Country specialist Africa

Job description

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Are you looking for a varied job where you can also learn a lot? Do you want to contribute to the creation of careful decisions in asylum procedures? And do you have a demonstrable affinity with the continent of Africa? Then you might be our new country specialist Sub-Saharan Africa.

The Immigration and Naturalization Service has one vacancy for a Country Specialist Africa (FGR: (Senior) Advisor S11) at the Service Provision Directorate (DV). This initially concerns an employment contract for one year. If performance is satisfactory, this will be converted into a permanent employment contract.

In this function, hybrid working is possible. You are expected to be present on location in The Hague at times that are desirable for the execution of your function or for organizational reasons. This is in consultation with your manager.

Migration is about people. People apply for asylum, want to study here, offer their knowledge here, want to work here, or simply want to become Dutch. This brings about multifaceted issues that require a careful approach. The country specialists of Team Research and Expertise Country and Language (TOELT) 1 play a role in this. TOELT 1 is a team within the Immigration & Naturalization Service (IND) which falls under the Ministry of Asylum & Migration. They support the various directorates of the IND with country information, so that a well-considered decision can be made on an application based on this.

What are you going to do?

“The versatility of this function is what really appeals to me. Every day is different. It is also special that you work for different parties within and outside the IND”

You will be working in the TOELT 1 team. Your main task as a country specialist Sub-Saharan Africa is to provide other IND employees with country information. To this end, you will closely monitor developments in the region. Because many countries in Sub-Saharan Africa are constantly on the move, the focus of your work will shift. With the country information you have collected, you will advise IND employees in various ways, for example by answering country questions, writing reports, giving (online) presentations or advising on policy issues.

For official reports of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, you draw up the Terms of Reference and you coordinate the creation of the response letter to a draft official report. As a country specialist, you are also part of an (inter)national network. This means that you comment on reports of the European Union for Asylum and Migration (EUAA), for example, and share knowledge with sister services at network meetings. Due to the international nature of this function, a good knowledge of English is a requirement and speaking and reading a second relevant language spoken in Sub-Saharan Africa is a big plus, such as French or Somali.

The main elements of your role are:

• Writing well and clearly;
• Being an expert on (some countries in) Sub-Saharan Africa;
• You switch between conducting independent research and answering questions from colleagues from the IND;
• Giving lectures and presentations;
• Representing the Netherlands as a country specialist during international forums, such as the EUAA country specialist network.

Job requirements

Are you proactive, stress-resistant and can you effortlessly switch between short-term and long-term tasks? Do you have good networking skills, do you know a lot about Sub-Saharan Africa and are you able to work both in a team and independently? Do you have the knowledge of innovative ways of doing research? For example by means of Artificial Intelligence (AI)? Then we are looking for you!Do you recognize yourself in this?

• You have completed a relevant master's degree.
• You have an excellent command of the English language, both spoken and written.
• Speaking a second language is a real plus. It is an advantage if you can express yourself well and can search in French or another (for the IND relevant) language spoken in Africa, such as Somali.
• You have knowledge of and experience in giving presentations and lectures.
• You have an affinity for conducting Open Source Intelligence (OSINT) research.
• You have demonstrably in-depth knowledge of recent developments in Sub-Saharan Africa, for example through a university degree that you have completed or because you have worked in this region for a period.
• It is an advantage if you have knowledge of the migration domain.

Competencies

• Organizational sensitivity;
• To analyze;
• Persuasiveness;
• Environmental awareness;
• Planning and organizing.

Working on your passion all day long is what makes working as a country specialist so much fun. In addition, not only is your work actually used, but it also has an impact on policy. We would also like to see your affinity with Africa in your motivation letter. Working conditions

• Salary level scale 11
• Monthly salary Min €4,024 – Max. €6,110 (gross)
• Employment contract Fixed-term employment contract with the prospect of permanent employment
• Contract duration 12 months
• Minimum number of hours per week 32
• Maximum number of hours per week 36

Other employment conditions

In addition to your salary, you will receive an Individual Choice Budget (IKB). The IKB consists of money (16.50% of your gross annual salary) and time. With the IKB, you make the choices that suit you and you can put together part of your employment conditions yourself. For example, you can choose to have part of your monthly income paid out whenever you want. You can also convert this budget into leave and vice versa or spend it on tax-friendly goals. The central government attaches great importance to personal growth and career development and offers numerous possibilities for this. The secondary employment conditions include various study facilities, company fitness, full reimbursement of your public transport travel expenses for commuting and partially paid parental leave.

