Visa & Immigration Compliance Manager

About the Opportunity

Department: Visa & Immigration Compliance Team - Office of the Global Service (OGS) UK

Location: PSKN & Marble Quay, London (Hybrid role) - Minimum 3 days a week from campus and 2 days from home

Term: Full-time; permanent

Salary Range: £44,900 - £52,900 per annum, depending on experience

Benefits: The university supports staff maintaining a good work/life balance, offers flexible working and parental leave opportunities, an Employee Assistance Programme which provides free, confidential advice on both home and work concerns as well as optional private medical insurance, season ticket loans and being part of the cycle to work scheme.

The role: Reporting to the Director of Visa Compliance, the role comprises two functions: student visa compliance (primary role) and workers visa compliance. As the University specialist in student/institutional visa compliance you will be responsible for leading and managing the Visa Compliance Team and primarily the student and institutional visa compliance function, including line management of the senior visa compliance officer and provide support to the director in managing the workers compliance.

This includes oversight and development of procedures as well as more hands-on duties such as the creation of CAS's, the issuing of short-term study visa letters providing support in institutional compliance and workers when required. This role also involves working closely with our partner Northeastern University to provide visa guidance with regards to the Northeastern programmes which are run in London (student route and ETA or SVV visas).

Duties and Responsibilities:

• Consistently reviewing processes that are led or co-led by OGS London - Visa Compliance team and propose changes to make it more efficient whilst ensuring full compliance with immigration rules.
• Reporting monthly KPIs and SLAs to the Director of Visa Compliance.
• Providing regular reports and updates to the Director of Visa Compliance around potential compliance issues identified across all departments at NU London and recommending any necessary changes to the team structure, roles and duties.
• Reporting any identified risks and proposing mitigation strategies to the Director of Visa Compliance.
• Assisting the Director in exploring new ways to ensure minimum visa refusal rate and maximum enrolment rate.
• Analysing data and patterns of student performance throughout the student enrolment lifecycle and making recommendations to the Director of Visa Compliance.
• Keeping informed of all immigration/visa legislations relevant to students and staff via training, communications and mandatory short e-courses and keeping the University and the Director up to date with relevant changes.
• Working closely with the London EM (Marketing, Admissions and Recruitment) to provide full support in meeting enrolment targets whilst ensuring full sponsor compliance and keeping the license protected.
• Assisting the Visa Compliance Director in licence renewal, annual BCA, CAS/COS annual allocations and on-site mock and UKVI audits.
• Providing training to staff on the student and Sponsor responsibilities and relevant policies and procedures, such as attendance monitoring, record keeping, leave/absences, withdrawal from the programme, change of programme and restrictions on teaching locations etc.
• Maintaining a record of all student withdrawals, change of programme, visa tracking, visa refusals, non-enrolment and any other changes in student circumstances that are reported to UKVI.

Student Visa Compliance & Team Management:

• Managing and leading the Visa Compliance team by example and contributing to the development, planning and implementation of functional plan(s) and management of visa compliance officers.
• Ensuring the visa compliance team is supported on a day-to-day basis through SVCO or/and directly and providing any necessary support to ensure the team meets the SLA and KPIs.
• Ensuring that the team is fully supported and provided with internal and external training.
• Identifying and nurturing future leaders from within the team.
• Ensuring that NU's Absence Sickness policy is fully implemented.
• Proactive and efficient annual leave management and capacity planning.
• Updating and changing (where necessary) all types of communications related to CAS issuance, Enrolment, Mobility programmes and webinars etc.
• Reviewing and updating the University's Immigration and Compliance handbook.
• Ensuring that record keeping and reporting requirements are maintained across all visa-controlled categories.
• Conducting right to study checks, identifying and verifying immigration status of all non-UK/EU Nationals and providing advice on any restrictions to study.
• Providing training to the visa team and guidance to students with visa applications, including checking of the final application prior to submission, where necessary.
• Handling complex cases/situations and training the team on how to handle complex cases.
• Ensuring all student documents meet UKVI requirements before the creation of a CAS.
• Leading SVV communication process including issuance of short-term study visa letters, working closely with our partner Northeastern University, USA (NU, USA).
• Providing support and guidance to students who have lost passports and BRPs, to help with BRP and entry clearance errors.
• Leading and overseeing the processes for monitoring the attendance, record keeping and reporting and immigration status of visa sponsored students.
• Providing full support and training to the visa team during peak and off-peak time periods.
• Providing the visa compliance training to all other NU, London and Boston teams that are directly or indirectly involved with international students.
• Maintaining an up-to-date understanding of UKVI guidance, relevant legislation, and requirements.
• Actively engaging with updates and ensuring accurate reflection of these changes in relevant procedures.
• Ensuring that all communications published for external/internal audiences are accurate and up to date.
• Leading the dissemination of information regarding processes, systems, and associated compliance requirements to key users and stakeholders across the University.
• Proactively planning and leading the enrolment process to ensure full compliance with sponsor's duties and to provide an excellent student experience.
• Establishing and maintaining strong relationships with all relevant departments, teams, and stakeholders at NU London and Northeastern US.
• Contributing to the university's commitment to compliance, ensuring a smooth and efficient operation while safeguarding the institution's standing as a sponsor with a track record of compliance.
• Leading and managing the UKVI compliance aspects of the entire CAS applicant and student journey at the university.
• Assisting the Director in conducting annual mock audits.
• Providing full support to the recruitment, admissions and the visa team in terms of UKVI genuine student profiling and decision-making.
• Analysing data patterns among the students recruited through agents and making recommendations based on the data and facts related to visa success, enrolment and course completion rates.
• Working closely with all teams at NU, USA and receiving training, proposing and providing training to the relevant teams.

