Senior Casework Officer (National Position)

Job Description

Background/IRC Summary:

The IRC has a rich history of assisting refugees to apply for United States resettlement, from its founding in 1933 to help vulnerable individuals escape Nazi-occupied Europe, to pioneering the Joint Voluntary Agency which assisted Indochinese refugees for 22 years, to operations in Croatia, Sierra Leone and Sudan. Since 2005, RSC Asia has resettled over 180,000 refugees to the United States.

Based in Bangkok with field offices in Thailand and Malaysia, the IRC Resettlement Support Center (RSC Asia) is funded by the US State Department Bureau of Population, Refugees, and Migration (PRM) to assist persons throughout Asia seeking permanent resettlement to the United States. Responsible for a portfolio of 37 countries, the RSC: prepares refugee applications for the United States Refugee Admissions Program (USRAP) using START (a State Department–managed data system that supports the arrival and resettlement of refugees through technology); provides information to resettlement agencies about arriving refugees; and offers cultural orientation training to refugees bound for the United States.

Job Overview/Summary:

The Senior Casework Officer (SCWO) provides both general processing and advanced casework services on behalf of refugee applicants to the USRAP, including data entry of refugee case file information into START. The SCWO ensures cases are error-free and are ready for adjudication by an officer of the United States Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) for final adjudication. This position is also responsible for supporting USCIS circuit rides to Thailand and the region. Senior Casework Officers achieve and maintain a high- performance standard based on a thorough knowledge of, and adherence to, established resettlement policies and procedures regarding current refugee processing eligibility criteria, database, and file management guidelines, the role of US Resettlement Agencies and refugee producing country conditions.

Major Responsibilities:

• Travel independently or as part of a team within Thailand or to regional locations to conduct pre-screening interviews or support USCIS circuit rides when required • Conduct prescreening interviews of refugee applicants in a manner that demonstrates a senior level understanding of the US Resettlement Admissions Program and background information relevant to specific caseloads • Perform quality control following the interview process to finalize cases for USCIS presentation, ensuring error detection and correction in accordance with USRAP guidelines and the cooperative agreement. • Support USCIS officers during circuit rides by ensuring schedules are accurate, briefing applicants, completing case files and document review prior to presenting a case to USCIS, completing quality check of documents after USCIS interviews, completing case updates into START and quality checking data in START after circuit rides. • Maintain a high level of professionalism when representing RSC at meetings with partners when required • Respond to case-specific inquiries from other RSC staff and/or partner organizations • Send a regular report of quality check trends detected from case analysis of both the physical files and data in START • Perform work in adherence to policy and procedure • Keep immediate supervisor informed of developments in daily caseloads, including any urgent protection or medical conditions of applicants and their families • Assume formal mentoring responsibilities for 1-2 assigned Caseworkers when required • Other duties as assigned by supervisor, in line with the job scope

Key Working Relationships:

Position Reports to: Senior Casework Manager or Casework Manager Position directly supervises: NA Other Internal and/or external contacts: Internal: All Bangkok and Malaysia RSC staff External: IOM, RPC, RAs, UNHCR, USCIS, and local partners as required

Qualifications

Job Requirements:

Education:

• University degree in any field

Work Experience:

• At least two years of relevant professional experience with previous data collection and interviewing experience required • Resettlement processing or other NGO experience is preferred • Previous work in a multi-cultural environment is advantageous

Demonstrated Skills and Competencies:

• Able to travel whenever required, both domestically and internationally • High level of professionalism while carrying duties per the SOPs (ie. integrity and confidentiality) • Solid organizational skills with the ability to juggle multiple tasks, set priorities, effectively manage time, and meet deadlines and work well under pressure in a fast-paced team environment • Strong communication skills with a demonstrated ability to communicate and work effectively and professionally with partners, colleagues, beneficiaries, and interpreters • Problem-solver who takes initiative to provide solutions • Ability to perform interviews and data collection through good listening and analytical skills. • Meticulously attentive to details, and able to ensure compliance of policies and procedures by team members, providing feedback in a professional and constructive way • Excellent data entry and report writing skills; ability to produce grammatically correct, error-free reports • Able to do advanced quality check on cases utilizing Tableau reports • When required, able to assist in providing the necessary guidance and support to co-workers • Team oriented yet able to think and work independently • Flexible and able to work in fast-paced, multi-cultural environment

Language and Computer Skills: • Excellent verbal and written English language skills required. • Working knowledge of a refugee language is desirable. • High level of computer literacy and proficient in MS Office applications (Word, Excel, Power Point, Outlook) is required. • Proven advanced data entry skills with extreme accuracy, attention to detail, and self-checking abilities required. • Ability to type 40 words per minute required.

Certificates or Licenses: None

Working Environment:

The position may require both domestic and international travel to support delivery of USRAP processing within Thailand and throughout the region. A valid passport and the ability to acquire US and other visas, as necessary, is a requirement.

The employee is required to adhere to The IRC Way for professional conduct, as well as to be in compliance with all relevant IRC and donor policies and procedures while carrying out his/her duties.

Standards of Professional Conduct

The IRC and IRC workers must adhere to the values and principles outlined in the IRC Way – Code of Conduct. These are Integrity, Service, Accountability and Equality. In accordance with these values, the IRC operates and enforces policies on Beneficiary Protection from Exploitation and Abuse, Child Safeguarding, Harassment-Free Workplace, Fiscal Integrity, Anti-Retaliation, Combating Trafficking in Persons and several others.

Equal Opportunity Employer

IRC considers all applicants on the basis of merit without regard to race, sex, color, national origin, religion, sexual orientation, age, marital status, veteran status, disability or any other characteristic protected by applicable law.