Australian Consulate-General
Guangzhou
China

20220216 GZHO DHA LE3 Visa Processing Officer

                AUSTRALIAN CONSULATE-GENERAL GUANGZHOU

 

Agency

Department of Home Affairs

Location

Australian Consulate-General Guangzhou

Position Number

Various

Position Title

Visa Processing Officer

Classification

LE3

Reports to (title)

Team Leader

Status

Non-ongoing, Full-time

Gross Annual Salary

RMB 101,630

 

The Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade (DFAT) section of the Australian Consulate-General Guangzhou is seeking applications for the locally engaged staff position of Visa Processing Officer.

About the Department of Home Affairs (HA)

The Department of Home Affairs is a central policy agency, providing coordinated strategy and policy leadership for Australia's national and transport security, federal law enforcement, criminal justice, cyber security, border, immigration, multicultural affairs, emergency management and trade related functions.

The Department of Home Affairs protects Australian borders and manages the movement of people and goods across them, contributing to achieving three principal government outcomes of strong national security, a strong economy, and a prosperous and cohesive society.

Our diverse portfolio includes managing migration, humanitarian and citizenship policy and programs, and keeping Australia secure through border management and facilitating travellers and goods crossing the border.

The Home Affairs office in Guangzhou is one of the Department’s largest visa processing offices.

About the position

Under the direction and supervision of the Team Leader, the Visa Processing Officer is responsible for providing excellent client service while making fair and lawful decisions on visa applications to varying degrees of complexity.

The key responsibilities of the position include, but are not limited to:

  • Process applications for visas and citizenship in accordance with legislation, policies and procedures.
  • Assess and decide temporary visa applications within productivity targets and service standards. Make fair, lawful and timely decisions on routine and complex cases.
  • Liaise effectively with clients and other stakeholders to achieve work area and departmental business objectives.
  • Interview clients by phone and request information verbally and in writing.
  • Record written outcomes clearly and concisely in English in case notes and records of decisions.
  • Investigate cases that have been referred from operational areas, analyse outcomes and record findings clearly and accurately in English.
  • Manage and organise high volume caseloads with limited supervision.
  • Provide specialist advice to other areas of the office.
  • Understand and apply complex migration legislation and policy.
  • Manage client enquiries by phone, email and in-person and prepare outgoing correspondence.
  • Translate documents and undertake interpreting, as required
  • Undertake other administrative duties, as directed.

Selection Criteria

  • Sound communication skills including excellent written and oral English language skills and fluency in Mandarin, as well as an ability to interpret and translate in both languages for operational purposes. Fluency in Cantonese is highly desirable.
  • Well-developed organisational and work management skills, including the ability to manage priorities, maintain high work standards and deliver workplace goals within deadlines. Ability to work independently as well as under direction, maintain a high degree of integrity and meet deadlines.
  • Ability to make assessments and decisions based on legal requirements and established procedures and protocols while also incorporating initiative and sound judgement
  • Ability to maintain productive working relationships with colleagues from a diverse range of backgrounds

 

Additional information

The position is initially for a period of up to four months, however successful applicants may be offered a further contract.  The successful applicant is required to complete relevant pre-employment procedures before commencement.

Applications are invited from both Chinese and Australian nationals.  Australian national employees receive a salary loading in lieu of local benefits they are not eligible to receive.

The successful applicant(s) will be required to work across a range of teams within the Home Affairs section and agree to change position (at level) if required.

How to Apply

Submit an application via email to [email protected] by 5.00pm, Tuesday 1 March 2022.  Applications received after the closing date and time may not be considered.  The subject line of your email should include the Position Title you are applying for.

Your application, written in English, should include:

  • Completed ‘Application for Locally Engaged Staff Employment’.  See Attachment A.
  • Your application pitch (maximum 500 words).  See Attachment B.

Curriculum Vitae (maximum 2 pages).

Applications must be in either Microsoft Word or PDF format, with a maximum email size of 3MB.

For inquiries regarding this position, please contact the Human Resources section at [email protected].

Please note that due to the large volume of applications received, we are unable to respond to each applicant.  We endeavour to respond to applicants of interest within a period of four weeks from the application closing date.  If you are not requested to attend an interview, please consider your application unsuccessful.

 

Writing an Application Pitch

Your application pitch is a chance to tell us why you are the right person for the job.  We want to know why you are interested in the role, what you can offer us, and how your skills, knowledge, experience and qualifications are applicable to the role.

Your pitch is a marketing document, promoting how you are a strong candidate for the opportunity on offer.  This means you should:

  • Research the opportunity: read the position description, key responsibilities, and required qualifications and experience carefully; and research the department and its role.
  • Know what you have to offer that is relevant: identify your relevant skills, knowledge, experience, qualities; map your relationships with colleagues, clients, and stakeholders to identify what experience is relevant; select examples that demonstrate relevant experience using your skills and knowledge, ones that are of a level of complexity to match the position you are pitching for.
  • Make a persuasive case that what you have to offer will enable you to contribute, add value and deliver results.

You do not need to use a different example to demonstrate each of the skills required in the position overview.  For example, if the position description states we are looking for a confident communicator, the ability to problem solve and work as part of a team, you could use one example that demonstrates all of these skills.  You could then use another example that demonstrates the other skills required.

Try not to duplicate information that can already be found in your curriculum vitae but do highlight any specific examples or achievements that will demonstrate your ability to perform the role.

Try the three-part format as a way to organise your material:

  1. General statement about the criterion
  2. Specific example/s to support the criterion
  3. Link to job on offer

Consider using the STAR method when detailing your examples.  The STAR method enables the selection committee to determine the context of the situation, what the task was and what actions you took to achieve a result.

Situation:  Describe the situation that you were in or the task that you needed to complete.  This should be a description of a specific event or situation, not a generalised description of what you have done in the past and should give enough detail for the panel to understand the context.  This situation can be from a previous job, volunteer experience, university or any relevant event where you can demonstrate your skills against the position overview

Task:            What was your role?  What were you responsible for?

Actions:     Describe the actions you took to address the situation.  Include an appropriate amount of detail and keep the focus on YOU.  What specific steps did you take and what contribution did you make?  Be careful that you don’t describe what the team or group did when talking about a project.  For example, the team may have achieved a good result however what part did you play, what specific things did you do to contribute to the end result?

Results:      Describe the outcome of your actions.  What happened?  How was the issue resolved or how did the event end?  What did you accomplish?  What did you learn and what would you do differently next time?  How did the end result impact on the objective of the organisation or team?