Elephant research assistant jobs

Responsibilities

Executive Assistant to the CEO

• Manage the CEO’s diary, travel arrangements, and general administration (supporting the wider team where needed).

• Manage the CEO’s inbox and LinkedIn messages: triage, prioritise, and draft responses on their behalf where appropriate.

• Support the CEO in engaging with key stakeholders, including funders, trustees, and partners.

• Prepare communications on behalf of the CEO, including blog posts, social media content, and internal updates.

• Identify speaking events and provide briefings for events

• Represent the CEO in meetings, where agreed, and ensure follow-up actions are captured and completed.

• Manage and support cross-organisational projects with multiple stakeholders.
  Provide occasional administrative support to the wider team during peak periods.

Board & Governance Support

• Manage Board of Trustees engagement and communications.
  Coordinate Board meetings, including preparing agendas, collating and distributing Board papers, and taking minutes.

• Support governance procedures and ensure records are maintained in line with compliance requirements.

Office Management & Team Support

• Oversee smooth running of the London office, including supplies, facilities, mail,  and liaising with suppliers.

• Support the Head of People and Culture with HR administration, recruitment coordination, and onboarding.

• Organise and coordinate team events and activities, including away days.

• Help maintain key organisational systems, processes, and documentation.

What we’re looking for

We know not everyone will meet every requirement, but we’re looking for someone who can bring most of the following:

• Proven experience in an EA, PA, or senior admin role, ideally supporting a CEO or senior leadership team.

• Strong organisational skills and the ability to manage multiple priorities in a fast-paced environment.

• Excellent written and verbal communication skills, with the ability to adapt tone and style for different audiences.
  Confident building relationships at all levels, from team members to trustees, funders, and partners.

• Discretion and sensitivity when dealing with confidential information.
  Proactive problem solver who can anticipate needs and take initiative.

• Comfortable influencing and coordinating colleagues to deliver on shared goals.

• Strong digital skills, including using Google Workspace, and online collaboration tools such as Monday, Salesforce and Slack.

Person Specification 

Essential skills and experience

• Proven experience in an EA, PA, or senior administrative role, ideally supporting a CEO, Director, or senior leadership team.

• Excellent organisational skills, with the ability to prioritise competing demands and manage multiple projects at once.

• Strong written and verbal communication skills, with the ability to draft clear, professional correspondence and adapt style for different audiences.

• Confident relationship-builder, able to engage effectively with colleagues at all levels, trustees, funders, and external partners.

• High level of discretion and integrity when handling confidential information.

• Proactive problem-solver, able to anticipate needs, spot issues, and take initiative.

• Comfortable coordinating colleagues and holding others accountable to deadlines.
  Strong digital skills, including Google Workspace (Docs, Sheets, Slides), and familiarity with collaboration tools such as Slack, Monday, and Salesforce (or similar CRM).
   

Desirable skills and experience

• Experience supporting a Board of Trustees or similar governance body, including preparing papers and taking minutes.

• Experience working in a charity, social enterprise, or purpose-led organisation.

• Understanding of governance and compliance requirements.

• Event coordination experience (e.g. team away days, workshops, or external events).

• Experience creating or improving processes, systems, and documentation.
   

Personal attributes

• Highly organised and detail-oriented, with a calm and professional approach.

• Flexible and adaptable, able to manage shifting priorities with ease.

• Collaborative and team-oriented, willing to “roll up your sleeves” when needed.

• Confident, approachable, and comfortable working with senior stakeholders.

• Motivated by Hatch’s mission to create a fairer society by supporting underrepresented founders.

Job Title: Senior Programme Officer, Active Fellows

Line Manager: Team Leader, Active Fellows (Deputy Fellowship Programme Manager in Team Leader’s absence)

Salary: £36,062

Start date: 1 November 2025

Contract type: Permanent

Application deadline: 16 October 2025. Please note we will be reviewing applications on a rolling basis

Benefits:

• Challenging and rewarding work, always life-changing, sometimes lifesaving

• Competitive salary

• Team and individual training opportunities

• Commitment to performance and personal development

• Hybrid working, home and office (minimum 2 days each week in the office)

• Eight hours each day Monday – Friday, with flexible working by arrangement around core hours of 10am – 4pm

• 25 days plus Bank Holidays annual leave entitlement

• 8% employer pension contribution

• Convenient office location at Elephant and Castle, close to Tube (Bakerloo and Northern lines) and bus routes

Role Purpose Statement

The Senior Officer, Active Fellows plays a key role in delivering high-quality support to Cara Fellows. This includes leading casework, coordinating Cara’s mentoring scheme to support Fellows’ placements, and contributing to strategic improvements across the Fellowship Programme. The role combines direct support to Fellows, operational oversight and delivery of casework, and collaborative leadership to support Cara to uphold its mission.

Organisational Background

The Council for At-Risk Academics is a UK-registered charity founded in 1933 under the leadership of William Beveridge, to rescue academics suffering persecution under the rise of Nazism and facilitate their continued work in safety. Sixteen Cara Fellows from the 1930s and 1940s became Nobel Laureates, and many more innovators in their fields, including, Nikolaus Pevsner, Lise Meitner and Karl Popper. A number of Cara’s founders and Council members also personally provided places and/or funds to help individual academics; and Cara, known in the 1930s as the AAC, later the SPSL, was closely involved in the successful effort in 1933 to bring to London the Warburg Institute art library, which had been prohibited by the Nazis, and six of its staff. The Fellowship Programme is the continuation of the rescue mission operation started in 1933.

