The British High Commission (BHC) Accra has a vacancy for an LEII Regional Migration Support Officer. This is a high-profile position within the BHC, requiring the job-holder to engage with a wide spectrum of migration focussed government actors, civil society and other relevant stakeholders across Francophone West Africa.

Working with the regional Migration Delivery Officer (MDO), the job-holder will have responsibility for ensuring successful outcomes on returns of Foreign National Offenders and Immigration Offenders from the UK to Francophone West Africa, and in some cases, the sub region. The successful candidate will achieve this through considered, regular engagement and through first class negotiating with the relevant agencies (including at very senior level).Therefore the successful candidate will be expected to travel regularly across West Africa.

The successful candidate will also lead on all elements of the BHC’s ‘migration education’ work in Francophone West Africa, including drafting innovative project bids and leading in the work’s oversight and implementation.

The migration dossier is a UK priority. The UK wants to encourage people from West Africa who want to come to or visit the UK to do so the right way. Equally important, one of the areas at the top of the Prime Minister’s agenda is to ensure that those people who abuse or ignore immigration rules, or come to the UK and break our laws, are returned to their countries of origin. This high profile LEII job will be delivering these goals on the front line.

The main elements of the job include:

1) Project work stream

•  Design, monitor, implement and evaluate projects in the francophone countries that falls under the remit of MDO.
•  Accurate and timely submission of all project/programme reports and spend forecasts to the team in London meeting stringent deadlines.
•  Support MDO wider objectives in Francophone countries and take on responsibility that supports wider objectives.

2) Front line operations:

•  Support the Migration sections front line operations.

3) Country of Origin Information Service (COIS), in francophone countries within the remit of MDO:

•  Assist with UKBA general inquiries concerning individual and generic issues that motivate asylum applications and requests for protection, by sending reports based on publicly available information to the Country of Origin Information Service (COIS) upon request within specified deadlines.
•  Analyse and send findings to COIS, using FCO Guide to providing country information to UKBA.

4) Engagement with civil society and academia on migration issues in francophone countries within the remit of MDO:

•  Regularly engage across a wide spectrum of migration focused academia world and civil society actors, to brainstorm on innovative ways and project designs that suits HMG’s migration agenda especially on returns and intake reduction.
•  Broaden scope of strategic engagements with CSOs and academia, and   maintain/sustain cordial relationships with key stakeholders through attendance to/active participation in stakeholder events, and stakeholder networking e.g. migration related conferences/meetings.

5) Migration Section’s events management and communications work:

•  Support in the organising of events and management of scoping visits, writing and sending out invites to stakeholders, making follow-ups on attendance, and writing briefs on events with recommendations for future events.
•  Provide media- worthy communication on Migration Section’s activities, for publication on Post’s website & local media, within a week of each event (consulting MDO or MSO before any publication).
•  Help with the design and publication of the Africa Regional Migration newsletter by collating success stories from MDOs in the region.
•  Monitor news items in the local and international media that have direct impact on our work and make press-cuttings for reference purposes.

Information for applicants:

•  This position is within the LEII range of responsibilities. The monthly gross salary range for LEII positions in the BHC is GHc 1885 (rising in increments of GHc 73 based on performances) to a maximum of GHc 2907. The starting salary will be GHc1885.
•  The appointment will be offered on a 1 year contract and subject to the satisfactory completion of a probationary period. Thereafter, the appointment will be renewed for periods of 12 months, subject to satisfactory performance, by mutual agreement.
•  Specific training and mentoring for the role will be provided for the successful candidate.

Qualification Required & Experience

The skills/attributes of the successful applicant will include:

•  Fluent in French both in written and oral (mandatory)
•  First class networking skills. Gets good contacts, and knows how to use them;
•  An interest in migration policy, and its delivery;
•  Good communication skills. Able to provide credible and good quality analysis;
•  Ability to respond to the unexpected;
•  Work with a considerable degree of autonomy, requiring minimal supervision
•  Resilient – able to respond well to setbacks;
•  Solution driven – can come up with or recommend courses of action when faced with difficulties.

The successful applicant is likely to have (one or more of):

•  A university degree;
•  Work-place experience of  migration issues (desirable)
•  Familiarity with UK and Francophone institutions (desirable)
•  Strong IT skills using Microsoft software

The successful applicant will need to:

•  Have a willingness to travel regularly across West Africa.
•  Observe the FCO’s diversity and equality policies

Location: Ghana

How To Apply For The Job

Candidates should complete an application form, which can be found on this link:  https://www.gov.uk/government/world/organisations/british-high-commission-accra/about/recruitment add their CVs to the completed application form and send for the attention of:

HR Manager
British High Commission
Osu Link, off Gamel Abdul Nasser Avenue
P O Box 296
Accra

with the envelope clearly marked LEII RMSO

or to this email address: Jobs.BHCAccra@fco.gov.uk

Closing Date:  12 April, 2013

•  Regrettably only those candidates short-listed for interview will be contacted. Interviews will be conducted in April, with a view to the successful applicant commencing work in May 2013.
•  The successful applicant will need to demonstrate that they meet the necessary requirements under Ghanaian law to work in Ghana, and to pass (or have passed) a BHC internal security clearance process.
•  The British High Commission Accra is an Equal Opportunities Employer
•  More information about the work of the British High Commission in Ghana can be found at http://ukinghana.fco.gov.uk/en/