Refugee Resettlement Project Officer

The project officer will play a crucial role in supporting the team to coordinate and deliver interventions and comprehensive wraparound support for families and individuals ("guests") seeking asylum and refuge in Barking and Dagenham. This role involves collaboration with the Home Office and other government agencies through government-funded resettlement programs.

The post holder will support the induction and cultural orientation of new arrivals, helping them integrate into life in the United Kingdom. They will contribute to the creation and distribution of comprehensive information and advice materials about local areas and services. The post holder will collaborate with the Home Office, Ready Homes, and other partners to prepare for offers of settled accommodation. They will assist refugees in maintaining their accommodation, preventing homelessness, and achieving self-sufficiency.

They will ensure the effective use of grant funding by providing tailored support related to ESOL (English for Speakers of Other Languages), housing assistance, employment, and other identified needs of grant beneficiaries. The postholder will develop the capacity of existing health, education, and community services to meet new demands and promote an inclusive approach to integration that benefits everyone equally.

The post holder will assist the manager and serve as one of the primary contacts with the London Strategic Migration Partnership (LSMP), attending Resettlement meetings, Claims Workshops, and receiving funding and policy updates from the Home Office.

Special requirements for this post: This post is exempt from the Rehabilitation of Offenders Act 1974, and a comprehensive screening process will be undertaken for successful applicants, including an enhanced Disclosure check.

To apply for the internship, you must meet the following criteria:

• You will have obtained a level 3 qualification
• You have the right to work in the UK without employer sponsorship
• Be a resident in London Borough of Barking and Dagenham
• Be a London Borough of Barking and Dagenham Care leaver

About you: You are a passionate, caring, and dedicated individual with demonstrable work experience in a similar role supporting refugees and asylum seekers. You have experience of providing support to vulnerable individuals and families in a situation of transition and uncertainty, promoting fairness and equality through service delivery. You have applied knowledge and understanding of entitlements to welfare benefits, housing, education, and employment support to help people work towards self-sufficiency whilst ensuring essential living needs are met.

You have good insight into the needs, hopes and experiences of refugees and migrants, the main barriers to successful integration and able to demonstrate how such barriers can be overcome. You can apply high-quality casework standards to record and monitor actions taken (individually and as a service) to evidence integration achievements and the effective use of government funding. You have excellent communication skills to ensure that complex matters can be explained concisely to different audiences, and to be confident and assertive when required.

The successful candidate will be a self-motivated and enthusiastic team player who shares the Council's core values:

• Deliver our best every day, and do what we promise
• Respond in a prompt, positive way to our community's needs
• Inspire others with our attitudes and actions
• Value people for who they are and what they can do
• Engage with others to improve our resilience and flexibility

About us: Our borough is vibrant and diverse, and this is something we are proud of. As one of the most ethnically and culturally diverse communities in the UK, there is a commitment to make it a place where people are proud to live, work, study and stay. The council has just launched its vision or blueprint for the Council over the next few years, Our B&D, Our Future. A key priority for the coming year will be the delivery of this vision. As the fastest growing borough in London both in terms of its population and potential for change, there is not a more exciting place to further your career or make a difference.