Project Officer – Sponsor Refugees

Salary: £24,696 per annum

Hours:  5 days a week, 37.5 hpw

Pension: 5% Employee, 10% employer contribution

Contract: Permanent

Based: Home-Working (office space available in London & Cardiff)

Holiday: 25 days pa + 8 BHs + Christmas break

Reporting to: Senior Project Manager – Sponsor Refugees

Deadline: 30 November 2021

Interview Date: 10 December 2021

About Sponsor Refugees

Sponsor Refugees is a project established by Citizens UK in 2017 to build the Community Sponsorship  movement in the UK. Community Sponsorship gives communities the power to bring a refugee family directly and safely to the UK, and walk beside them as they rebuild their lives.

Sponsor Refugees is a small, dynamic team that works with communities across the country to build new Community Sponsorship Groups (CSGs), support them through the application process and to provide the very best of welcomes to a refugee family.

Citizens UK is the national centre of community organising in the UK and home of the Living Wage Foundation. Citizens UK organises communities to act together for power, social justice and the common good. With diverse civil society alliances in London, Milton Keynes, Nottingham, Manchester, Birmingham, Wales, Leeds and Tyne & Wear. We develop the leadership capacity of our members so they can hold politicians and other decision-makers to account on the issues that matter to them[HF1] .

About the role

You will help to grow the Community Sponsorship scheme in the UK through recruitment activities and supporting groups to welcome refugee families.

1.       Provide administrative and communications support to Sponsor Refugees.

• Administrative tasks include monitoring the team email inbox, updating databases, managing group finance spreadsheets, ensuring all volunteers are registered and DBS checked.

• Monitor and post on Sponsor Refugees social media channels, update the website, send e-newsletters.

2.       Recruit new Community Sponsorship Groups

• Work with the Senior Project Manager and partners to deliver recruitment activities to encourage communities to participate in the Community Sponsorship scheme. Activities include webinars, events and external communications.

3.       Support Community Sponsorship Groups (CSGs) to welcome refugees

• Support CSGs through the complex application process to become sponsors. (See more about the application process here).

• Provide motivation and encouragement to help them progress.

• With support from Senior Project Manager, help CSGs to troubleshoot challenges as they arise.  

• Plan & facilitate training for Community Sponsorship groups, including our fortnightly “Lunch & Learn” series  (see information here). Includes finding and preparing expert speakers.

• Upkeep the online training portal and resources.

About you

You will be a highly relational, efficient and organised individual who is passionate about growing the Community Sponsorship movement to welcome refugees to the UK. You will be positive and have a can-do attitude.

You will be able to build strong relationships with volunteers. You will be able to motivate them and provide excellent training and guidance as they prepare to welcome refugees to their neighbourhoods.

You will be excellent and organised administrator, with excellent attention to detail, and a knack for IT systems. You will be confident at working independently and remotely. You will be able to juggle a variety of different priorities.

Ideally, you will have direct experience of refugee resettlement (lived, professional and/or voluntary) and working with community groups.