Employment and Training Coordinator

EMPLOYMENT AND TRAINING COORDINATOR RECRUITMENT PACK

Registered Charity 1078794

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Who we are
Suffolk Refugee Support aims to ensure that all asylum seekers and refugees in Suffolk are enabled to live integrated, fulfilled and
contributing lives in their new communities. We provide a welcoming environment where clients can access help, advice, support and
practical services in order to be healthy and safe and begin to rebuild their lives. We work with external agencies, community and
voluntary  sector  organisations,  health  providers  and  others  to  enable  our  clients  to  access  a  range  of  support.  We  are  based  in
Ipswich, but our services operate increasingly on location with refugees and asylum seekers housed in accommodation across Suffolk.

Values
Individuals Matter - Each Client is unique and has an intrinsic value and constructive role to play in UK society
Respect - We are open, welcoming, respectful, and transparent in our dealings with one another and with others
Self Determination - We direct our efforts towards self-determination and ultimate independence for our Clients
Client Centred - We are led by the needs and interests of our Clients and design our services to work holistically
to meet these
Safe Environment - The all-round safety and security of our Clients and everyone who works for and with SRS
is of paramount importance
Keeping Informed - We keep ourselves fully informed and knowledgeable about every sphere of our work
Aims
Basic Needs - To address our Clients' fundamental needs including immigration status, housing, education, physical and mental
health, employment and personal safety
Social Well-being – To facilitate and support recreational and leisure-time activities aimed at enhancing our Clients’ social well-being
and quality of life
Independence - To support our Clients in transitioning towards independence from SRS’ services
Awareness  and  Rights  -  To  promote  awareness  and  understanding  of  our  Clients’  experience  in  the  community,  including
advocating, advising, and lobbying to encourage statutory and other bodies to meet their obligations to our Clients
Client Partnership - To develop our partnership with our Clients to achieve a co-production model of service design, evaluation, and
delivery
Governance - To uphold the effective governance and management of SRS in order to maximise its impact and ensure that its work
is informed by ‘voices of lived experience’
Staff - To maintain a workplace that values and supports Staff, enabling them to effectively carry out their roles in a healthy working
environment
Volunteers - To increase and develop Volunteers’ contribution to the work of SRS

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Our structure

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What we offer

Financial

•  Competitive salaries
•  Contributory  pension  scheme  –  up  to  6%  Employer  contribution  in  addition  to  Employee

contribution

•  Enhanced sick pay scheme after successful probation period

Development

We  believe  that  investment  in  our  staff  to  develop  their  skills  is  essential  to  providing  high  quality
support to our clients. We provide:

•  Training for role related duties
•  Generic skills training to contribute towards personal development
•  On the job training and mentoring
•  Opportunities to shadow other roles or activities within the wider team

Wellbeing

•  Hybrid working (role dependant)
•  Opportunities for social activities
•  Workplace activity sessions, for example, lunchtime walks
•  A welcoming, diverse team with lots of cooking skills and a strong sense of community!

Time off

•  25 days annual leave pro rata (plus public holidays pro rata)
•  One-week pro rata paid carer’s leave
•  One-week pro rata paid compassionate leave
•  Options for unpaid leave after successful probation period

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Job Title

Employment and Training Coordinator

Reports to

Advice Service Manager

The opportunity

Hours

Salary

Contract

Location

28 hours a week (Mondays, Tuesdays, Wednesday and Fridays)

£24,137 (pro rata from £30,172 FTE for 35 hours per week)

Permanent, subject to a 3 months’ probation review

Partly  based  at  Suffolk  Refugee  Support  offices,  38  St  Matthew’s  Street,  Ipswich,  IP1  3EP  and  on
location in Suffolk. This role will involve travel across the county.

About the role
The Employment and Training Coordinator is a highly rewarding role working to empower refugees and equip them with the skills to
gain sustainable employment and training to help improve their quality of life. We are therefore seeking a motivated, innovative and
organised individual. You will be responsible for leading a small team working on a variety of employment and training projects and
outcomes, accurately monitoring and reporting on the impacts of this work, and forging relationships with employers, agencies and
other organisations across Suffolk. You will also be responsible for managing a small caseload of your own clients

Main Deliverables
Managing the Employment Service

1.  To  coordinate  and  lead  the  Employment  Team,  ensuring  effective  joint  working  and  chairing  regular  Employment  Team

meetings.

