Rainbow Migration, the longest-running UK charity dedicated to supporting LGBTQI+ people through the asylum and immigration system, is recruiting a Legal and Policy Director to join our management team. The Director will lead and develop our unique immigration advice service and draw on the experiences of our service users to influence positive change in the asylum and immigration system. This is an exciting period to join Rainbow Migration as we start implementing our new organisational strategy in our 30th anniversary year.
You will:
- Work with the Executive Director, Campaigns Manager and Communications Manager to develop a policy influencing strategy.
- Apply your litigation and policy experience to deliver change in areas such as refugee status determination, detention and asylum support.
- Lead strategic litigation in the UK and the European Court of Human Rights.
- Be responsible for the design and delivery of Rainbow Migration’s legal advice service, ensure compliance with regulators, and supervise the delivery of immigration advice on asylum and partnership applications by staff and volunteer lawyers.
- Line manage our Legal Officer and assist them in delivering advice on LGBTQI+ asylum, especially complex claims.
- Manage relationships with legal aid and pro bono law firms.
- Design and deliver training to lawyers, charities and others.
- Build knowledge and skills among immigration caseworkers and lawyers to represent LGBTQI+ people seeking asylum.
At Rainbow Migration, we don’t just accept difference – we celebrate it, we support it, and we thrive on it. We’re proud to be an equal opportunity employer and we value diversity. We do not discriminate on the basis of race, religion, colour, national origin, gender, gender identity, sexual orientation, age, marital status, or disability status. We consider all qualified applicants, consistent with any legal requirements.
We welcome applications from candidates with lived experience of going through the UK asylum or immigration system and people of colour who are currently underrepresented among our staff. We will also interview all disabled applicants who meet the necessary criteria for this vacancy.
Owing to the nature of the work, the successful applicant will be required at the point of conditional job offer to disclose all spent and unspent criminal records and subsequently to undergo an enhanced DBS check. See our website for more information.
Contract type: Permanent
Hours: Full-time (35 hours per week). We will consider part-time or job share. Occasional evening work is required, and possibly at weekends, 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 £60,000 with potential annual step increases up to £64,946 (pro rata if working part time), plus statutory employer’s pension contribution. In addition to an annual step increase, the trustees consider giving a separate inflationary increase every April.
Location: Rainbow Migration’s offices are based in Borough, Central London. This role will have an office-based contract but the postholder can choose to work from home for part of the week in agreement with the Executive Director. You must be available to work from our offices in London when necessary. The successful candidate would also be welcome to work from the office full-time if that is their preference. At the time of posting this advert, none of our staff are going into the office every day. There might also be occasional travel outside London with plenty of notice.
Annual leave: 25 days per year rising after 24 months by 1 day after each year of service to maximum of 28 days per year (pro rata if working part-time).
Wellbeing: We offer up to 2 days of wellbeing leave to be taken at short notice in each calendar year. One-to-one clinical supervision is also available for this role.
Closing date: Applications will be reviewed on a rolling basis, but the first consideration of received applications will take place from 9am on Thursday 8 June.
Interview dates: Interviews will be scheduled on an ongoing basis in response to applications received.
How to apply
Please read the job description and person specification. If you have any questions about the role or would like to find out more before applying, you can contact [email protected].
Click here to download the Job Description.
When writing your covering email or recording your video or audio, please:
- 1. Give examples of how you meet the person specification. In addition to what is on your CV, we want to hear about any relevant skills and experience that demonstrate you meet the necessary criteria for the role and if you meet any of the advantageous criteria. Skills and experience could be from training, volunteering, interests or life experience.
- 2. Confirm if you wish to be considered under the guaranteed interview scheme for anyone considered as disabled under the Equality Act 2010 (physical or mental impairment that has a ‘substantial’ and ‘long-term’ effect on your ability to do normal daily activities).
- 3. 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.
We are proud to be a member of the Experts by Experience Employment Network (https://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.
By submitting an application, you:
- 1. Confirm that you have the right to work in the UK and will produce the necessary documentation if you are offered this post.
- 2. Declare that to the best of your knowledge and belief, the information provided with your application is true and correct and that you understand that any false information or statement given will justify the dismissal from Rainbow Migration if appointed.
- 3. Accept that if successful, you will be required to disclose all unspent criminal records at the point of conditional job and subsequently to undergo a basic DBS (Disclosure and Barring Service) check.
Your privacy and data protection
In order to recruit and manage staff, Rainbow Migration needs to store personal information (data) about all applicants. Rainbow Migration is registered as a “controller of personal data” under the Data Protection Act 2018 with the Information Commissioner. By applying for this role, you agree that we will keep the information on your CV, covering email, audio or video recording, Please see our privacy policy on our website.
Monitoring information is kept separately and is pseudonymised to avoid identification of applicants. Monitoring information is amalgamated for statistical purposes and the original data then destroyed.
Rainbow Migration keeps all personal information safely and securely, and does not share your information with anyone outside Rainbow Migration or any other organisation without your consent. Information is kept for the minimum period necessary which for CVs, covering emails, video and audio recordings for unsuccessful applicants is 12 months after the conclusion of the recruitment campaign.