Refugee Youth Casework Volunteer (Age Dispute Team)

Our Refugee Youth Caseworkers work to uphold the rights of young refugees in the UK. This is a fantastic opportunity to build knowledge of the UK asylum system, gain hands-on case work experience and provide direct support to young refugees.

You will be part of the Access Team, a team that started by supporting asylum seekers to navigate the UK asylum process and support through the asylum process. Over the course of this work, we became aware of young people whose age had been disputed by the Home Office when they arrived in the UK. These individuals are treated as adults by the Home Office. We have a dedicated team that helps young people to challenge the Home Office’s decision and work to ensure their safety.

As a member of this team, you will have a diverse role helping young people to access social services care and legal support. You’ll have the chance to gain broad experience of working in a fast paced, small but experienced team while meeting the ever-changing needs of those we support. So, if you thrive in a collaborative environment and are looking for a role where you can make a real difference, we want to hear from you! 

The Role  

As a Refugee Youth Caseworker you’ll focus on providing outstanding support to your clients throughout the complex and often traumatic age dispute process. You’ll gain a deep understanding of the functioning of the UK asylum and social care systems.

Young refugees who are documented as adults by the Home Office will be living in adult accommodation. This can be very stressful, and it is important to support each client throughout the age dispute process, from the moment they contact us to when they are taken into care.

Once an individual is taken into care, they will undergo an age assessment by social workers. This is a rigorous assessment that aims to determine a child’s age. This process, alongside the asylum process, can be very difficult for young refugees.

Responsibilities:

• Communicate and provide direct support to young refugees
• Liaising with and referring to other professionals including lawyers and social services
• Assess and determine the level of support required for each client
• Provide professional and compassionate support to distressed clients
• Arrange phone and video calls with interpreters and clients
• Attend induction, ongoing training and keep up to date with resources and procedure to ensure you can carry out the role effectively and efficiently
• Take on new cases regularly whilst also providing ongoing support to clients
• Maintaining and updating client records
• Sorting and organising client’s paperwork
• Attend regular team meetings and contribute effectively
• Following safeguarding procedures and reporting safeguarding incidents appropriately
• Keeping the management team updated of any issues that may impact your ability to carry out the role effectively.

We do not offer legal advice. 

Person Specification:

• A genuine passion for refugee rights and protection
• An understanding of the traumatic experiences that individuals have been through and the emotional resilience they need to cope with this
• Experience communicating professionally with various authorities, such as solicitors, social services, and the Home Office
• Ability to manage own caseload effectively
• Ability to use spreadsheets, Google Workspace, messaging platforms and secure databases
• Organised and accurate with information, with an eye for detail
• Excellent communication skills and the ability to communicate with people who do not have English as their first language, working alongside interpreters to ensure clients’ understand the process
• Professional and dedicated, ensuring that the best interests of the clients and Care4Calais are always represented
• Able to work independently and remotely and manage your time effectively, sometimes working to tight deadlines
• A DBS check and completion of safeguarding training will be required

Desirable Criteria:

• Proficiency in one or more of the languages spoken within asylum seeking communities, such as but not limited to: Arabic, Farsi, Pashto, Dari, Kurdish Sorani, Tigrinya, Amharic.

Care4Calais is dedicated to cultivating a diverse and inclusive work environment and recognises that this is invaluable to our ability to serve the communities we support. 

We therefore welcome and encourage applications from diverse backgrounds including from Black, Asian and Minority-Ethnic communities, people from refugee and migrant backgrounds, and people with lived experience of the UK immigration system. If you have any questions about this or need additional support with the application process for any reason, please contact us.