Job Title: Project Manager, Refugees for Justice

Salary: £31,479 per annum  

Hours: 37.5 hours per week (flexibility available, some unsociable hours necessary)

Reports to: Senior Project Manager, R4J

Contract: 18 months

Based: Glasgow

CITIZENS UK

Citizens UK is a people power alliance of diverse local communities working together for the common good. 

Our mission is to develop leaders, strengthen civic organisations and make change. Our 550 member communities are deeply rooted in their local areas and connect every day to the lives of hundreds of thousands of people. Through the method of community organising we enable people experiencing powerlessness to develop their leadership and come together with the power and strategy to make change. 

This leads to hundreds of neighborhood improvements - from zebra crossings outside primary schools to renovated public toilets in cemeteries. And it leads to some of the biggest campaign impacts in the UK, such as winning over £1.5 billion of wages through the UK Living Wage campaign, securing a legal cap on the cost of credit to control exploitative lending, and ending the detention of children for immigration purposes. We enable local campaigns to grow into large-scale social change projects such as the Living Wage Foundation, Parents and Communities Together (PACT), and Sponsor Refugees, that form an integral part of our theory of change. The most prominent of these is the rapidly growing Living Wage Foundation with a network of nearly 9,000 accredited Living Wage Employers across the UK.

Together We Can

The Together We Can team is a project of Citizens UK working to build the power we need to make the UK more welcoming.

We believe in the importance of standing with our neighbours, wherever they were born. By working together across difference, we can tackle injustice and win change on the issues that matter to refugee migrant, and diaspora communities.

The Together We Can team consists of community organisers working with leaders on local and national campaigns as well as two specialist projects: Sponsor Refugees and Refugees for justice.

Refugees for Justice

Refugees for Justice (R4J) is a refugee-led campaign for justice, accountability, and change in the UK asylum accommodation and support provision system. The group was launched in the aftermath of the Park Inn Incident in Glasgow (26 June 2020) and the mishandling of asylum accommodation and support during COVID-19 pandemic that led the deaths, injuries, and physical and psychological harm on people in the asylum system and wider community. R4J uses community organising, independent inquiry, and legal action to challenge and change the UK asylum support and accommodation provision, including the use of detention-like institutional accommodation and associated conditions. For more information, please visit our website: https://www.refugeesforjustice.com/   

Purpose

To achieve its overarching goals of Justice, Accountability, and Change, R4J conducts the following activities:

·     Community organising and power building

·     Legal Action

·     Independent inquiry

·     Campaigning, policy and influencing work

The R4J Project Manager is a central post within R4J team and responsible for the effective delivery of all R4J projects and activities. The post holder will work closely with R4J team of staff and volunteers, R4J Senior Project Manager, and the wider Together We Can team to manage the delivery of R4J campaign strategy. The ideal post holder will have excellent knowledge and expertise in campaigning, policy work, and community organising.

Main Responsibilities

Reporting directly to the R4J Senior Project Manager, the post holder will be expected to manage their own independent workload, as well as support the broader team. The main responsibilities are outlined below:

Contribute towards achieving CUK and R4J project strategic objectives:

·    Work with R4J Senior Project Manager to shape, communicate and deliver R4J strategy and outputs

·    Contribute to the development and implementation of R4J strategy and operational plan

·    Facilitate meaningful and active participation of members of impacted community in the development and implementation of R4J strategy

·    Enthusiasm and commitment to R4J and CUK’s core mission and purpose

·    Ensure that the work of R4J is aligned with the broader strategy of the Together We Can Team

Build and manage projects & achieve work targets:

·    Manage and implement all R4J project activities against agreed timetable and workplan. Including community organising, legal action, independent inquiry, campaigning, and direct policy and influencing work

·    Organise, support, and mobilise members of impacted community to play a meaningful and active role in the delivery of all R4J activities and projects

·    Organise, plan, and deliver ongoing community-led events and actions

·    Understand R4J’s overarching campaign goals and effectively translate them into action

·    Ensure compliance with all relevant CUK policies and procedures and regulations including Health & Safety, safeguarding, confidentiality and GDPR.

