Policy and Public Affairs Officer
Salary: £29,717 to £34,176 gross per annum at 1.0 FTE (starting salary will be in the lower half of this bracket)
Working pattern: full time (37.5 hrs per week, flexible working requests will be considered)
Contract: permanent with a 6 month probationary period
Team: Campaigns & Communications Team
Location: Candidates should be within reach of London. This role can be office-based or hybrid. Team meetings take place in-person from the London office each Thursday and availability to attend some ad hoc events and meetings around London is required too.
Reporting to: Public Affairs & Policy Manager
Safe Passage International (SPI) is recruiting a Policy and Public Affairs Officer to support our ground-breaking work to ensure that safe routes to sanctuary exist for all people seeking asylum.
We are looking for policy and public affairs skills plus a commitment to making a difference for refugees, as detailed in the Person Specification. Experience in a similar role would be welcome, but this could also be your first paid position in the charity sector, or you could be returning to work after time out. This position will have a dedicated training budget and you will be supported to grow and develop within your role.
Working closely with the Public Affairs & Policy Manager and wider Campaigns & Communications team, this is an exciting opportunity to join an award-winning team campaigning for change. With a General Election fast-approaching, it’s a critical time in the fight for refugee rights and safe routes. As Policy & Public Affairs Officer, you will be researching policy positions, writing briefings, organising public affairs events and campaigning alongside our Young Leaders - a group of young people from refugee & asylum-seeking backgrounds, working together to campaign for change.
You will be attentive to detail, flexible, efficient, great at time management, and able to work well both independently and under supervision as part of a small and energetic team. A keen interest in the charity and refugee sectors is advantageous.
We value equality and diversity in our organisation, and are striving to build a workforce reflective of the communities we work in. We welcome applications from everyone regardless of age, gender, ethnicity, sexual orientation, faith, or disability. People with refugee or asylum-seeking backgrounds are experts by experience and are particularly encouraged to apply.
As a refugee charity, we offer a guaranteed interview for people with lived experience of seeking asylum who meet most of the essential criteria outlined in the Person Specification. If you have first-hand experience of applying for asylum in any country, please let us know in your application.
We respect that people’s identity is not defined by their past experiences and do not expect candidates to describe their lived experience during the interview process unless they wish to.
If you are excited by this role and working at Safe Passage but do not have all the experience you think is needed, we will be holding a Q&A session to provide more information and answer your questions. Please read our ‘How to Apply Guidance’ below for more details.
If you are excited by this role and working at Safe Passage but do not have all the experience you think is needed, we would encourage you to attend our Q&A session on Thursday 15th February at 4:00 pm GMT via Microsoft Teams, using this link:
Please note that if you prefer to remain anonymous during the Q&A session, there is no requirement for your camera to be turned on and you are free to rename yourself.
How do I apply?
Please read the full Job Description & Person Specification and our ‘How to Apply Guide’ below.
The How to Apply Guide asks candidates to submit a CV and Cover Letter answering four specific questions linked to the Person Specification. Applications can be submitted via email in written form or as digital audio or video files.
We also ask candidates to complete our ‘Equal Opportunities Form’ to help us monitor and improve in our aims to become a truly diverse, representative and inclusive work force.
We are proud to be a member of the Experts by Experience Employment Network (www.ebeemployment.org.uk), which aims to create a charitable sector that is led by people with lived experience of the asylum and immigration system. As part of this network, we challenge the one-size-fits-all approach in our employment practices, and respect personal circumstances and needs of people with lived experience. Please feel free to use information and resources at https://www.ebeemployment.org.uk/ebe which may help in preparing your job application
Closing date: Sunday 25th February at 11.59 pm.