Particulars

A writing test is part of the selection procedure. The writing test takes place immediately after the selection interview. If you are employed by the government and are applying with a designation as a compulsory work-to-work candidate or redeployment candidate, we request that you send a copy of the designation letter with your application. If you work for the central government through a temporary employment agency, please mention this in your letter. Your application will only be processed if you respond using the application button and your CV and motivation letter are enclosed. In order to obtain an even better (or additional) picture of experience, knowledge and competences in the recruitment procedure, we may consult public information about you on LinkedIn. If desired, you can shield the profile from people who are not connected to you on LinkedIn. Diversity and inclusion are important themes for the government and the IND. The government wants everyone to feel at home in the government and for employees to think more consciously about an inclusive work environment.You also need a Certificate of Good Conduct (VOG) when you start working, unless you already have an employment contract with the central government.Acquisition in response to this vacancy is not appreciated.

More about the (Senior) Advisor function group

The Government Function Building Block helps employees and managers make performance and development agreements in performance reviews and provides insight into career opportunities within the central government.

More information on the Central Government Function Building

More about your future department

‍The Service Management Department aims to provide services and products that contribute to improving the flow of work (fast) and the quality of work (good), so that the services provided to the customer, chain partner and colleague are satisfactory (pleasant).The Service Management is set up to serve the customer in a customized manner. Knowledge about the customer is essential for this. The Service Management organizes and analyzes this knowledge for the purpose of performing and continuously improving the service provision.The ambition of the Services Department is to contribute to more accurate and timely decision-making.The management is supported by a small staff.Department of ExpertiseThe Expertise department consists of:

• Office Documents;
• Team Document Management;
• Team Research and Expertise Country and Language 01 and 02;
• Team Assessment and Medical Advice.

What does the Expertise Department do? The Expertise department performs the enrichment in the process of work preparation by doing specialist research in individual cases. The department also supports the Decision-making and Legal Affairs departments by advising and thinking along in individual cases on request. The Expertise department also provides services that transcend cases with specific client knowledge and treatment profiles. The department is also involved in developing and improving research arrangements. In addition, the research departments provide specific training for IND employees and contribute to the need for specialized knowledge among (chain) partners. Employees of the Expertise department provide direction for the development of knowledge and expertise that transcends the case. This not only benefits the decision-making process but also the cooperation with the decision-making employees. Employees of the Expertise department have an independent position and always focus on contributing to high-quality decisions that can be taken quickly. Togetherness, an open mind and initiative are paramount in this.

How do we do this? The services and products of the Expertise department are in line with the changing work processes of the internal customer. For example, work is being done on possibilities to digitally add expertise to the increasingly automated (regular) decision-making process. The Expertise department increasingly contributes knowledge, both solicited and unsolicited, at the beginning of a process. This supports and facilitates the internal customer in making a good decision at the earliest possible stage. Knowledge is also used and converted into information that is useful to the internal customer, even beyond the case. The proactively acquired knowledge leads to process improvements and customer or treatment profiles.The Research and Expertise Country and Language teamTOELT 1 consists of two parts. In addition to the country specialists, there are also linguists. We work closely with TOELT 2 – Regional Information Centre (RIC). RICs answer more general, factual questions, while the country specialists of TOELT 1 answer the more complex/time-consuming questions from the primary process, write reports and give lectures. In addition, country specialists provide information about research opportunities via external parties (e.g. the Ministry of Foreign Affairs), the use of sources, possible contradictions and the availability of information. At the moment we are looking for a country specialist with specific expertise in one or more regions in Africa.

The Immigration and Naturalization Service

A refugee who is not safe in his own country. An engineer who comes to the Netherlands to put his knowledge into practice. And a family who can embrace each other again after years. What do they have in common? The IND assesses their requests to live in the Netherlands or to become Dutch.

The IND implements the aliens policy in the Netherlands. This means that we assess all residence applications. This may involve refugees who are not safe in their own country and therefore apply for asylum here. Or people who want to work, study or form a family with someone who already lives here. But it may also involve people who have lived here for so long that they feel Dutch and who therefore apply for a Dutch passport via a naturalisation application.

The IND wants to be a compact and flexible implementation organisation with high-quality knowledge in the field of aliens and with an eye for the human dimension. The IND must be able to respond to changing requirements and circumstances, while at the same time the quality of service provision must remain paramount. This requires a proactive organisation that is constantly developing. This requires employees who are willing and able to support this. Employees who are broadly deployable and who want to invest in their personal development. The IND is happy to invest in these employees!

The Immigration and Naturalization Service

Feel free to ask your question

More information about this vacancy

Tycho Walaardt, Head of TOELT 06-46949595

More information about the application procedure

Shalini Dirghpal, Recruitment and Selection Advisor 06-52905284

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