.
LES, when acting in the course of their employment with the High Commission, must treat members of the public and colleagues with respect and courtesy, and without coercion or harassment of any kind.
LES are required to:
• treat members of the public and colleagues equitably, regardless of their sex, marital status, ethnicity, age sexual orientation, disability or religious beliefs or any other similar ground;
• be professional and courteous;
• provide reasonable assistance to the public and to help them understand their entitlements and their obligations;
• deal with the public and colleagues in an equitable and fair manner.
LES must comply with any lawful and reasonable direction given by a person in the High Commission who has the authority to give the direction. LES are at all times subject to the authority of the High Commissioner/Consul General and the officer in charge of the section in which they are employed.
The relevant A-based or locally engaged staff supervisor has the primary responsibility for ensuring that the required standards of conduct and work performance are met and maintained by LES.
The LES must maintain appropriate confidentiality about information obtained during the course of their employment at the mission.
Official information must not be disclosed to any person unless an employee is authorised to do so in the course of his/her duties.
LES must not misuse information obtained in the course of his/her duties, including taking advantage of another person on the basis of information held about the person in official records.
LES must disclose, and take reasonable steps to avoid, any conflict of interest (real or apparent) in connection with his/her employment in the High Commission, including in relation to any outside employment and/or business activities.
LES must seek the permission of the High Commissioner or Consul General before engaging in outside employment.
The High Commissioner/Consul General may not grant permission to engage in outside employment that is incompatible with the employee's duties on behalf of the High Commission.
LES who have interests, financial or otherwise, including in respect of family and friends that could conflict with the proper performance of their duties must disclose this interest to their supervisor and take whatever action is necessary to avoid that conflict.
LES must use resources in a proper manner and avoid waste or extravagance. LES must be scrupulous in the use of official money, human and other resources.
LES have a responsibility to care for and maintain High Commission property. The property of the High Commission is to be used for official purposes only and is to be used efficiently and effectively.
LES must not, in the course of their employment in the High Commission, provide false or misleading information in response to a request for information that is made for official purposes.
An employee is expected to:
• exercise reasonable care in giving written or oral information or advice; and
• take reasonable steps to ensure that the information provided is accurate.
Where there are doubts about the reliability of information this should be checked with a supervisor. Where the information being given is of an interim or conditional nature, this should be made clear.
An employee must not make improper use of inside information or the employee's duties, status, power or authority in order to gain, or seek to gain, a benefit or advantage for the employee, or for any other person, including the acceptance of gifts, sponsored travel, hospitality, accommodation, hire car costs and entertainment.
These restrictions also apply to the families of LES, where the gift or benefit is a direct result of the official duties of the employee.
Gifts or benefits generally should not be accepted. In cases where not accepting would cause offence to an extent that could adversely affect Australia's interests, a gift or benefit can only be accepted with the written approval of the High Commissioner or Consul General.
If in doubt about whether or not to accept a gift the matter should be discussed with the employee's A-based supervisor.
A bribe is a gift given or offers made with the intention of influencing an employee to take or not to take a specific action. The acceptance of a bribe will result in disciplinary action being taken against the employee.
Money must never be accepted as a gift.
DEPARTMENT OF IMMIGRATION AND CITIZENSHIP
Our purpose
Build Australia’s future through the well-managed movement and settlement of people.
Our values
As professional public servants
We value performance
• We listen and are responsive to the individual needs of clients and stakeholders and constantly strive to improve policy and program performance.
• Our integrity and honesty fosters teamwork, supporting high performance throughout the department.
We value our people
• We work collaboratively to achieve our business outcomes.
• We value diversity, actively seek contributions and commit to open discussions.
• Our leaders seek to encourage staff to enhance their skills through training and development.
We value integrity
• We are an open and accountable organisation, providing visibility and transparency of our processes.
• Our decision making is fair, reasonable and transparent with an understanding of each individual’s needs.
We value service
• We are committed to service excellence and to delivering our services in a fair, lawful and reasonable way.
• We show respect for our clients, stakeholders and one another by being fair, honest, objective, professional and polite.