Vacancies

The Sulha Alliance currently has two vacancies. Application deadline 15 January 2023.

Community Support Officer

Hours: 2 day per week (16 hours per week). Working two full days or working four half days a week.
Salary: up to £12,000 p.a. (Full time equivalent of £30k per year)
Location: This is a community embedded field based role, meaning that there will be a reasonable requirement to travel to external meetings and flexible job locations to fulfil the job role. On days where no travel is required for meetings or community support, you will be required to work from home.
Job Type: Fixed Term – 12 months with scope to extend

Job Purpose

This newly created post has been designed specifically in response to increased service demand arising from the UK settlement of Afghan interpreters and other locally employed civilians (LECs) who have worked under the command of British Armed Forces. The Community Support Officer will work with individual Afghan Interpreters and LECs, their families and other stakeholders as required.

The role is to provide a person-centred service to the Afghan interpreter and LEC community including assessment of needs and co-ordination of welfare support for beneficiaries and their families, connecting them with the support provided by our partners. Working collaboratively as part of our wider network, you will represent the Sulha Alliance among NGO and government services.

The position will also include the design and delivery of group programmes, promoting engagement opportunities and community activation.

The Community Support Officer will work to an ethos which nurtures beneficiary confidence to seek support from appropriate sources. Their task is also to understand the framework within which various support sources exist. The role will seek to empower the resettled Afghan interpreter community in the UK, promoting knowledge and engagement, purposeful participation, and independence.

Deliverables

The role forms part of the Sulha Alliance function which supports beneficiaries who have already resettled to the UK. Leadership and reporting will be provided through the Sulha Alliance Executive Team. This is a new role for our organisation, with significant scope for professional development within the sector.

The Sulha Alliance Executive team will give direction on projects and partnerships that need to be developed. The Community Support Officer will need to be comfortable working independently, have imagination to find solutions and be able to represent both the Afghan interpreter and LEC community and Sulha Alliance interests. The role will require you to take the initiative, to act in pursuit of the overall goals of the Sulha Alliance, sometimes without explicit direction from the Executive Team.

Tasks will include, but are not limited to:

Signposting community members to other service providers with specialist capabilities. You will need to fully understand what other charities or government services can and cannot provide and ensure that members of the community are correctly signposted to these.
Relationship building with our charity and government partners to better integrate our community within their services.
Representing the Sulha Alliance at meetings with partners or with new connections in order to develop new partnerships.
Assess recipients from our community who could qualify for Sulha Alliance emergency hardship funding support.
Communicate with the Sulha Alliance Executive team so you can understand the Afghan Resettlement and Assistance Policy (ARAP), and wider political context, in order to advise the community of the challenges around ARAP or family resettlement applications.
Communicate with community leaders to share information from the Sulha Alliance Executive team with the community and to compile information and updates from the community leaders to inform Sulha Alliance decision making.
Organise events with members of the community to build community resilience and identity.
Informing the Sulha Alliance Executive Team what information should be made available on the website.
Run information campaigns for the community to celebrate the successes of the Sulha Alliance.
Promote the employment of Afghan Interpreters by supporting the Executive Team with communicating the benefits and unique requirements of Afghan Interpreters to potential employers.
Collect data on the needs of the community through various means, such as questionnaires.
Support events promoting community integration in the UK such as trips to museums.
Help find members of the community who would be prepared to conduct media interviews and build relationships with the journalists who support the Sulha Alliance.
Understanding community dynamics and reporting back to Sulha Alliance Executive team

Essential Knowledge, Skills & Experience

Experience with Afghan resettlement in the UK.
Proven track record of effective operational delivery: the ability to understand and respond to complex questions from the community; and an efficient operational mindset.
Experience in communicating on behalf of an organisation and engaging with partners.
Competent in the use of computers, email, Office 365 and Teams/Zoom, Google and social media administration.
Be an effective decision-maker employing good reasoning and judgement skills, capable of taking independent action whilst undertaking duties remotely. Reporting back to line manager and others as required.
Be confident and competent presenting information to an audience
Have the ability to work effectively as part of a dispersed team.
Have affinity with the Sulha Alliance mission

Desirable Knowledge, Skills & Experience

Fluency in Pashto and/or Dari.
Experience with organising events
Experience in the facilitation and delivery of community-based services.
Experience of facilitating community involvement in community programmes.

Screening

The client group for this role are resettled Afghan interpreters and their families. Given the potential needs of the client group and that certain requirements of the role fall within regulated activities, such as advising or guiding vulnerable adults, this position is subject to an enhanced DBS check.

