HOIO – Programme Officer EO – (28/24 PTA) needed at Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office

Main purpose of job:

• To disrupt the flow of illegal migration to the United Kingdom and identify and disrupt the activity of the organised crime groups behind it. This will be achieved by supporting the delivery of capacity building programming across Southern and Eastern Africa.
• Responsibility for the financial management a GBP 2 million budget including ensuring all spend is captured in a timely and accurate manner and that procurement is in line with FCDO and Home Office guidance.
• The role will report directly to the Regional Manager in Pretoria who will maintain overall accountability for this budget.
• Complete monthly reporting on training and outcomes for the HOIO board, highlighting risks to delivery and identifying mitigations put in place to manage these risks.
• Actively oversee the HOIO budget throughout the year, by providing forecasts and monthly reviews of spending. Highlighting underspend or potential overspend as soon as practicable to the budget holder.
• Draft quarterly reporting on programmes and activity highlighting relevant information for programme board.
• Work closely with HMG partners at post, host authorities and international partners to support the delivery of programmes across the region.
• The role necessitates travel for liaison, training, site visits and meetings.
• Due to the nature of the job the role necessitates the management of very challenging workloads, delivering at pace and flexibility in support of business aims. Due to this additional roles and responsibilities by be required.

Roles and responsibilities:

What we do:

• Home Office – International Operations (HOIO) operates to prevent illegal immigration and disrupt the organised immigration crime groups behind it, supporting both the Immigration Enforcement mission and the Home Office purpose. We have staff deployed to approximately 53 locations across the world.

We deliver this by:

• Providing intelligence support to the visa operation, supporting VSI to take an increasingly global approach to risk streaming built on the analysis of objective data and enhanced with local risk indicators
• Working with carriers around the world to reduce the threat of inadequately documented arrivals (IDAs) reaching the UK by air
• Developing intelligence packages related to the visa or air threat for subsequent criminal investigations and prosecutions

What we want from you?

• The successful candidate needs to have excellent people skills that they can use strategically to build relationships with key partners to assist Home Office-International Operations (HOIO) in delivering capacity building projects across Southern and Eastern Africa.
• Face to face work is a fundamental part of the job, so the successful candidate should be prepared to do some public speaking in front of HMG Partners, International Partners, and host government agencies.
• The successful candidate need be able to manage very challenging workloads, deliver at pace and be flexible in support of business aims. Once up to speed in the role the successful candidate should be able to work towards objectives with minimal supervision.
• The role necessitates travel for liaison, training, site visits and meetings. As we are delivering the project across five countries some overnight stays will be required. The role also requires working unsociable hours including some weekend working.
• Working for HOIO is amazing, as much as for the development opportunities it offers as the actual experience of delivering our objectives which can be hugely satisfying.

Resources managed (staff and expenditure):

• Responsibility for the financial management a GBP 2 million budget including ensuring all spend is captured in a timely and accurate manner and that procurement is in line with FCDO and Home Office guidance.
• Actively oversee the HOIO budget throughout the year, by providing forecasts and monthly reviews of spending. Highlighting underspend or potential overspend as soon as practicable to the budget holder.

Essential qualifications, skills and experience  

• A UK (or other M5; USA, Australia, New Zealand or Canada) passport holder
• Programme management experience including an understanding of the Importance of articulating benefit realisation
• Strong interpersonal and verbal communication skills
• A high level of written and spoken English with the ability to write high quality reports
• Strong organisational and time management skill
• An ability to work under pressure with minimal supervision is essential
• Previous immigration, law enforcement and/or analytical or investigation experience would be an advantage

Desirable qualifications, skills and experience  

• Experience in Microsoft Office Systems (Teams), Excel, Word and be adaptable to change and use new systems as they come on board