Position 1: Passports Officer
Position2: Client Services Officer
- Agency: Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade
About the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade
The role of the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade (DFAT) is to advance the interests of Australia and Australians internationally. This involves strengthening Australia’s security, enhancing Australia’s prosperity, delivering an effective and high-quality overseas aid program, and helping Australian travellers and Australians overseas.
The department provides foreign, trade and development policy advice to the Australian Government. DFAT also works with other Australian government agencies to drive coordination of Australia’s pursuit of global, regional, and bilateral interests.
About the Job
Under the general direction the Passports and Client Services Officer is one of the primary contact persons between the AHC and the public. The position manages client cases, ensuring client privacy and confidentiality is scrupulously observed at all times.
The position provides consular, passports and notarial information and services; receives visitors to the chancery with appropriate, prompt hospitality in cooperation with security and transport personnel.
The Officer may be required to provide informal interpreting services. There are occasional evening or weekend duties, as well as driving.
Key Responsibilities:
- Provide consular, passport, notarial and reception services to Australian citizens in accordance with the Australian Passports Act and departmental guidelines
- Coordinating and directing incoming High Commission Communications by Operating a telephone switchboard, managing official e-mail accounts and correspondence, receiving Letters by Mail and other messaging services.
- Responding to client enquiries on a wide variety of topics, including Informing the public of Australian Government consular, passports and notarial services and referring complex issues to the relevant, diplomatic, trade, consular or corporate area.
- Reception of visitors to the chancery, ensuring they receive appropriate, prompt hospitality in cooperation with security and transport personnel. Receiving payments on behalf of the High Commission and maintenance of the resources in the chancery’s public areas.
- Perform passport services, including processing passport applications and conducting client interviews with Australian citizens in accordance with the Australian Passport Act.
- Provide consular advice and provide on the ground consular support including arrests/detentions, hospitalisations, medical evacuations, deaths, and whereabouts cases of Australian citizens.
- Develop and maintain a strong network of internal and external key contacts including local authorities, emergency organisations, hospitals relating to consular and passport functions.
- Maintain consular systems, including CMIS, statistical reporting systems. Assist in preparation of Travel Advisories.
- Provide informal interpreting services to allow Australian staff to converse with non-English- speaking clients; Provide French translation services to A-based staff, both oral and written, and monitor Francophone media.
- Perform a range of administrative duties including maintaining contact directories, service statistics, including contributing to the preparation and maintenance of the High Commission’s Consular Contingency and Business Continuity Plans.
- Support logistical assistance during ministerial and other high-level visits, including preparation of visit programs, accommodation and transport arrangements, airport facilitation and meeting requests.
- Perform other duties and back up as required.
Qualifications, Experience and Capabilities:
- Demonstrated professional experience in a client service role, and high-level capabilities in providing efficient, compassionate assistance to people in need.
- Sound judgment and ability to exercise the highest levels of discretion.
- Strong attention to detail and an aptitude for process-driven work in compliance with legislation and policy.
- Strong verbal and written communication skills.
- High level of initiative, adaptability and willingness to undertake a broad range of duties to support
a small team. - Availability to work flexible hours and undertake overtime.
Preferred Qualifications and Experience:
- High level of computer literacy particularly in the use of Microsoft Excel and Outlook.
- Strong communication (in written and spoken English), interpersonal and representational skills, and the ability to deal with a wide range of clients from diverse backgrounds.
- French Language skills would be an advantage.
- Highly developed organisational skills and attention to detail, including the ability to learn new tasks quickly, manage competing priorities, and meet deadlines. Punctuality is key.
- A valid driving licence (including for manual transmission vehicles) with a proven safe driving record.
Eligibility Requirements
- Applicants must be able to work as a locally engaged staff member at a diplomatic mission in Ghana.
- Residency Visas and work permits are the responsibility of the applicant.
- Available to undertake occasional short-term travel, including the ability to hold a valid passport.
- Employment is subject to satisfactory medical and security vetting.
Selection Criteria For The Notice For Job At The Australian High Commission
- Job Context and Environment: Provide administrative and corporate services support, advice and information to clients on processing of Australian travel documents and consular matters. Familiarity with computer-based systems including experience in record keeping and data management skills, with a demonstrated ability to monitor and analyse information to solve problems and answer queries from clients and management.
- Leadership and Accountability: Apply expertise using well-established policies and practices to conduct research and prepare advice for more senior staff with the highest levels of integrity, honesty and ethical behaviour. Demonstration of how the applicant upholds privacy principles, ensures impartiality, accountability and transparency.
- Independence and Decision-making: Prioritise tasking and responsibilities from multiple sources balancing initiative and general supervision and direction, while meeting deadlines. Demonstration of how the applicant undertakes investigations to resolve enquiries, provide pertinent options and appraise routine cases, for referral to more senior employees in areas of consular and passports.
- Stakeholder Management: Obtain cooperation or assistance when administering well-defined activities by communicating in writing or orally to maintain effective vendor relationships, coordinate with the immediate work area, secure appointments etc. using a variety of channels, including telephone, forms, reports, and written correspondence. Demonstration of how the applicant undertakes processing and client service, including analysing problems, and suggesting solutions.
- Management Diversity and Span: Plans, designs, and evaluates multi-stage activities including monitoring quality and accuracy of work; allocating tasks and providing guidance and on the job-training to (junior) colleagues. Demonstration of how the applicant carries out quality control activities to ensure work is being performed efficiently and in accordance with instructions and procedures. Examples of how responsiveness to other duties as directed has contributed to a team.
Starting Salary: GHS 78,690.48 base salary per annum
How To Apply For This Positions
Applications must be submitted with cover letter in email format to: [email protected]
Guidelines to follow in submitting application
- Your professional email should be no larger than 2mb in size or it will not be received by our email system.
- Do not attach copies of your licences or academic certificates as this is likely to exceed the size limit.
- They expect your email cover letter to have two attachments, each of no more than two A4-sized pages in length:
- A completed Application Pack
- A Curriculum Vitae
- They do not require personal details such as date of birth, marital status, height, weight, religion, or gender.
- Applications which do not fulfill and comply with these criteria will not be considered.
- Applications with typographical, grammar or role information errors will not be considered.
- Late applications will not be considered.
- Applicants who are not short-listed for interview will not be contacted.
Application Closing Date: Before 11:30pm, Monday, 30th January, 2023
Statement of Claims
Your statement of claims is an essay that should demonstrate now you meet the selection criteria listed below. Please use specific examples. One example may address several selection criterion. Your responses to the selection criteria are the most important part of your application and will be used along with your CV to shortlist applicants.
The key is to:
- demonstrate your qualifications, knowledge, skills, abilities, and experience by providing evidence of how you meet the selection criteria;
- provide specific details;
- where possible, include an indicator of success or a result.
An easy way to do this is to use the STAR model – that is:
Situation: Provide a brief outline of the situation or setting
Task: Describe your responsibilities and the challenges of the situation
Action: Explain what you did and how you did it
Result: Describe the outcomes of what you did
Do the above in a table for (preferably)
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