Job Specification

Purpose of Position :

To investigate, valuate, assess and make decisions on applications to the program against established program criteria, guidelines and legislative regulations to determine applicant eligibility under program's different business lines. To provide technical leadership, guidance and training to immigration support officers in investigation, evaluation, assessment of applications, and anti-fraud detection procedures to ensure compliance with program criteria, policy and objectives, including Immigration and Refugee Protection Act and Regulations (IRPA and IRPR), and support the delivery of the Ministry of Citizenship and Immigration's mandate and programs.

Duties / Responsibilities :

Duties/Responsibilities

The Provincial Nominee Program is an immigration-selection authority allowing Ontario to select some of its economic immigrants based on its economic priorities and labour market conditions. Under general direction of the Manager, PNP Unit, the position is responsible for:


1. Making decisions (approve/deny) on applications to the program following a comprehensive analysis, evaluation and assessment of applications against established policy, criteria and/or legislation/regulations to determine applicants' eligibility under the Ontario Provincial Nominee Program.

2. Leading, conducting and co-ordinating investigations spanning multiple files, clients and support staff to detect and investigate misrepresentation and immigration fraud, prioritizing cases for investigation and analyzing evidence of fraud or misrepresentation

3. Analyzing applications for the purpose of identifying, detecting and combating fraud by conducting file-specific due diligence, including interviewing clients, their references and third parties, as well as conducting site visits to supplement document verification, research and other investigation tools available to the program.

4. Providing technical leadership, guidance and direction to immigration support officers in preparing applications to ensure completeness, conducting triage for officers on eligibility and conducting routine due diligence on file to detect fraud/misrepresentation through briefings, training sessions and periodic monitoring to ensure compliance with PN program criteria, policies and objectives.

5. Investigating information on applications through regular or periodic verification processes including independent authentication of documents with the originating agency, business or government in Canada or abroad; interviewing applicants and their references in person, by telephone and by conducting site visits to places of employment, claimed residence and to educational institutions.

6. Communicating, liaising and consulting with Citizenship and Immigration Canada, Service Canada, Canada Border Services Agency, provincial ministries, service providers contracted by Provincial Nominee Program and other stakeholders on provincial nominee policy, employment information, dispute resolution, refusals, tracking and reporting.

7. Conducting comparative analysis of files in order to ascertain trends, advising and briefing senior officers and management on contentious, emerging and sensitive issues which impact on the program.

8. Providing input to, and/or participating in, PNP Unit training, educational workshops and information initiatives relevant to the assessment process of PNP applications.

9. Manager has the right to assign additional duties.

Knowledge :

Job requires:

Knowledge of provincial programs, policies, strategies and legislative authority relating to the PNP's mandate outlined in the Canada-Ontario Immigration Agreement and related annexes to enable proper decision-making and assessment of immigration applications to the program and temporary residence authorities of the program

Knowledge of Ministry of Citizenship and Immigration and Annex C of the 2005 Canada-Ontario Immigration Agreement, as well as knowledge of Citizenship & Immigration Canada mandate, roles and responsibilities, in particular the legislative provisions of the Immigration and Refugee Protection Act and Regulations, (IRPA and IRPR) governing permanent residence, temporary work permit and study permit issuance, as they relate to Economic Immigration Classes, particularly the Provincial Nominee Class to enable proper decision-making and assessment of immigration applications to the program, temporary residence authorities of the program and liaison with other immigration officials, partners and stakeholders.

Knowledge of immigration program operation and PNP's processing operations to make decisions following assessment and evaluation of applications, and to complete required assessment steps and processing tasks.

Knowledge of Canadian and international immigration documents and passports, educational credential documents, school systems, work reference documents and procedures, CRA financial documents and Canadian and international banking documents and procedures necessary to assess applications and identify discrepancies that may point to misrepresentation on the part of the applicant.

Up to date knowledge of international documents relevant to the file assessment process in order to determine the appropriate assessment tools to conclude file processing. Knowledge of program design, testing, delivery and evaluation processes to carry out daily processing activities and to facilitate an integrated approach with other levels of the PN Program in all stages of the file assessment process.

