Displaced People Officer (Asylum)

Some key information

• This role provides the opportunity for hybrid working, allowing you to work either from home, subject to managerial approval, or from one of our offices.
• 30 days' annual leave (in addition to bank holidays).
• The contract offered is fixed term until 31st March 2027.
• This is a full-time post (37 hours per week). We will also consider alternative working patterns.
  
  

What will I be doing?

We’re working to improve the lives of people in Somerset – and you’ll be a key part of that. As a Displaced People Officer - Asylum, you will act as the technical lead for the mandated Asylum Full Dispersal Scheme, to support people seeking asylum and Newly Granted Refugees in Somerset. This includes management of the operational and strategic delivery of support for both contingency and dispersal accommodation, and wider wrap around support services with the VCFSE and statutory partners. The post holder will work within the wider Displaced People Service, a dynamic team which also supports the Homes for Ukraine programme and Planned Resettlement.

Your day-to-day work will involve:

• Acting as the technical lead for Asylum Dispersal and Contingency – Develop specialist knowledge related to Asylum; be the point of contact for queries related to people seeking asylum, asylum processes and Newly Granted Refugees. Advocate for the needs of people seeking asylum across the Somerset System, working with statutory and non-statutory colleagues to ensure rights and entitlements to services are understood. Familiarise yourself with any asylum policies, changes to policies, likely impact on service delivery and any implications for statutory services.
• Managing the operational and strategic development and delivery of a range of services in Somerset to support displaced people, with particular focus on people seeking asylum and Newly Granted Refugees, to ensure the Asylum Full Dispersal scheme is delivered according to national guidance, taking into account local resource and need.
• Line management of the Refugee Housing team.
• Managing data related to Asylum, ensuring adherence to GDPR when maintaining and sharing data with relevant partners and processes.
• Producing high level reports and providing verbal presentations to a wide variety of audiences, including senior management, members and partner organisations.
  
  

We recognise the importance of a good balance between work and home life, so we do everything we can to accommodate flexible working, including working from home, with agreement from the manager.

What kind of experience or qualifications do I need?

We offer ongoing support, training and guidance to help you be the best you can be. But it will really help if you have:

• A degree in a related field or significant experience.
• Experience in Team Management.
• Excellent communication and interpersonal skills with strong organisational and time management skills.
• Comprehensive understanding of displaced people, in particular those seeking asylum, and policy and legislation related to this.
• Knowledge of support services available for displaced people and the challenges faced by those seeking asylum and other displaced people.
  
  

We’re proud to be here for the people of Somerset. And that means everyone in Somerset. An important part of this is ensuring that we are as diverse and inclusive as the people and communities we serve.

We welcome applications from a diverse range of backgrounds and experiences to enrich our team. You can always contact the hiring manager for a chat if there’s anything you want to talk about before you apply.

What's in it for me?

We are proud to offer an environment that is supportive and rewarding, working as part of a team who are passionate about the work they do to improve the lives of people in Somerset.

We offer great training and development opportunities, with supportive management. As well as this, we have some fantastic employee benefits available:

• We promote a healthy work-life balance and offer flexible working arrangements wherever possible, including working from home.
• Generous annual leave allowance, with the opportunity to purchase additional leave
• Staff discounts in gyms.
• Employee Assistance for the times you may need some support and a variety of employee wellbeing services.
• Auto enrolment onto our generous Pension Scheme and optional pension enhancement through our Additional Voluntary Contribution scheme.
• A Flexible Benefits Scheme via salary sacrifice to obtain a cycle for work and health screenings.
• My Staff Shop offering discounts in shops, online shopping, restaurants, cinema tickets, insurance benefits and more
  
  

Anything else I should know?

For an informal chat about the role, you can contact Eileen D’Souza, Service Manager -Displaced People, at [email protected]

The Salary for the role is Grade 10, ranging from £37,280 to £41,771 per annum.

Please ensure when applying for this role that you include a Covering letter and CV outlining your previous work experience.

If you have everything you need, just hit the apply button. We can’t wait to hear from you!

DBS information

This post requires a criminal background check via the Disclosure procedure.