Application procedure

Please send your CV and cover letter to info@sulha-alliance.org by the 15th of January 2023. Please explain in your cover letter how your lived experience and/or professional and educational background is relevant for the tasks and skills required for the position.

Note

We recognise imposter syndrome is real - any candidate that does not perfectly fit every characteristic of this role is still strongly encouraged to apply.

Who are we

The Sulha Alliance CIO has worked with and for Afghan interpreters and other Locally Engaged Civilians (LECs) for years, both campaigning for their protection through resettlement to the UK from Afghanistan and supporting them building their lives in the UK. For more information, see www.sulha-alliance.org

Charity Foundation Officer

Hours: 2 day per week (16 hours per week). Working two full days or working four half days a week.
Salary: up to £12,000 p.a. (Full time equivalent of £30k per year)
Location: This is a remote position and your normal place of work will be your home, although we may require you to visit and work at other locations for external meetings and/or to fulfil the job role.
Job Type: Fixed Term – 12 months with scope to extend

Job Purpose

This newly created post has been designed specifically in response to increased service demand arising from the UK settlement of Afghan interpreters and other locally employed civilians (LECs) who have worked under the command of the British Armed Forces. The Charity Foundation Officer will work with the Sulha Alliance Executive Team to formalise the Charity and set the conditions for expansion and growth.

The role is to professionalise the administrative foundation of the Charity and to support the Executive Team conducting the functions that are currently undertaken by them on a voluntary basis such as campaigning, media engagement, engagement with partners and coordination of voluntary and paid representatives of the community. You will represent the Sulha Alliance among the NGOs and government services.

The position will support the Executive Team in financial administration and governance of the charity, including supporting fundraising efforts.

The Charity Foundation Officer will work to an ethos of creating organisational excellence and creating a firm foundation for the charity to take on more funding in order to grow. The role will seek to build the charity and establish the charity as a professional organisation.

Deliverables

The role forms part of the Sulha Alliance ‘Charitable Incorporated Organisation’ (CIO) function. Leadership and reporting will be provided through the Sulha Alliance Executive Team. This is a new role for our organisation, with significant scope for professional development within the sector.

The Sulha Alliance Executive team will give direction on projects and partnerships that need to be developed. The Charity Foundation Officer will need to be comfortable working independently, have imagination to find solutions and be able to understand and represent both the UK based Afghan Interpreter community and Sulha Alliance interests. The role will require you to take the initiative, to act in pursuit of the overall goals of the Sulha Alliance, sometimes without explicit direction from the Executive Team.

Tasks will include, but are not limited to:

Support the Executive Team to shape our charitable objectives and review how these are being delivered.
Support in the management of data and the professionalisation of our data security protocols.
Maintain relationships with Op New Hope Partners (MOD, H4H, RFEA, RBL)
Support fundraising efforts
Update the website periodically
Support the administration around meetings and deliverables with partners.
Support the Community Liaison Officer with integrating efforts between HMG service delivery and charitable support available to the beneficiary community.
Oversee the administration around the delivery of grants from the emergency hardship fund to our beneficiary community.
Assess offers of employment for the beneficiary community and work with Community Liaison Officer to promote these opportunities to the community.

Essential Knowledge, Skills & Experience

Proven track record in effective operational delivery and an efficient operational mindset
Prior experience working for a charitable organisation (min 2 years)
Proven experience of creating new administrative support structures and policies.
Experience of data management and filing.
Competent in the use of computers, email, Office 365 and Teams/Zoom, Google Suite and basic website and social media administration.
Proven track record with supporting meetings, incl. taking minutes and following up on agreed action points.
Ability to communicate effectively (empathise) with marginalised communities
Ability to liaise with beneficiaries and a wide range of internal and external contacts and cross- sector organisations to increase opportunities and positive outcomes for beneficiaries.
Be an effective decision maker, employing good reasoning and judgement skills, capable of taking independent action when undertaking duties remotely from others and reporting back to line manager and others as required.
Have the ability to work effectively as part of a dispersed team.
Have an affinity with the Sulha Alliance ethos

Desirable Knowledge, Skills & Experience

Experience with fundraising
Experience handling accounts, bank accounts and/or petty cash.
Experience with the Afghan or other refugee or migrant communities
Experience with supporting social media communications
Experience in the facilitation and delivery of community-based services.
Experience of facilitating beneficiary involvement in community programmes.

Screening

Application procedure

Note

We recognise imposter syndrome is real - any candidate that does not perfectly fit every characteristic of this role is still strongly encouraged to apply.

Who are we