Workers Visa Compliance & Other Work:

• Providing support to the Director of Visa Compliance and managing the worker's visa compliance officer in their work of sponsorship eligibility assessment, COS issuance, record keeping, reporting and data collection and management etc.
• Providing support to the visa compliance officer or senior visa compliance officer (workers) to manage all aspects of Home Office compliance to ensure retention of the University's sponsor licences.
• Acting as Level 1 user for the sponsor licences on the Sponsor Management System.
• Ensuring the University meets all sponsorship duties to retain sponsorship status, undertaking sponsorship activities such as record keeping, reporting and attendance monitoring.
• Providing help and support to other teams, peers or senior managers in their work which may or may not be relevant to sponsor or student compliance.

Person Specification Criteria:

Essential: Ability to work as part of a team and independently; excellent written and oral communication skills; well-developed organisational skills; diplomatic influencing and relationship-building skills, to work with others and a high level of attention to detail; excellent knowledge of UKVI student and relevant sponsor compliance and an excellent understanding of UKVI regulations, and an expert of student sponsor compliance, with knowledge of workers compliance and amongst other relevant visa categories; must have a proven track record of leading and managing a team successfully.

Desirable: OISC Qualified.

Experience:

Essential: Minimum 3 to 4 years of the sponsor and student visa compliance - applying all UKVI regulations that includes (CAS issuance) pre-enrolment, enrolment and all post enrolment activities that trigger UKVI compliance or sponsorship duties, working as part of a team. Some knowledge of workers visa compliance including skilled workers visa, Global Business Mobility Visa and the Standard Visitor Visa categories which may be used for the NU, USA employees/faculty/co-op to come and work at NU, London for a short period of time. Must be flexible in terms of working hours/days and may be required to work more than 3 days a week from campus during critical times of the year.

Desirable: HEI admissions experience, experience of leading a large diverse team, HE student recruitment and experience. Experience of working with a US university and with a large number of the US international students.

Education, Qualifications and Training:

Essential: An honours undergraduate degree.

Desirable: Master's Degree.

Position Type: Student Services

Salary Range: £44,900 - £52,900

About the University: Northeastern University London (NU London) is a prestigious higher education institution based in the heart of London and is part of Northeastern University's global campus network. Overlooking the River Thames near Tower Bridge, NU London offers academically challenging educational programmes designed to inspire innovative thinking, encourage interdisciplinary study, and provide global experiences. The bright and modern campus offers award-winning, contemporary facilities for students and staff including state-of-the-art audio-visual technology in its teaching and meeting spaces.

Inspired by excellence, infused with an energy of ideas and ability in motion, at NU London, being a part of our staff is to be a part of a collective of entrepreneurs and educators, builders and thinkers. NU London is growing quickly, offering opportunity and growth for our staff. Currently hosting 1,500 students, our aim is to have 4000 students by 2028/29.

Choose NU London: As well as the exciting opportunities this role presents, the University supports staff maintaining a good work/life balance, your health and wellness are of utmost importance to us, and our offerings encompass: 25 days annual leave, plus 8 bank holidays and winter break holidays (normally 2 days between Christmas and New Year). Access to personalised Continuous Professional Development (CPD) plans and opportunities. Support with private medical insurance. Eye test reimbursement. Cycle Scheme vouchers. 24/7 employee assistance/support via our Employee Assistance Programme. Access to deals and discounts for food & shopping in the local area.

Enquiries: Informal enquiries may be made to: Syed Zaidi. They can be reached at the following: s.zaidi@northeastern.edu. However, all applications must be made in accordance with the application process specified.

Application process: Applications should be made by 23:59 on the job posting's end date (if applicable). Participation in the equal opportunities section is encouraged, but voluntary. Applications must include a covering letter of no more than one page that addresses the criteria for the role and a full curriculum vitae. The panel will be shortlisting for this position on a rolling basis so please apply as soon as possible. We reserve the right to close this post before the closing date if we receive a large number of applications. Please note this role may require a basic or enhanced DBS check. Our organisation acknowledges the duty of care to safeguard, protect and promote the welfare of our students and staff, and is committed to ensuring safeguarding practice reflects statutory responsibilities, government guidance and complies with best practice and Ofsted requirements. You must adhere to the above if you are offered a role with NU London.

For staff's own wellbeing, for part-time roles, the expectation is if you have multiple roles, they should not exceed full time (37.5 hours per week), and for full-time roles, the expectation is that this will be your only role (apart from intermittent roles). Applications are welcome from all sections of the community and will be judged on merit alone. We welcome applications from all underrepresented groups, including the Global Majority. Candidates must be able to demonstrate their eligibility to work in the UK in accordance with the Immigration, Asylum and Nationality Act 2006.