Refugee Quota Selection Officer

Tēnei tūranga – About the role 

The Refugee Quota Selection Officer will bring their specialist business understanding and perspective to work in partnership with their manager and other staff in the Refugee Quota Team, broader INZ staff, UNHCR and other interagency stakeholders. 

The Refugee Quota Selection Officer contributes to the delivery of the Refugee Quota Programme through robust, specialist assessments and sound decision making on residence for Mandated refugees and Refugee Quota Family Reunification applicants. These decisions are made in line with immigration law, policy and procedures and United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (‘UNHCR’) guidelines and provide quality decisions that manage immigration risk and contribute to immigration outcomes. 

The Refugee Quota Selection Officer is responsible for ensuring quality and consistency of advice and practices in relation to their contribution to the team’s work.

Ngā herenga – Requirements of the role

Personal specifications

• Previous experience in delivering services in a complex environment requiring effective case management and excellent writing skills.
• Previous experience in complex interviewing (including probing challenging and concise reporting) and making sound judgement. 
• Excellent analytical skills. 
• Proven ability to work effectively and make robust decisions under pressure.
• Ability to make consistent, recommendations, conclusions, and decisions. 
• Highly developed written communication and report writing skills. 
• Knowledge of Immigration law, policy and procedures and an understanding of the functions and philosophies of the Immigration New Zealand. 
• Knowledge of current Immigration law, policy, procedures, and guidelines. 
• Knowledge and understanding of the UNHCR 1951 Refugee Convention relating to the Status of Refugees and the 1967 Protocol. 
• Knowledge and understanding of the UNHCR Refugee Resettlement Guidelines. 
• Knowledge of Risk management tools and approaches. 
• Knowledge and experience in applying risk profiles to identify and manage actual and potential risks. 
• Knowledge of fraud management including identification of fraud and verification. 
• Excellent IT skills including comprehensive knowledge of MS Office Suite (Word, Excel, Outlook, Access). 
• In addition to English, knowledge of a language of a major client group of INZ and/or exposure to overseas travel or other cultures is an advantage. 
• A tertiary qualification or relevant equivalent experience.
• The ability to gain and maintain a national security clearance as required. 
• Must be a New Zealand citizen or hold a permanent resident visa.
• Credit check required (no)
• Required to drive (no) 
• Police vetting (yes)

Takohanga tuhinga o mua – Key accountabilities and deliverables

Critical areas of success

The Refugee Quota Selection Officer will deliver results in the following areas: 

• Provides quality service to clients and stakeholders through the provision of accurate and timely specialist advice and information on immigration law, policy and procedures relating to the Refugee Quota Programme and Refugee Family Support Category.
• Applies robust analysis and judgement to assess all information obtained on Mandated Refugees (from UNHCR) against Immigration instructions and best practice guidelines considering a range of internal and external processes required to determine client’s credibility, immigration and security risk, health, and suitability for resettlement to New Zealand. 

Pre-selection mission 

• Analyses Refugee Registration Forms (RRF) submitted by UNHCR, pre-screening all cases against agreed risk and settlement guidelines on the advice of INZ and national counterparts in respect to country and cohort specific risks.
• Builds comprehensive knowledge of country-of-origin information and profile for all cases through assimilation of information specifically requested and provided by INZ’s Country Research Team. Keeps up to date on the changing situation for UNHCR referred cohorts and relevant COI prior to selection missions and following interviews to inform quality credibility assessment and decision. 
• Completes selection mission preparation and planning whilst complying with MBIE Health safety and security regulations for offshore travel.
• Develops client specific interview questions to ensure all required information is obtained according to review of RRF, risk and settlement guidelines and relevant COI.

On selection mission – offshore 

• Conducts interviews in person offshore, via selection missions, with UNHCR referred refugees to identify and gather all information necessary to assess case against relevant immigration information. Interviews conducted according to specialist refugee interview training and international best practice.
• Uses relevant investigative interviewing techniques to determine authenticity of information and assess credibility concerns.
• Ensures biometric enrolment for all clients and analyses responses from Five Country Partners (M5) to ensure all clients satisfy identity requirements, liaising with INZ Identity Services where required.

Post selection mission 

• Liaises with INZ Risk Assessment Team and the National Security Service to further analyse case profiles and assess risk. 
• Understands and effectively uses risk management and profiling tools/systems to assess and validate documentation and other types of evidence.
• Completes decision summary for all cases that outlines clear analysis of case profile against all aspects of policy. 
• Completes case reports in conjunction with Resettlement Case Officers for dissemination to relevant agencies.
• Assesses client medical information in the Immigration Health System (IHS) and liaises with IOM, Immigration Travel and Processing Officers (‘IPTO’) and INZ. 
• Medical Assessors where required to determine client’s health status in line with immigration instructions. 
• Identifies high and complex needs within caseload and records this information including writing special reports as per agreed process to ensure comprehensive planning is in place for refugee arrivals.
• Understands and applies United Nations Refugee Convention and other relevant protocols and conventions including UNHCR Resettlement Guidelines.

