View Vacancy - International Network Business Manager SEO - (21/24 PTA) The British Government is an inclusive and diversity-friendly employer. We value difference, promote equality and challenge discrimination, enhancing our organisational capability. We welcome and encourage applications from people of all backgrounds. We do not discriminate on the basis of disability, race, colour, ethnicity, gender identity, religion, sexual orientation, age, veteran status or other category protected by law. We promote family-friendly flexible working opportunities, where operational and security needs allow. Job Category Other British Government Departments (Partners across Government, including UK Visas) Job Subcategory UKVI (UK Visas and Immigration) Job Description (Roles and Responsibilities) Main purpose of job: Do you have what it takes to coordinate a large department’s business support systems across multiple regions? Read on! This is an exciting opportunity to join the British High Commission in South Africa, working within a dynamic and fast-paced team. UK Visas & Immigration (UKVI) is an operational arm of the UK Home Office, delivering the UK’s visa service to millions of customers across the globe, and this key management support role sits within UKVI’s “International Network”.  UKVI’s International Network (circa 50 staff) is spread across the globe, responsible for our stakeholder and customer engagement activity, and the assurance of our front-end supplier contracts. From South Africa, you will support its leadership team. The Head of the International Network for Africa is based in Pretoria, co-located with UKVI’s Decision-Making Centre (DMC) in South Africa, where a team of 100+ staff conclude visa applications from across the region. Reporting directly to the Head of Region, you will undertake a full and challenging Business Management function on behalf of the International Network and provide local support to the Head of the DMC in South Africa.  The incumbent will be responsible for developing and delivering a wide range of support services, and appropriate systems, that enable the global International Network to operate efficiently and effectively. You do not need to have managed operational activity of large teams, but you will know how to provide planning and management support services to sustain operational delivery and be able to demonstrate this. This will include: Management and control of the UKVI International Network pay budgets and forecasts, acting as the first line of financial support and compliance. Management and control of operational budget expenditure, fostering a culture of fiscal awareness and value for money. Deploying and managing resourcing strategies and maintaining responsibility for the service contracts that sustain delivery of our International Network on the UK government’s overseas platforms. Development of People Plans and learning and development activity. The job holder will deliver consistent, high-quality advice and support to the UKVI International Network Senior Leadership Team (SLT) across the globe, ensuring they receive everything needed to develop, increase, and sustain the team’s performance and drive continuous improvement. The Business Manager will provide leadership and guidance for several support staff across multiple regions. As a member of the International Network SLT, the Business Manager is expected to champion UKVI’s wider organisational strategy, and feed into creating and delivering a shared vision for the future of the Network. You will be required to work independently across teams in other regions, with virtual interaction to collaborate with colleagues in different time zones. Some travel will be required. We need a confident and organised self-starter who is proactive. Please only apply for this position if you can demonstrate the necessary experience and are motivated by the unique challenges this role presents! Roles and responsibilities: Resource Management Ensure that the organisation has the adequate and suitable resources to complete its activities in line with the International Network Business Plan and support the Head of DMC in Pretoria to ensure that the Africa region is fully resourced to meet operational requirements in line with centrally agreed/ planned forecasting that protects customer service standards.Work closely with International Network Heads of Region and colleagues in UKVI HQ to set and monitor UKVI’s regional pay budgets for International Network headcount. Continuously assess overall budget performance against objectives and implement adjustments as needed. Overall control of International Network’s non-pay budgets, ensuring sufficient funding across the network to deliver set objectives and oversight of travel budget spend, ensuring the network delivers results while providing value for money. Carefully forecast all non-pay requirements to agree annual budgets with HQ and monitor global performance against budget. Responsibilities will include approving bids and business cases, monitoring expenditure, investigating spikes and deviations from forecast to ensure full year reporting is within an acceptable tolerance.Develop and control a globally consistent strategy to Reward and Recognition and implement across the International Network, monitoring expenditure against pay budgets.Foster a culture of budget awareness across teams and approve major operational or capital expenditure when necessary, escalating platform issues to the Head of Network.Collaborate on the creation of the International Network’s resource plan annually, using detailed data analysis of return on investment to create a plan that will result in tangible efficiency and productivity benefits to the operation.Understand local TACOS in each operational location and support wider change management as the organisation moves to digital transformation and downsizing of certain functions within the International Network.Maintain liaison with central UK Resourcing Team in-year to inform a flexible resource plan.Provide end-to-end support for all International Network staff recruitment and movements, including coordinating the onboarding of new staff across the International Network.Support the Head of DMC in Pretoria to plan succession of decision-making staff and provide HR administrative support for onboarding of new UK-based posters to South Africa.Coordinate International Network annual conferences, maximising attendance and delivering value for money. One-HMG Contract Management Inform, influence, and support the delivery of corporate services provision to UKVI on the South Africa platform by managing  Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office (FCDO) corporate  relationships which impact on service delivery , monitoring their performance against our service level agreements. This includes, but may not be limited to, the successful provision of estates, Country Based Staff HR policy advice, performance pay and payroll administration. Guide and assist International Network Heads of Region and/or other grade support staff in other locations with similar local issues relating to the provision of corporate services for International Network staff on FCDO platforms. Single point of coordination for platform or service provision issues that have an