Case Processing Officer

Background/IRC Summary: The IRC has a rich history of assisting refugees to apply for 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, Thailand, Malaysia, and Sudan.

In 2018, Canada launched the Economic Mobility Pathway Pilot (EMPP) combining refugee resettlement and economic migration, helping skilled refugees immigrate to Canada through existing economic programs and giving employers access to a new pool of qualified candidates to fill job openings. According to data from Statistics Canada, there were over 1 million job vacancies in Canada as of April 2022, with the highest vacancies in the accommodation/food services sector (152,985) and the health care sector (125,225).

The first phase of EMPP ended in June 2022 and targeted 150 beneficiaries. It has demonstrated that there are skilled refugees who meet the requirements to fill high demand jobs in Canada. The next phase will target additional beneficiaries from an expanded pool of refugee candidates. IRC will support Canada in meeting their ambitious goals through the launch of an EMPP pathway to Canada from Tanzania.

IRC has been implementing multi-sectoral refugee programs in Tanzania since the 1990s. IRC has extensive operational capacity with multiple offices and expert staff serving refugees and is knowledgeable about the needs and capacities of refugees. IRC will support Canada in meeting a portion of their ambitious beneficiary target by launching recruitment, identification, vetting and referrals to the program. Working with international NGO Talent Beyond Boundaries (TBB), IRC will work on the timely identification of skilled refugees for resettlement through the EMPP, IRC will tap into its existing projects, particularly those that seek to develop the capacity of refugees, including in the health services and livelihoods sectors.

Job Overview/ Summary: The Case Processing Officer ensures high standards of both general refugee referrals, screening and vetting, and casework services on behalf of refugee applicants to the EMPP through leadership, supervision, casework management, and quality control. The primary responsibilities of the Case Processing Officer are to manage and prioritize program recruitment, refugee referrals, and casework collaborating with Talent Beyond Boundaries (TBB) and other partners in supporting successful applicants through the acquisition and outmigration process.

Major Responsibilities:

• Maintain understanding of, and ensure all work is in adherence to, current EMPP and IRC policy.
• Maintain knowledge of background information relevant to specific caseloads in the Tanzanian pipeline.
• Analyze and coordinate the casework needs to ensure a timely transition through each phase of processing.
• Coordinate between departments and program supervisors to ensure efficient and professional delivery of services to refugees.
• Follow-up on complicated cases by coordinating with relevant partners as needed to ensure continued and timely processing.
• Perform advanced quality control, case updates and follow-up to unstick and/or ready cases for the next stage in processing coordinating with other processing departments as needed.
• Draft clear and concise referrals to the EMPP program through TBB’s Talent Catalogue.
• Create and implement candidate identification and outreach plans.
• Support in the creation and implementation of facilitating TBB’s CV preparation, interview preparation, and interview process for each candidate.
• Create and proactively maintain candidate feedback mechanism, serving as candidates point of contact for questions about the status of their case.
• Refer candidates to relevant language classes.
• Support in the creation and implementation or casework protocols to support candidates offered jobs through EMPP through the outmigration process, in close collaboration with TBB.
• Develop and implement weekly monitoring reports and tools to provide an ongoing analysis of processing priorities.
• Maintain a high level of quality control when supporting TBB in finalizing case files for out-processing and provide feedback to relevant partners on quality control.
• Be able to use TBB’s Talent Catalogue to both enter client data and review case progress through the casework software. 
• Respond to case-specific inquiries from relevant IRC staff and partner organizations as required.
• Complete weekly progress reports to supervisor.
• Keep immediate supervisor informed of developments in daily caseload, including any urgent protection or medical needs of applicants and their families.
• Other duties as assigned by supervisor. This can include but is not limited to occasional pre-screening interviews and related follow-up with refugee applicants and could involve group or independent travel to the field.

General Responsibilities:

• Attend and participate in trainings identified and/or organized by the Project Manager or Coordinator.
• Follow all IRC policies, procedures, and guidelines.
• Report any violations of the IRC Sexual Abuse and Exploitation, The IRC Way, and Child Safeguarding Policy (TZ specific and global), as per the IRC Tanzania reporting mechanism.
• Represent IRC at interagency and coordination meetings, as assigned.
• Assist in control and proper usage of stationary and other items relating to work.
• Perform other duties as may be assigned by the Project Manager or Education Coordinator.