Knowledge of intelligence relating to fraudulent documents, and irregular immigration activities and schemes to determine the credibility of documents submitted, detect fraudulent schemes. Knowledge of past and present security features in international travel and identity documents to enable the program to guard against identity fraud.

Knowledge of computers and database/information management systems, in particular Siebel case management systems and the Microsoft Office Suite of applications, and software applicable to the PN's mandate and objectives to prepare reports, manipulate and analyse information in data bases, to enable communication of program decisions, trends and issues within the program, to other government and non-governmental partners.

Knowledge of political, social or economic issues in the labour market as they affect the Provincial Nominee Program, plans and objectives to ensure proper contextualization of applicants' claims on applications to make assessment on program criteria where this is integral to eligibility assessment (e.g., deciding whether local recruitment efforts by Ontario companies were sufficient).

Skills :

Job requires:

Analytical, evaluative, inspection, checking and problem-solving skills to assess complex applications/submissions, to determine eligibility for acceptance to provincial programs and make decision to approve/deny applications.

Analytical and problem solving skills to inspect and evaluate perceived or overt evidence of fraud and/or misrepresentation, identify patterns of fraud and abuse of the PNP, identify and assess potential problems and politically contentious issues that may impact of the program.

Ability to ensure that applications are processed in accordance with policy and objectives of the PN Program, risk management framework, legislative regulations and requirements

Investigative skills to plan and conduct anti-fraud investigations on applications and obtain information from clients, including those who may wish to withhold certain information from the program to better position their application

Written communication skills to prepare reports and case notes on applications that would withstand scrutiny of departmental or judicial appeal processes; to prepare letters to applicants, their representatives or third parties clearly establishing the information needed to complete the assessment process

Oral communication and interpersonal skills to discuss PNP files and status with consultants, managers and other parties; interact with applicants to explain program criteria, reason for program requests of missing information and processes in a courteous and professional manner; and to request additional or missing documentation, conduct independent interviews of applicants (in person or by telephone) and communicate effectively on site visits

Tact and diplomacy to deal with irate clients as required and to ensure that applicants receive courteous and professional service.

Ability to conduct spontaneous or pre-determined site visits to verify stated information

Ability to identify trends in applications reviewed to increase knowledge of external sources, combat fraud, prepare reports and recognize cases which may be triaged to achieve PNP efficiency and goals

Leadership skills to provide technical direction and guidance to Immigration Support Officers on how applications can be better prepared for assessment and how routine due diligence conducted by those officers can be maximized

Planning, coordination and organizational skills to process and prioritize applications in accordance with established procedures to meet varying timelines in the application process

Freedom of Action :

Job requires working under the general direction of the Manager, PNP and within the broad framework of PNP's mandate, Canada-Ontario Immigration Agreement, provincial policies, procedures and related legislation (IRPA/IRPR) with autonomy and latitude to make high-stakes decisions related to applicants' eligibility for immigration to Canada (in the context of provincial immigration-selection programs). Job requires assessing documents submitted to ensure they are genuine and relevant, applicants and the information submitted are credible and complete. Job requires verifying if fraud or misrepresentation is present in documents, statements and taking appropriate action.

Job requires independent decision making in evaluating and assessing information in applications, interpreting and applying eligibility criteria of PNP to information submitted by applicants requesting nomination, identifying and assessing potential problems and politically contentious issues that may impact on the Program.

Job requires working in a team environment, providing technical leadership and guidance to Immigration Support Officers in order to promote efficiency and harmony in the workplace and to support the preliminary preparation of files.

Job requires providing credible advice based on ongoing assessment/review of applications on program design, testing and evaluation, and policy development, highlighting emerging trends and issues impacting the unit's mandate and in providing sound recommendations on program directions.

Work is reviewed through case and issue specific consultations with the Manager. Job refers to the manager fraudulent schemes, sensitive political, social or unusual situations.