Note : All applicants are required to mandatorily fill the complete online application form including the employment, educational details, behavioural and technical/ professional skills questions. We will be thoroughly reviewing the application forms only with all the required details and the shortlisting is not basis CV/ cover letter. Forms that are incomplete in any respect will not be considered while shortlisting for the next stage.’’

Main purpose of job:

An International Liaison Officer role has arisen within the Home Office International Operations (HOIO) Team. The successful candidate will work for HOIO at the British High Commission, Islamabad, Pakistan.

HOIO Overview

Home Office International Operations (HOIO) operates to deliver upstream interventions, intelligence, capabilities and partnerships to protect the UK from harm. We have approximately 270 staff deployed across 40 countries and 50 staff in the UK.

HOIO has responsibility for identifying threats to the UK Border, preventing inadequately documented passengers travelling to the UK, identifying visa abuse and preventing illegal commodities (drugs, cash, firearms) destined for the UK via passenger or freight. We work with UK and international law enforcement agencies to tackle these crimes, primarily through preventing the travel of inadequately documented passengers to the UK; enhancing visa decision quality; identifying and tackling underlying criminality and providing intelligence on threats to the UK border.  HOIO also undertakes Capacity Building projects with international partners so they are able to identify victims of Modern Slavery and Human Trafficking and Child Sexual Abuse & Exploitation.

The Pakistan Regional team also works closely with colleagues in the Middle East Regional team and the Turkey / Azerbaijan Regional Team. Collaborative working with other teams in the Asia is essential to the role and there may be occasional travel in Pakistan and internationally.

Roles and responsibilities / what will the jobholder be expected to achieve ?:

Key responsibilities include (but are not limited to);

Detecting and preventing abuse within the UK visa application process and identifying and disrupting the activity of the organised crime groups behind it.

Supporting stakeholders with the delivery of robust training packages to aid identification and disruption of individuals, and organised crime groups who seek to abuse travel routes to the UK by land, sea or air.

Using Home Office databases to prioritise and action allegations from the public, and wider internal and external partners.

Contributing to the capacity building of the host nation through ongoing projects on both commodities and migration.

Develop operational products through the collection, interpretation and evaluation of various information sources to support business delivery.

Contribute to preventing illegal commodities (drugs, cash, firearms) destined for the UK via passenger or freight.

Investigation: Individual case working to a high-quality standard as tasked by the International Liaison Manager, as well as UK teams and partner law enforcement agencies. 

Crime: Using collaborative working with overseas and UK law enforcement partners to develop information and investigations to disrupt organised crime groups targeting the UK.

Information gathering and analysis: Develop operational products through the collection, interpretation and evaluation of relevant quantitative and qualitative information sources. Strong problem-solving skills are required to identify and investigate suspected organised immigration crime and to gather evidence-based information that has been evaluated from its source, including its reliability. Ensure that all relevant data is gathered, handled, assessed and disseminated in line with guidance.

Partner Engagement: Build effective working relationships with host authorities, international partners, and UK agencies to support the delivery of organisational objectives. Exchange actionable data with local law enforcement partners and counterparts in other Diplomatic missions to identify and mitigate threats to the UK Border. Represent the Home Office and the UK professionally, developing effective relationships with the wider British High Commission, regional colleagues and key external partners.

What we want from you?

In order to meet Home Office security requirements, we are required to recruit a new ILO from either the UK / US / Canada / Australia / NZ, where they must have a footprint in their home country.

We need candidates to have excellent interpersonal skills that they can use strategically to build relationships with key partners to assist HOIO in delivering their objectives. Face-to-face work is a fundamental part of the job, as is the delivery of training, so the successful candidate should be prepared to undertake and display confidence in public speaking.

The ILO role is extremely varied. The challenge with all HOIO work is to deliver both the reactive elements such as air calls and requests for support from visa sections, and the pro-active elements such as research and liaison with stakeholders. ILOs need be able to manage very challenging workloads, deliver at pace to tight deadlines and be flexible in support of business aims. Once trained, the successful candidate should be able to work towards objectives with minimal supervision.

HOIO expects staff to work towards and achieve the Intelligence Professionalisation Programme (IPP) to demonstrate a range of skills required for the role, and to renew this in line with guidance to ensure operational effectiveness is maintained.

Resources managed (staff and expenditure):

May be required to line manage an A2 member of staff.

Language requirements:

Language: English

Level of language required: Fluent in both written and spoken.

Learning and development opportunities (and any specific training courses to be completed): 

• In house training and mentoring will be provided
• Use of Intelligence management databases and the opportunity to achieve Intelligence Professionalism Programme (IPP) accreditation with the UK College of Policing

A wealth of professional and personal development opportunities is available from the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office Diplomatic Academy, local L&D Committee and e-learning programmes

Working patterns:

Full time – flexible working available within core hours

• The role requires the job-holder to work flexibly and offers the candidate some flexible-working to suit their needs, subject to agreement with the line manager and business needs
• This role necessitates travel for partner engagement, training, field visits and meetings, for which some overnight stays and weekend duties will be required.
• Occasional travel to and providing in-person support to the wider HOIO Teams throughout Asia.

Any other information (or specific local post requirements):

• Interviews will be held in person in line with business need and applicant availability.
• No relocation, housing or any other related costs or assistance can be provided.

Security restrictions:

Due to security clearance requirements, only nationals of the following countries are eligible to apply:

UK, Canada, Australia, USA, New Zealand. 

British citizens must have been resident in the UK for at least two of the previous 10 years. However, applications will be considered from candidates working overseas for HM Government in the past ten years or who already hold the required level of security clearance.

Employment will be offered only after appropriate level of UK standard security clearance is received.

Any applications that do not meet the eligibility criteria or the security requirements will not be considered. 

Essential on arrival:

• Computer literate with Microsoft desktop functions (e.g. Outlook, Word, Excel, PowerPoint, Explorer) at a level where you can: create, use and interrogate complex templates, tables, data-sets on Home Office and FCDO IT platforms
• Strong interpersonal and verbal communication skills
• A high level of written and spoken English with the ability to write high quality reports and briefings.
• Strong organisational and time management skills with a flexible approach to allocation of tasks
• An ability to work under pressure with minimal supervision.