Asylum Support Appeals Project (London) – Policy and Research Officer
Location: London/Hybrid
Salary: £42,539 p.a (including £4319 inner London weighting)
Hours: 35 hours per week
About ASAP
The Asylum Support Appeals Project (ASAP) is a small national charity which was set up in 2003 to reduce the destitution of people seeking asylum by protecting their legal rights to food and shelter. We have a team of 13 permanent staff members and around 35 volunteer solicitors and barristers. We are based in East London but have a hybrid working model which allows remote working alongside a minimum amount of weekly time (2 days) spent in the office.
ASAP delivers three strands of work
- We offer free, high-quality legal representation at the Asylum Support Tribunal (AST) to people appealing against Home Office decisions to refuse or withdraw their support.
- We provide asylum support advice and training to hundreds of frontline organisations, advice agencies and legal practitioners working with people seeking asylum each year. We operate an advice line and online forum: the Asylum Support Advice Network (ASAN) for over 1400 members.
- We use our strong evidence base to improve policies and procedures on asylum support through closely linked policy work and strategic litigation.
Alongside this, we run a women’s project to ensure we offer a gender sensitive service to destitute women seeking asylum. We train women’s organisations in asylum support law, and undertake policy work for women under asylum, currently focused on access to support for people experiencing domestic abuse.
ASAP is recognised as a Centre of Excellence by the London Legal Support Trust and is AQS accredited.
The role includes:
- Legal Advice – The post-holder will represent destitute people seeking asylum at the AST as well as offering advice to other advisers via ASAP’s second-tier Advice Line.
- Policy and Research – Working closely with colleagues, the post-holder will:
- Look for emerging trends emanating from ASAP’s legal work to support the development of external policy positions;
- Alongside colleagues in the policy team, undertake in-depth research based on this analysis;
- Assist the Policy and Research Manager to engage with the Home Office, the AST and other stakeholders to influence improvements to policy and practice.
- Monitoring: the post-holder is responsible for collating and analysing operational data from our appeals and Advice Line work. This is used to inform policy and operational decisions. They will also assist the Policy and Research Manager with the transition to a new database which we are in the process of acquiring.
You will:
- Have strong communication skills, with the ability to explain legal concepts clearly and confidently to a range of audiences.
- Be legally minded, with a strong interest in the law and how it can be used to challenge injustice and uphold rights.
- Have an aptitude for interpreting data and presenting information in an accessible way.
- Have a good understanding of the asylum support system — ideally gained through direct advice work or closely related experience.
- Be a collaborative team player who enjoys working closely with others in a small, supportive team.
You do not need to be legally qualified, but you do need enthusiasm for legal work and a commitment to using the law as a tool for positive change.
You’ll be joining a small, friendly and supportive organisation where colleagues work closely together and value learning, collaboration and mutual support.
Closing date for applications by: midnight on Sunday 5 th July
Face to face interviews will be held in London on Thursday 16 th July
#J-18808-Ljbffr…