Cara has been a lifeline to academics at risk for over 90 years, as and when world events have placed them in the line of fire: Hungarian Uprising, Cold War, Apartheid South Africa, Iran, Latin American Juntas, Vietnam, Kosovo, DRC, Rwanda, Sudan, Zimbabwe etc. and, more recently Iraq, Turkey, Yemen, Palestine, Syria, Afghanistan and Ukraine. Cara support is typically framed as temporary sanctuary offered at times of heightened risk.

Cara Objectives ‘To assist academics who have been, or are, or are at risk of being, subject to discrimination, persecution, suffering or violence on account of race, religion, nationality, membership of a particular social group, or political opinion, to relieve needs among them and their dependants and ensure that their specialist knowledge and abilities can continue to be used for the benefit of the public.’

‘To advance education by supporting academics and their educational institutions in countries where their continuing work is at risk or compromised, to ensure that such academics and institutions can continue to fulfil their critical role as educators for the public benefit.’

This is a critical time to join our dedicated and friendly Fellowship Programme team as we expand our capacity to support at-risk academics from the Middle East, Sudan, Myanmar, Afghanistan, Ukraine and Russia and many other countries.

Key Responsibilities

Fellowships

Casework

· Manage a caseload of up to 50 Cara Fellows, providing tailored support.

· Maintain accurate and GDPR-compliant records of casework activity.

· Liaise with Fellows to coordinate support and escalate complex cases to the Team Leader as required.

· Monitor, research and update visa guidance to reflect changes in complex immigration regulation.

· Keep up to date with relevant information regarding immigration laws, e.g. visas, legal procedures, etc.

· Liaise with independent legal advisors where necessary.

Finance

· Work with colleagues in finance to ensure accurate and timely payments to Cara Fellows and non-Fellowship related payments.

· Promptly issue relevant invoices.

· Understand financial processes – on Salesforce and Pleo – and update systems appropriately.

· Contribute to robust financial processes.

Support Mechanisms

Mentoring Scheme

· Project Lead for the Cara Mentoring Scheme.

· Coordinate rounds, delegate tasks to the team as required, and oversee delivery.

· Recruit mentors and mentees, and decide on a cap on number of participants if required.

· Lead on partnerships with organisations working in the mentoring world.

· Monitor the relevant budget and flag issues to the Team Leader.

· Lead on monitoring and evaluation (M&E) for the Scheme, suggesting improvements to this, and ensuring accurate data collection and reporting.

Webinars and Workshops

· Lead on developing ideas for webinar topics relevant to the needs of Cara Fellows.

· Organise these webinars, contacting speakers and attendees, all with the close support of the Programme Assistant.

· Monitor and evaluate the success of these events, through clear feedback mechanisms.

· Aim to deliver approximately three webinars per year, subject to team capacity.

· Lead on the delivery of workshops for Cara Fellows with external partners, managing Fellow participation.

· Contribute to the development of accessible resources to share openly within the Cara network.

Strategic Development

Alumni Engagement and Impact Reporting

· Play a key supporting role to the Team Leader in improving Cara’s alumni engagement.

· Contribute to developing Cara’s alumni network, with involvement in strategic discussions on interacting with alumni.

· Keep track of Cara Fellows’ media preferences and support the Team Leader in inviting relevant Fellows to participate in public events and media engagements.

Monitoring and Evaluation

· Support M&E activities across the Fellowship Programme, suggesting improvements to data quality and reporting.

· Ensure accurate data entry on Salesforce and flag inconsistencies to relevant team members.

· Assist with compilation of required information, statistics and reporting to Cara’s Council & F&GPC meetings.

Management Responsibilities

Deputise for Team Leader

· Cover for the Team Leader when required – lead team meetings, make decisions on cases for the team, provide general guidance and leadership.

· Assist the Team Leader with line management within the team, mentoring junior staff and contributing to continued team development.

· Approve the Active Fellows team’s working hours.

· Provide input on policy and process improvements.

· Show adaptability and willingness to take on additional work when needed.

Training/Inductions

· Play a leading role on inducting new staff to the Active Fellows and wider Cara team.

· Train new staff on key processes and offer continued guidance on difficult/complex cases and tasks.

Partnerships

· Support key strategic partnerships in Cara’s Universities and Research Network.

· Support the Team Leader in organising webinars and events for Cara’s network representatives at host institutions across the UK.

Ad Hoc Responsibilities

· Show adaptability and willingness to take on additional work when necessary.

· Support Fellowship Programme with ad hoc responsibilities.

Responsibilities also include related activities that might arise in relation to the Fellowship Programme as required by the Chief Executive and Deputy Chief Executive & Fellowship Programme Manager, Deputy Fellowship Programme Manager, or Team Leader, Active Fellows.

Person Specification – Senior Programme Officer, Active Fellows:

Qualifications

Essential:

• Bachelor’s degree or equivalent
• Strong analytical and numeracy skills

Desirable:

• Master’s degree or equivalent

Knowledge & Experience

Essential:

• Understanding of UK immigration options for displaced academics
• Experience managing sensitive casework and maintaining accurate records
• Experience coordinating projects, events, or support schemes
• Familiarity with basic financial processes (e.g. payments, budget tracking)
• Confident use of Microsoft Office and Salesforce or other CRM systems

Desirable:

• Awareness of global issues affecting at-risk academics
• Experience coordinating mentoring programmes or similar initiatives

Skills & Attributes

Essential:

• Cultural sensitivity and commitment to Cara’s mission
• Ability to supervise and mentor junior staff
• Excellent communication and interpersonal skills
• Strong attention to detail and time management
• Ability to work independently and collaboratively
• Adaptability, integrity, and problem-solving ability

Desirable:

• Foreign language skills (e.g. Arabic, Farsi/Dari, Pashto, Ukrainian, Russian)