·    Build manage and grow R4J to scale

·    Deliver key R4J objectives to time and budget, incl. reporting on KPIs

Learning & expertise:

·    In line with R4J strategic goals and operational plan, design and deliver ongoing action-oriented participatory learning and development workshops and activities to develop campaigning and leadership capacity of members of impacted community

·    Keep accurate record of all R4J activities, projects, and events

·    Contribute to data collection, monitoring, and evaluation of R4J projects and activities

·    Undertake personal professional development including community organising training

Provide other R4J team members with relevant and helpful advice and technical support

Develop and manage external relationships:

·    Build, manage, nurture, and maintain relationships with relevant civil society organisations, networks, and forums across the UK

·    Build alliance with key strategic and operational groups, organisations, and individuals to advance R4J campaign goals

·    Ensure R4J campaign is effectively positioned and represented within the wider movements and campaigns in the UK refugee and migration sector and beyond

·    Represent R4J and liaise with external strategic and operational stakeholders incl. policy makers

Seek feedback and act to ensure stakeholder positive experience

Communications:

·    Represent R4J effectively to external audiences in meetings and at events.

·    Provide stakeholders with regular and appealing comms.

·    Manage R4J comms channels incl. social media, website, newsletter

·    Generate engaging and creative content for R4J communication channels incl. written and visual content

·    Manage R4J’s direct communication with relevant stakeholders incl. policy makers, organisations, and individuals

Work closely with dedicated staff and CUK’s Comms Team to effectively implement R4J’s communications strategy

Develop and manage internal relationships:

·    Manage, co-ordinate, recruit, train, and supervise community organising staff and volunteers in R4J team.

·    Design and implement a robust volunteer involvement model for members of impacted community to engage in R4J activities in safe and supportive environment

·    Work closely with R4J team and align R4J work with CUK ‘Together We Can’ team to advance Citizens UK and R4J strategic objectives

·    Work effectively with HQ team, and community organising teams to align and integrate R4J’s work within the wider organisational work

Generate income and resources :

·    Support R4J Senior Project Manager in the development of funding proposals

Contribute to the budgeting process. Manage spending from small budgets allocated to R4J ongoing activities and events and provide accurate financial reports accordingly.

Person Specification

REQUIREMENTS (E=ESSENTIAL, DESIRABLE=D)

QUALIFICATIONS

Degree or equivalent professional qualification (D)

EXPERIENCE

Solid experience in a project management role (E)

Experience of managing or delivering public campaigns in the UK (E)

Experience of community organising (E)

Experience of policy and influencing work in the UK social change sector (E)

Experience of building and managing successful relationships and partnerships with community groups and other stakeholders (E)

A proven track record of delivering and reporting against targets and on budgets (E)

Experience of organising and managing all aspects of community events, incl. logistics (D)

Experience of managing multiple social media accounts and utilising analytics to adapt social media strategy (D)

Experience or understanding and knowledge of the refugee sector (D)

Personal lived experience of the UK asylum and immigration system (D)

KEY SKILLS AND KNOWLEDGE

Outstanding communication skills, both verbally and written, combined with the ability to liaise with stakeholders (E)

Ability to work well as part of a team, and maintain effective communication with colleagues (E)

Excellent interpersonal skills with the ability to build relationships, lead, influence and motivate others (E)

Strong monitoring and evaluation skills and the ability to interpret results to adapt strategy (E)

Ability to act on own initiative to introduce and develop new projects and systems (E)

 Proven computer literacy to include MS Office and MS Excel (E)

Understanding of the policy and campaign landscape in the UK as it relates to refugees and migrants (E)

PERSONAL ATTRIBUTES

A proactive approach to all areas of work with a flexible approach to work demands (E)

An appreciation and respect for different communities; incl. faith groups and different cultures (E)

A strong commitment to the work of R4J and Citizens UK Values (E)

Interviews will take place the week commencing 7 March 2022.

https://www.refugeesforjustice.com/