overarching or global impact on International Network delivery. Manage corporate stakeholder relationships, including agreeing priorities and monitoring and challenging progress as appropriate.R egularly collaborate with FCDO colleagues across Africa region on corporate issues and profile of UKVI teams at Posts as operational staffing levels decrease and are downsized. Ensure any newly created International Network positions overseas are administered correctly within the departmental agreement of platform change control process. Data and Performance Management Work in close partnership with South Africa operational team and the Planning, Performance & Resourcing team in HQ to support the Head of Pretoria DMC in ensuring data quality and MI for the operation and driving business value through data analytics. Ensure that the data in the organisation for UKVI Africa and its main data hubs (headcount, finance/budgets, staff performance, demand tracking) is accurate, complete, timely and can be queried with access to historical data.Act as a point of coordination to guide and advise other Business Support Leads in other regions.Interpret and analyse data to inform management decisions as needed. Change Management Support the Head of Region in Africa and Head of Pretoria DMC on an ad hoc basis to ensure thorough and clear support and guidance is given to staff in the event of DMC closure.Understand local Terms and Conditions of Service in each of the network locations and support wider change management within the International Network outside of operational DMC countries/cities. Coordination and support to Heads of Region when managing downsizing of International Network through digital transformation. International Network People Lead Lead on the International Network Staff Guidebook, ensuring it is regularly updated to reflect policies and is consistently applied in all Posts. Act as single point of resolution where policies converge or differ.Support International Network leads in transforming analysis of People Survey results and outputs of focus groups into a 2024 People and Learning and Development Plan, ensuring that these are fit for purpose and accessible to the diverse range of staff/ contract types in all Posts. Track delivery against the plan.Develop a functional cross-network People Group and support other staff to lead regular meetings. Promote wellbeing initiatives ensuring all staff are aware of BHD definitions and policies and know how to raise issues.Lead on internal cross-network communications, including monthly email team update, monthly all-staff call.Engage in ongoing analysis of the impact that UKVI people practices and policies have on the employee experience with a view to developing strategies and frameworks that foster a culture of employee engagement and enhance job satisfaction.Ensure consistency of application of policies and processes across the global network. Ensuring FCDO and HO HR and Performance Management responsibilities are met. Aligning approaches where possible but following lead policy as required. Business Continuity Planning Work closely with UKVI Central lead to jointly implement a global standardised business continuity strategy.Lead on activities to promote network preparedness, including identification and treatment of risks, mitigations, and contingency plans.Ensure that continuity plans, and risk registers are up-to-date and fit for purpose. Resources managed (staff and expenditure): Full accountability for management of UKVI’s regional pay and operational expenditure budgets for Africa and the International Network. Essential qualifications, skills and experience Candidates must demonstrate previous experience of managing key operational support systems for a large department or organisation; budgets, forecasting, continuity planning, staff resourcing, recruitment, people developmentYou will be able to motivate others with ability to drive change and focus on organisational culture Microsoft Office proficient with ability to manipulate data Previous experience and/or knowledge of visa operations would be highly beneficial, as would experience of working in any government operational environment Understanding of HMG finance practice highly desirable Working understanding of partner platform agreement with FCDO highly advantageous Required behaviours Communicating and Influencing, Making Effective Decisions, Seeing the Big Picture, Working Together 10 May 2024 Grade Senior Executive Officer (SEO) Type of Position Permanent Working hours per week 40 hours Region Africa Country/Territory South Africa Location (City) Pretoria Type of Post British High Commission Number of vacancies 1 R 936,994.35 (per annum) Start Date 3 June 2024 Other benefits and conditions of employment Learning and development opportunities (and any specific training courses to be completed):Mandatory in-house training with opportunity for additional study and development in line with BHC L&D strategy. The British High Commission pays in full for the Key Care Plus option on Discovery Health for staff including spouses/partners and dependants. Once you have successfully completed your probation the British High Commission will contribute 9% of your monthly salary to a Provident Fund. Annual leave entitlement of 25 days Working hours per week of 40 Additional information Please complete the application form in full as the information provided is used during screening Please check your application carefully before you submit, as no changes can be made once submitted The British High Commission will never request any payment or fees to apply for a position Employees recruited locally by the British High Commission in Pretoria are subject to Terms and Conditions of Service according to local employment law in South Africa All candidates must be legally able to work and reside in the country of the vacancy with the correct visa/work permit status or demonstrate eligibility to obtain the relevant permit The responsibility lies on the successful candidate to; Obtain the relevant permit Pay fees for the permit Make arrangements to relocate Meet the costs to relocation  The British High Commission do not sponsor visas/work permits except where it may be local practice to do so Employees who are not liable to pay local income tax on their Mission salary may have their salaries reduced by the equivalent local income tax amount Information about the Civil Service Success Profiles can be found on this link: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/success-profiles . Please note this position is: SEO Reference checking and security clearances will be conducted on successful candidates Appointable candidates who were unsuccessful may be placed on a ‘reserve list’. If during the reserve period of 6/12 months the same or a largely similar role becomes available, that role may be offered to the second or subsequent candidate”. Please be aware that you will only be able to apply to vacancies for Country Based Staff roles with the British Government through this official tal.net site (operated by Oleeo). Jobs may be advertised on third party websites, however our adverts will always link back to the official tal.net site. If you complete and send an application through any other site, we will not receive it.#J-18808-Ljbffr