2.  To lead on SRS’s Employment and Training partnership programmes including being responsible for delivery, recording and

reporting on teams’ progress as well as attending any programme coordination meetings

3.  To  provide  line management  to  a  small team  of  employment advisors to  ensure  that  SRS  works in  an  effective manner to
provide  employment  services  to  refugees  and  asylum  seekers  from  a  variety  of  nationalities  and  educational/vocational
backgrounds

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4.  To  be  responsible  for  distributing  and  overseeing  the  caseload  of  work  for  the  team,  including  managing  your  own  small

caseload.

5.  To ensure that all employment advice interactions with clients are accurately recorded, using our database and other monitoring

tools

6.  To achieve and record successful outcomes in gaining skills, employment and volunteer placements

7.  To  monitor  and  evaluate  the  impact  of  these  services,  reporting  and  liaising  with  SRS  managers  and  external  funders  as

required

8.  To develop links with other providers in any joint funding partnerships

9.  To make partnerships with employers, charities and organisations, encouraging them to work with / provide placements for

refugees and asylum seekers

10. To refer clients to partner organisations, and share good practice and experiences

11. To advocate on behalf of our clients in order to overcome barriers, improve understanding and enable opportunities

12. To attend meetings and workshops with other employment/education support organisations in Suffolk to ensure our clients’

needs are provided for in the county

13. To attend internal and external meetings relevant to training and employment and to keep the team updated of any opportunities

and/or changes as they occur

14. To support other SRS Advice Workers (non-employment specialists) to deliver some employment services to clients within our

main Advice Service

15. To provide some training within the employment team

Employment Advice Work

1.

To assess client needs and devise personal development plans to improve employability, including:

identifying skills gaps & employment barriers

•
•  coaching and mentoring
•  assisting with preparing CVs, job searches, job applications & improving interview skills
•  monitoring progress against PDPs (Personal Development Plans)
•
•  securing interview opportunities

referring to other local services for additional support

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2.

To help clients improve their education and training, including:

researching, identifying, facilitating and/or delivering training classes

•
•  maintaining records of progress (in partnership with other training providers)
•  encouraging clients to attend ESOL and other training to ensure employability skills are attained
liaising with education & training providers to access courses, or developing tailored packages
•
liaising with training tutors to prepare and enter students for examinations where appropriate
•

3.

To help clients improve their work experience, including:

•  building relationships with employers to identify and fill volunteering opportunities, negotiating work placements or work

trials and maximising opportunities for our clients

•  organising  and  delivering employment  workshops  with  times  and  venues  (including  crèches) at  appropriate  levels,  and

ensuring good attendance at them by advertising and information dissemination

4.

To facilitate clients into self-employment, including:

liaising with training providers to secure training for those interested in self-employment
registering clients for self-employment sessions and supporting them to attend

•
•
•  networking with small businesses to share useful information with clients

5.

To encourage peer support and mentoring, including:

•  building  links  with  SRS  clients  who  have  gained  and  sustained  employment  or  self-employment.  Facilitating  mentoring

between these clients and those seeking employment.

•  managing and training volunteers from the community or industry, who can support clients with employment mentoring

Other duties

1.  To observe and comply with Suffolk Refugee Support’s policies and procedures and observe and continually promote equality

and inclusion and client care in compliance with organisational aims and objectives

2.  To attend and contribute to overall work of SRS via staff meetings and occasional meetings with the board of trustees

3.  To take responsibility for keeping up to date with changes to legislation, policy and rules affecting refugees, including attending

training as applicable

4.  To occasionally represent SRS and its clients at external meetings showcasing our work and/or raising key issues at regional

and national level

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5.  To contribute occasionally to media features and SRS newsletter articles concerning the scheme and its clients (in liaison with

SRS’s Fundraising and Communications Manager), and to promote public awareness and positive perceptions

6.  To undertake any other duties as may reasonably be required in line with the level of responsibility of the post and in order to
meet the changing needs of the organisation.  This job description will be subject to periodic review with the post-holder to
ensure it accurately reflects the duties of the job.

7.  With the support of the Advice Service Manager and Charity Manager, to manage their own workload and prioritise between

short- and long-term goals

Other requirements
The role may require you to either hold a full and current driving licence and have access to personal transport or meet the  mobility
requirements of the role through other reasonable and suitable means. If you require a reasonable adjustment due to a disability to
meet the travel requirements of this role, please speak with the HR and Training Officer on HR@suffolkrefugee.org.uk

To deliver services effectively, a degree of flexibility is needed, and you may be required to perform work not specifically referred to
above.  Such duties, however, will fall within the scope of the job, at the appropriate skills and responsibility level.  This job description
will therefore be subject to periodic review with the post-holder to ensure it accurately reflects the duties of the job.

