Legal Officer / Rainbow Migration in London

Location: London, SE11, between Vauxhall and Oval

Deadline: Applications will be reviewed on a rolling basis.

Rainbow Migration, the longest-running charity in Europe dedicated to supporting LGBTQI+ people through the asylum and immigration system, is recruiting a Legal Officer to advise and help improve the representation of LGBTQI+ people seeking asylum and help change the asylum and immigration system to one that treats everyone with compassion, dignity and respect.

We are looking for a qualified solicitor or barrister with valid practising certificate, or already accredited to Level 3 IAA (OISC), with two years’ experience in providing advice and representation in asylum including working in legal aid.

You will be responsible for the day-to-day delivery of the legal advice service. Under the guidance of our Legal Service Manager, you will also build capacity amongst legal representatives by designing and delivering training, giving second tier advice and developing and coordinating a network of practitioners working in this area. You will use the knowledge you gain in this role to help deliver Rainbow Migration’s policy work, such as inputting into policy papers and meeting with partner organisations when required.

Responsibilities will include:

• Deliver one-off advice to adult LGBTQI+ people seeking asylum and work with colleagues to refer them to quality legal aid and pro bono lawyers
• Provide casework assistance e.g. helping to prepare witness statements, making referrals to other specialist organisations and taking other urgent steps (whilst not representing service users or maintaining a caseload)
• Provide occasional advice (within competence) on other issues affecting asylum and partnership service users such as asylum support, legal aid, trafficking, family reunion or community care
• Deliver second tier advice to the legal representatives of LGBTQI+ people seeking asylum and other charities and professionals
• Work with the Legal Service Manager to design and deliver training to lawyers, NGOs and other professionals
• Write blogs and articles on asylum and immigration policy and legislation as they apply to LGBTQI+ people
• Contribute to policy and briefing papers
• Assist with preparing guidelines and briefings for legal services and pro bono lawyers

The Legal Officer will not be providing direct legal representation of service users. However, the role includes substantive advice and casework within the scope of legal support and referrals for our service users, as well as merits testing and second tier advice.

Contract Type: Permanent.

Hours: Full-time (35 hours per week). Working part-time or job-sharing will be considered. Occasional work in the evenings and at weekends may be required but with plenty of notice. Rainbow Migration encourages staff to maintain a good work life balance and has a TOIL system in place.

Salary: Starting at £40,175, with potential annual step increases up to £44,868 (pro-rata for part-time employees), plus statutory employer’s pension contribution. In addition to an annual step increase, the trustees consider giving a separate inflationary increase every April.

Location: Remote or from Rainbow Migration’s offices which are based in London between Vauxhall and the Oval. Hybrid working will also be considered. The successful candidate could work from anywhere in the UK but would be expected to occasionally travel to London and other parts of the country for meetings and events.

How to apply

Closing date: Applications will be reviewed on a rolling basis.

Interview date: Interviews will be scheduled on an ongoing basis in response to applications received.

Please send:

• Your CV
• A written statement (max 1,000 words). Instead of a written statement you may submit your statement by video or audio recording (max 8 minutes) to recruitment@rainbowmigration.org.uk.

In your statement, please:

• Give examples of how you meet the person specification.
• Confirm if you wish to be considered under the guaranteed interview scheme for anyone considered as disabled under the Equality Act 2010.
• State how many hours a week you wish to work and if you have a preferred pattern, or if you are applying as part of a job-share.

By submitting an application, you:

• Confirm that you have the right to work in the UK and will produce the necessary documentation if you are offered this post.
• Declare that to the best of your knowledge and belief, the information provided with your application is true and correct.

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.