Family reunification categories (RQFR, RFSC)

• Process and decide all applications under the Refugee Quota Family Reunification category in accordance with operational policy and best practice guidelines including assessing sponsor’s eligibility, developing interview questions to ensure all relevant information is obtained, completing interviews, assessing dependency of family members, and adhering to agreed procedure for cases involving separated children and young persons.
• Provide additional support to other Refugee Quata Teams if required during peak times by processing and deciding Refugee Family Support Category sponsor registrations and Residence Applications in accordance with operational policy.

Other areas of responsibility 

• Manages full caseload effectively to ensure all allocated cases are decided in a timely manner. 
• Works as an effective/cooperative member of a team. 
• Communicates effectively with external and internal stakeholders.
• Represents Refugee Quota Programme effectively at external stakeholder and community meetings where required. 
• Prepares monthly reports on progress in achieving planned results.

Wellbeing, health & safety

• Displays commitment through actively supporting all safety and wellbeing initiatives.
• Ensures own and others safety at all times.
• Complies with relevant safety and wellbeing policies, procedures, safe systems of work and event reporting.
• Reports all incidents/accidents, including near misses in a timely fashion.
• Is involved in health and safety through participation and consultation.

Tō tūranga i roto i te Manatū – Your place in the Ministry

The Refugee Quota Selection Officer position reports into the Manager Refugee Quota Selection within the Refugee and Migrant Services branch. The branch sits within the Immigration New Zealand group.

More information about MBIE’s structure

To mātou aronga – What we do for Aotearoa New Zealand

Hīkina Whakatutuki is the te reo Māori name for the Ministry of Business, Innovation and Employment. Hīkina means to uplift. Whakatutuki means to move forward, to make successful. Our name speaks to our purpose, Grow Aotearoa New Zealand for All.

To Grow Aotearoa New Zealand for All, we put people at the heart of our mahi. Based on the principles of Te Tiriti o Waitangi / The Treaty of Waitangi, we are committed to upholding authentic partnerships with Māori.

As agile public service leaders, we use our breadth and experience to navigate the ever-changing world. We are service providers, policy makers, investors and regulators. We engage with diverse communities, businesses and regions. Our work touches on the daily lives of New Zealanders. We grow opportunities (Puāwai), guard and protect (Kaihāpai) and innovate and navigate towards a better future (Auaha).

Ngā matatau – Our competencies

Cultivates innovation We create new and better ways for the organisation to be successful by challenging the status quo generating new and creative ideas and translating them into workable solutions.

Nimble learning We are curious and actively learn through experimentation when tackling new problems by learning as we go when facing new situations and challenges.

Customer focus We build strong customer relationships and deliver customer-centric solutions by listening and gaining insights into the needs of the communities we serve and actively seeking and responding to feedback.

Decision quality We make quality and timely decisions that shape the future for our communities and keep the organisation moving forward by relying on an appropriate mix of analysis, wisdom, experience, and judgement to make valid and reliable decisions.

Action oriented We step up, taking on new opportunities and tough challenges with purpose, urgency and discipline by taking responsibility, ownership and action on challenges, and being accountable for the results.

Collaborates We connect, working together to build partnerships with our communities, working collaboratively to meet shared objectives by gaining trust and support of others; actively seeking the views, experiences, and opinions of others and by working co-operatively with others across MBIE, the public sector and external stakeholder groups.

Te Tiriti o Waitangi

As an agency of the public service, MBIE has a responsibility to contribute to the Crown meeting its obligations under Te Tiriti o Waitangi (Te Tiriti). Meeting our commitment to Te Tiriti will contribute towards us realising the overall aims of Te Ara Amiorangi – Our Path, Our Direction, and achieve the outcome of Growing New Zealand for All. The principles of Te Tiriti - including partnership, good faith, and active protection – are at the core of our work. MBIE is committed to delivering on our obligations as a Treaty partner with authenticity and integrity and to enable Māori interests. We are committed to ensuring that MBIE is well placed to meet our obligations under the Public Service Act 2020 (Te Ao Tūmatanui) to support the Crown in strengthening the Māori/Crown Relationship under the Treaty and to build MBIE’s capability, capacity and cultural intelligence to deliver this.

Mahi i roto i te Ratonga Tūmatanui – Working in the public service

Ka mahitahi mātou o te ratonga tūmatanui kia hei painga mō ngā tāngata o Aotearoa i āianei, ā, hei ngā rā ki tua hoki. He kawenga tino whaitake tā mātou hei tautoko i te Karauna i runga i āna hononga ki a ngāi Māori i raro i te Tiriti o Waitangi. Ka tautoko mātou i te kāwanatanga manapori. Ka whakakotahingia mātou e te wairua whakarato ki ō mātou hapori, ā, e arahina ana mātou e ngā mātāpono me ngā tikanga matua o te ratonga tūmatanui i roto i ā mātou mahi.

In the public service we work collectively to make a meaningful difference for New Zealanders now and in the future. We have an important role in supporting the Crown in its relationships with Māori under the Treaty of Waitangi. We support democratic government. We are unified by a spirit of service to our communities and guided by the core principles and values of the public service in our work.

What does it mean to work in Aotearoa New Zealand’s Public Service?(external link) — Te Kawa Mataaho The Public Service Commission