Senior Visa Assistant

The Senior Visa Assistant manages the visa support service at ICTP, providing updated information and assistance to visitors and staff regarding visa applications and permits of stay for Italy and the Schengen Area. The role involves liaising with Italian authorities, embassies, and consulates, and supervising visa-related services and documentation.

Responsibilities

• Prepare, process and sign all documents related to entry visas (approximately 2,500 per year).
• Advise staff and visitors on visa and permit of stay issues.
• Provide procedural advice for family reunion visa requests.
• Liaise with foreign diplomatic and consular authorities for the issuance of foreign visas for ICTP officials and visitors travelling to third countries.
• Keep abreast of Italian and Schengen visa laws and rules governing visa issuance.
• Prepare and maintain written guidelines and information regarding visas, permits of stay for long-term visitors, and declarations of presence for short-term visitors, and circulate the necessary information within the ICTP community.
• Participate in meetings organized by regional and/or national authorities aimed at coordinating and distributing information among scientific bodies present regionally and nationally.
• Liaise regularly with Italian authorities on visa and permit-of-stay matters.
• Provide advice to ICTP management, staff and visitors on immigration-related policies.
• Identify solutions for complex and problematic cases in consultation with the supervisor and ICTP management.
• Carry out daily supervision of the Front Office Clerk by providing information and training, assigning tasks and exercising overall control of the level of service delivered.
• Manage the requesting and issuance of UN Laissez-Passer (UNLPs) through UNOG and MAECI ID cards for ICTP staff.
• Perform additional activities required to ensure the success of the work team.
• Interact with Italian diplomatic representatives abroad regarding visa issuance for visitors.
• Liaise with foreign diplomatic representatives in Italy regarding visa applications for staff and visitors.
• Liaise with private consular agents in Rome and Milan regarding visa applications and passports.
• Liaise with local police and immigration authorities regarding permits of stay and police registration.
• Liaise with local border police regarding passport and visa issues.
• Cooperate with scientific institutes and participate in meetings organized by the Welcome Office of the Area Science Park.

Requirements

• Completed secondary, technical and/or vocational school.
• Minimum eight (8) years of relevant working experience in visa, immigration, or consular/diplomatic support services.
• Experience dealing with Italian and/or Schengen visa procedures and immigration authorities.
• Experience in liaising with government bodies, diplomatic missions, or consular services.
• Knowledge of Italian and Schengen visa laws, immigration procedures, and public administration language.
• Ability to exercise sound independent judgement and manage complex, sensitive cases with appropriate discretion and tact.
• Strong interpersonal, organizational, and coordination skills; ability to interact harmoniously in a multicultural environment.
• Ability to work autonomously with minimal oversight; capacity to prioritize and manage a high-volume caseload accurately and under pressure.
• Capacity to deal efficiently and diplomatically with diplomatic representatives, government officials, and other high-level stakeholders at all levels in a multicultural environment.
• Excellent communications skills (oral and written) in English and Italian, including the ability to draft official correspondence and immigration documents.
• Excellent knowledge (spoken and written) of English.
• Very Good knowledge of (spoken and written) of Italian.
• Experience in an international organization, UN system institution, or scientific research centre (desirable).
• Knowledge of another UN official language (Arabic, Chinese, French, Russian, Spanish) (desirable).

Skills

• Visa Procedures
• Immigration Procedures
• Consular Support Services
• Diplomatic Liaison
• Italian Visa Laws
• Schengen Visa Laws
• Public Administration Language
• Case Management
• Interpersonal Skills
• Organizational Skills
• Coordination Skills
• Multicultural Interaction
• Autonomous Work
• Prioritization
• High-volume Caseload Management
• Routine Correspondence Drafting
• Immigration Document Preparation
• English Language Proficiency
• Italian Language Proficiency

Languages

English, Italian