We are seeking an Integration & Support Officer to serve as a vital part of the Refugee, Resettlement, and Migration service.
In this role you will focus on working directly with refugee and migrant individuals and families to support with all facets of their relocation to the UK, from their initial arrival in the country right through to support into their
eventual settled address.
About the role
Salary: £32,597 to £35,412 per annum.
Contract: Fixed Term Contract until 30/09/2027
Location: Your office base will be County Hall, Chichester.
Working pattern: Full-time, 37 hours per week.
You will need to be able to travel independently around the county, including to areas that may not be easily accessible by public transport. Pool cars and pool bikes are available.
This is an opportunity to use your knowledge and experience in working with people facing upheaval and trauma, and to work with partners and volunteers to provide coordinated support to help families begin to rebuild their lives. You’ll be a key player in helping displaced people to feel safe and be part of life in the UK.
The Communities Directorate incorporates a diverse range of services, which operate at scale and with countywide reach to deliver significant customer-facing functions. Our directorate is committed to supporting a range of refugee and migrant cohorts through engagement with a wide range of partners and communities and by providing a variety of tailored, intensive support to enable integration and maintain independence.
The Communities Directorate is working across the county supporting refugee and asylum cohorts. These include, but are not limited to, individuals and families temporarily resident in West Sussex within Afghan and Asylum
Contingency, and Ukrainian families and individuals on Ukraine Sponsorship visas. This team works closely with a wide range of County Council colleagues across several disciplines and in conjunction with statutory partners and
community-based organisations to deliver wrap around support and provision.
This is an opportunity to use your knowledge and experience in working with people facing upheaval and trauma, and to work with partners and volunteers to provide coordinated support to help families begin to rebuild their lives. You’ll be a key player in helping displaced people to feel safe and be part of life in the UK.
About the job
This is a varied role which includes working directly with refugee and migrant individuals and families to support with all facets of their relocation to the UK, from their initial arrival in the country right through to support into their
eventual settled address. Key to this is being able to build productive partnerships with internal and external partners and the voluntary and community sector. The role includes coordinating with volunteers and wider communities to help integrate families, enabling them to acquire the knowledge they need to regain their independence and integrate successfully into our county.
Your work will include liaising with key partners to help deliver successful outcomes and keeping up to date with national policy and practice. The role includes case management and accurate data recording, and you will focus on
delivering a service that provides families with the skills and expertise needed to assist with assimilation. You will travel across the county, working flexibly to meet family's needs and will feel comfortable utilising a translation service where required.
What you’ll need to succeed
You will need to be organised, with excellent interpersonal skills, highly developed communication and written skills and the ability to build trust and rapport, often with families or individuals with varying English abilities who have
faced considerable and differing levels of trauma. You will need to have a good understanding of cross-cultural issues and be sensitive to different cultures with an innate sense of the barriers to successful integration.
You will have experience in providing detailed casework support with excellent note taking abilities and be able to plan and manage your workload effectively to take account of deadlines and urgent issues as they arise. You will be confident using different platforms to manage your casework.
You will need to be able to travel independently to attend to family needs as you will be undertaking regular home visits and welfare checks. There is a regular and intrinsic requirement to communicate in English with partners and the public.
Required experience and skills (These will be used as the shortlisting criteria)
Key Skills:
1. Excellent organisational skills, with the ability to facilitate and implement support plans for refugees with partners and volunteers. Ability to organise and prioritise work and coordinate a variety of tasks in a clear and logical way to meet agreed deadlines.
2. Ability to build credible working relationships with partners and volunteers.
3. Ability to apply sensitive interpersonal skills to effectively communicate and provide support in an accessible way.
4. Ability to use judgement and analytical skills to interpret complex information.
5. Ability to confidently utilise a wide range of systems to accurately record case
notes and provide essential data where reporting requires it. Attention to
detail is key.
6. Ability to work confidently both in a team and as an individual. Able to use
initiative whilst working within broad principles of best practice.
7. Ability to hold high professional standards and to work to corporate
procedures and processes.
Qualifications and/or experience:
- Educated to degree level, or equivalent qualification or extensive experience in refugee resettlement and migration or social care.
- Experience in coordinating and working with partners and volunteers in the resettlement context or in a similar field.
- Experience in providing detailed casework notes for individuals and families, managing own caseload and appropriate information / data recording.
- Knowledge of refugees and migration, communities, minority groups, partners and stakeholders, and safeguarding and wellbeing issues including racism, domestic abuse and sexual/child/workplace exploitation.
- Comfortable using a translation service to ensure effective communication with the families.
- Hold a full, valid driving licence
For more details please refer to the Job Description attached.
Rewards and Benefits
- From flexible working (where possible)
- Access to our Employee Assistance Programme, we are committed to providing a healthy work life balance.
- A laptop and mobile will be supplied if applicable to your role.
- You will benefit from a generous amount of annual leave, plus the opportunity to buy additional leave, an excellent local government pension scheme as well as a range of discounts giving our staff access to hundreds of offers.
For more information about the wide variety of benefits you can take advantage of please visit our Rewards and Benefits page.
Further Information
The reference number for this role is (CPP01389).
For an informal conversation for further information regarding the role; please contact HR Recruitment on [email protected]
How to Apply
Click apply below, upload your CV and cover letter. Your cover letter should:
- Please clearly state if you hold a current Driving Licence
- Outline your motivations for applying.
- Explain the skills and experience you can bring to the role (please refer to the key skills in the attached job description).
Internal candidates wishing to apply for this role will be considered for a secondment position. Please can you therefore discuss and agree this with your manager before applying for this position.
Please ensure you have saved the job description attached to the main advert on our website as, once the job has closed, you may not have the opportunity to download again.
We are committed to safeguarding and promoting the welfare of children, young people and vulnerable adults. This post is subject to right to work within the UK, enhanced Disclosure and Barring Service (DBS) check, satisfactory references, and a health check.
Equity, inclusion and accessibility is very important to West Sussex County Council. We welcome and encourage applications from everyone, as this helps us build a diverse and talented workforce, that reflects the communities we serve. We ensure our approach to recruitment is flexible and supportive to enable all applicants to be at their best and to ensure they have the best possible chance of success.
We operate a guaranteed interview scheme for applicants that have a disability, are a veteran or are a care leaver. More information can be found on our application help page.
Equity, inclusion and accessibility is very important to West Sussex County Council. We welcome and encourage applications from everyone, as this helps us build a diverse and talented workforce, that reflects the communities we serve. We ensure our approach to recruitment is flexible and supportive to enable all applicants to be at their best and to ensure they have the best possible chance of success.
We operate a guaranteed interview scheme for applicants that have a disability, are a veteran or are a care leaver. More information can be found on our application help page.
