Employment Advisor - STEP

About us

World Jewish Relief created the Specialist Training and Employment Programme (STEP) for refugees in 2016 and today we are the largest provider of specialist employment support to refugees in the UK.  STEP aims to support and empower people with experience of forced migration through a tailored employment programme that addresses the complex barriers refugees face in preparing for, and ultimately finding, work in the UK.  

The Refugee Council is a leading charity working with refugees and people seeking asylum in the UK. Founded in 1951 following the creation of the UN Refugee Convention, we exist to support and empower people who have fled conflict, violence and persecution in order to rebuild their lives here in the UK.

We now have an exciting opportunity for an Employment Advisor who will be based at the Refugee Council in Sheffield. You will provide employment support to refugee clients enrolled in the STEP programme and help them to achieve their employability goals. You will be the main point of contact for clients, delivering one on one support across a variety of employability activities including preparing CVs, writing cover letters, searching for jobs, applying for jobs, finding volunteering, work experience and training opportunities and preparing for interviews.

You will work to a variety of performance targets based on the progression outcomes of clients such as voluntary and work placements and achieving and sustaining paid employment.

About you

We are looking for candidates who have:

• Experience or knowledge within the refugee employment sector
• Understanding of the issues and challenges faced by unemployed people to finding work, including those who first language is not English
• Experience of providing advice and guidance and supervising a caseload of clients
• Excellent communication skills
• Good IT skills (Microsoft Word, Excel, Outlook)
• Cross-cultural sensitivity and the ability to work with clients with varying levels of English
• Competency in a second language desirable e.g. Arabic, Amharic, Dari, Farsi, Pashto, Tigrinya, Ukrainian

​Benefits

We offer a range of benefits including:

• 23 days holiday plus bank holidays
• Pension scheme – we contribute 5% to the World Jewish Relief pension scheme.
• Life Insurance – up to 3 times salary to nominated beneficiaries.
• Health Cash Plan – cash back to cover the costs of dental treatment, optical care, specialist consultations and a range of complementary therapies.
• Enhanced maternity & paternity pay.
• Employee Assistance Programme – free, confidential advice or support with any personal or work. related concerns or free counselling if needed.
• Season ticket / travel to work loan.
• Cycle to Work Scheme.
• We encourage flexible working/working from home and offer a range of flexible working options

Equality, Diversity and Inclusion

World Jewish Relief values equality, diversity and inclusion in our workplace and we encourage applications from candidates of all ethnicities, socio-economic backgrounds, genders, sex, sexual orientations, ages, disability, faiths (or non), marital status (or non), that meet the criteria set out for this role.

We are striving to build a team reflective of the communities we work with. People with refugee or asylum-seeking backgrounds are experts by experience and are particularly encouraged to apply for this position. If you have first-hand experience of forced migration, please let us know in your application. Additionally, we encourage you to apply even if you do not meet all the requirements that are listed within the person specification.

We respect that people’s identity is not defined by their past experiences and do not expect candidates to describe their lived experience during the interview process unless they wish to do so.

You don’t need to be Jewish to work for us, but you must be committed to our faith-based values of Justice, Kindness, Repairing the World and Welcoming the Stranger. We are inspired by these values to work beyond our community, recognising the dignity and potential of all people.

To apply

Please upload your CV and a cover letter explaining how you meet you the criteria in the person specification.