Pathways to Work – Employment Support Adviser (Full-time)

Responsible to: Pathways to Work Project Manager

Location: Home based (this post will require some travel)

About Refugee Action

This is an exciting time for Refugee Action. We are a national charity with more than 40 years’ experience of empowering people who’ve survived some of the world’s worst regimes to secure the protection and support that they need to live with dignity and respect and build a new life in the UK. We do this by providing expert advice and casework, building the capacity of partner organisations and campaigning on the policies that affect them.

Our vision for a welcoming UK has never been more important. It’s a crucial time to be part of Refugee Action as we come to the end of our current strategy (2019-22) and embark on our next strategic period.  We will do this through securing systemic change through our campaigns to change government policies, our direct services, and our work to strengthen and connect other service delivery organisations. You can read more about what we do here.

We will also continue with our commitment in our strategy to do far more to learn from and shift power to refugees and people seeking asylum. We are also striving to be an actively anti-racist organisation. Bothof these commitments are a top priority for our new CEO as set out in his first public statement on Twitter here.

Purpose of post

The pathways to work project

After successfully launching our national Pathways to Work Project in January (an 8-week online group programme) Refugee Action has secured new funding to develop and deliver a one to one national employment support service.

This role will work with the Pathways to Work team to co-ordinate and deliver an online employment support service to support refugees and other eligible migrants to develop their individual career and employment pathways. This could be goal setting, supporting clients to develop their CV, job searching, working with them on a job or volunteering application, or setting up a work placement with a new employer.

This role will work with a caseload of refugees and people seeking asylum to support them towards training, education, volunteering and employment.

This role will help create new partnership opportunities with employers, volunteering organisations and other employability services.

Main duties and responsibilities

• To develop and deliver a 1:1 online employability service for refugees, people seeking asylum and vulnerable migrants that focuses on their employment goals.
• To work closely with refugees and people seeking asylum to identify their skills, experience, and aspirations and what their barriers to progression are.

• To create content for a new web page to give information and advice to refugees and people seeking asylum on work related information

• To develop a series of online events in partnership with employers in partnership with the Pathways to Work team

• To advertise the service and recruit and assess new clients
• To collaborate with the group work Pathways to Work team to assess and identify the best support for clients
• To support the Pathways to Work Volunteer Coordinator in the recruitment, induction, and training of employability volunteers
• To ensure that this work has a focus on fostering people’s independence and respects the culture, personal history, and situation of all its users.
• To support the Pathways to Work Project team in building partnerships with other organisations which offer employability services from which people using the project could benefit, and to work with people and with those agencies in order to facilitate their access to potential employment and volunteering opportunities
• To gather feedback from participants
• To keep full, accurate and up-to-date case records
• To provide written and oral reports as required
• To ensure that all work is carried out in accordance with Refugee Action’s strategic aims, values, principles, policies, and procedures, specifically those around equal opportunity, confidentiality, impartiality, and non-directive advice

For the charity

• To play an active role in one or more Refugee Action thematic groups as required
• To liaise with other teams in Refugee Action as appropriate
• To attend regular team meetings in order to share information, monitor services, and foster effective and supportive team working
• To participate in own supervision, appraisal and training as agreed with your Line Manager
• To carry out administrative tasks in support of own work (e.g. word- processing, filing) and other duties consistent with the nature of the post, and in furtherance of the Working English Project
• Safeguard at all times confidentiality of information relating to staff and clients.
• To carry out all the above in accordance with the aims, values and policies of Refugee Action, in particular, confidentiality, impartiality and Equal Opportunities

The post-holder may be asked to re-organise their work in order to help the organisation to respond to changes in type or extent of needs of refugees, which can arise from time to time. This would be done in a way consistent with the purposes of the post and in consultation with the post-holder

Candidate Specification

All experience may be paid or voluntary, full or part-time, in the UK or overseas. Candidates will be short-listed on the following specifications:

• Lived experience as a refugee or asylum seeker;
• An understanding of the experiences and barriers facing people seeking asylum, newly granted refugees and vulnerable migrants who are seeking employment, with insight into their needs, hopes and experiences.
• Knowledge and experience of supporting people to access employment or volunteering opportunities in the UK, including assessing the employment needs of service users and putting in place appropriate support to meet those needs
• Understanding of and commitment to service user involvement and fostering independence, including experience, and understanding of cultural diversity and the ability to work with people from a range of different cultures.
• Commitment to key advice principles such as confidentiality, impartiality and non-directive approaches with a commitment to shifting power and anti-racism.
• Experience of developing partnerships and working with other organisations in support of clients, including good negotiating skills for working with a wide range of voluntary and statutory agencies.
• Experience and understanding of recruiting, training and supporting volunteers to deliver services to clients.
• Understanding how to practice self-care and protecting your own psychological well-being when working with people in vulnerable situations.
• Experience of working with other professionals collaboratively and in multi-disciplinary settings.
• Strong communication skills with good spoken and written English, sufficient to provide advice in English, to advocate and negotiate on behalf of clients
• Open and reflective attitude to your own work, with excellent active listening skills
• Strong organisational and administrative skills, with ability to juggle conflicting priorities.

Terms and conditions of employment

This position is offered on a full-time permanent basis with funding secured for 3 years. The following conditions of service will apply