Please note that an Enhanced DBS Check is required for this post. The decision to request a DBS disclosure is made in accordance
with the Rehabilitation of Offenders Act 1974. The check will be paid for by Suffolk Refugee Support.

Registered Charity 1078794

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What we are looking for

Person Specification

Experience and knowledge

Essential

Desirable

Proven  experience  of  effective  staff  line  management  and
managing a programme

Experience of working within a multicultural team

Knowledge  of
expectations of job seekers

recruitment  processes  and  of  employers’

An understanding of the needs of asylum seekers and refugees
and of asylum processes and legislation in the UK

Experience  of  working  with  vulnerable
commitment to upholding their legal rights and entitlement

individuals  and

Lived  experience  of  the  UK  asylum  system  or  refugee
programmes

Experience  of  working  with
employability chances within the current employment climate

individuals

improve

to

their

Experience  of  developing  partnerships  or  opportunities  with
external organisations and businesses

Thorough understanding of monitoring and evaluation tools and
experience of measuring progress/ success

Skills

Essential

Good written and spoken English, with experience of report writing

Ability to communicate and motivate people who have low levels of English and/or other barriers to employment

Ability to work alone using initiative and creativity to get results

Ability to multitask and manage a varied and full workload

Proficiency in working with Microsoft Office packages and using a CRM database.

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Attributes

Essential

Commitment to inclusive practices and equal opportunities

Commitment to Safeguarding Children, Young People and Vulnerable Adults

Friendly, helpful and positive attitude when meeting new people

Conscientious, calm under pressure

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Equal Opportunities Statement
Suffolk Refugee Support (SRS) is committed to equal opportunities and to supporting diversity both in the provision of services and
as an employer. These commitments are set out in the Equality and Diversity policy and are integral to the provision of SRS’s services
and to the work done by its staff, trustees, and volunteers, who are expected to promote equality in the workplace and to deliver
services with sensitivity.

In essence, this means that no service user, job applicant, employee, volunteer, trustee, or member will be treated less favourably on
the grounds of the following protected characteristics: age, disability (physical or mental impairment), gender reassignment, marital
or civil partnership status, pregnancy or maternity, race (colour, nationality, ethnic or national origin), religious beliefs, sex and sexual
orientation. In addition, SRS is committed to ensuring that no service user, job applicant, employee, volunteer, trustee, or member
will be treated less favourably on the grounds of membership of a particular social group, political opinion, caring responsibilities, HIV
status and employment status.

SRS  recognises  that  refugees  and  asylum  seekers  are  a  particularly  vulnerable  group  of  people  and  may  experience  additional
prejudice and  discrimination.  As  a  result, SRS  is committed  to  supporting  refugees  and  asylum  seekers to  take  their  full  place  in
society, including being involved in SRS’s governance structures.

Equality and Diversity and you
You will be required to support individuals, families, children, women, and young people from very diverse backgrounds and engage
them equally irrespective of political, religious or other affiliations.

We expect our team members to act professionally at all times and uphold the values, ambitions and aims of Suffolk Refugee Support.

We are committed to making every reasonable adjustment to the workplace or working arrangements to accommodate people with
disabilities.

Please be aware that our offices are accessed via a steep staircase.  We will endeavour to accommodate staff with mobility issues
as far as possible.

You will have received an Equality and Diversity Monitoring Form as part of this recruitment pack.  Please complete and return to
Marianne Walker at HR@suffolkrefugee.org.uk

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How to apply

Please complete the Application Form, the Equal Monitoring Form and attach your CV (which should cover your education history,
employment history and any relevant training) and send the three documents to Marianne Walker at HR@suffolkrefugee.org.uk

If you require a larger print form or a paper form, please contact Marianne Walker at HR@suffolkrefugee.org.uk

Alternatively, you can send the documents by post to Suffolk Refugee Support, 38 St Matthews Street, Ipswich, Suffolk, IP1 3EP.

Deadline for submission: no later than 12 noon on 7th May 2026

Interview date: Thursday 14th May 2026

We reserve the right to close this vacancy early and interview at an earlier date if we receive sufficient
applications  for  the  role.  Therefore,  if  you  are  interested,  please  submit  your  application  as  early  as
possible.

How we choose who we invite to an interview

Shortlisting  is  completed  by  a  panel  of  Suffolk  Refugee  Support  staff  members  who  will  review  and  independently  score  your
anonymised CV and the responses you have given to the questions asked in the application form’s Why are you the right person
for this job section.

They then meet as a group to discuss their scores and decide which candidates’ answers have ranked highest for them.

Registered Charity 1078794

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