Initial response officer assistant jobs

Job title: Programme Assistant, Enquiries 

Line manager: Team Leader, Enquiries (Senior Officer, Enquiries, in Team Leader’s absence) 

Salary: £30,000 

Type of contract: Permanent 

Start date:  Late October 2026 or shortly thereafter 

Benefits: 

• Challenging and rewarding work, always life-changing, sometimes lifesaving 
• Competitive salary 
• Team and individual training opportunities, including dedicated training budget and team lunch and learn activities monthly 
• Commitment to personal development, including opportunities to develop skills and experience to support wider Cara strategy participating in working groups, contribute to office improvement initiatives 
• Hybrid working, home and office (minimum 2 days each week in the London office) 
• Eight hours each day Monday – Friday, with flexible working by arrangement around core hours of 10am – 4pm 
• 25 days annual leave entitlement plus Bank Holidays and two weeks Christmas and New Year office closure
• 8% employer pension contribution 
• Wellbeing support, access to counselling when required, Mental Health First aid and supportive small team environment
• Convenient office location at Elephant and Castle, close to Tube (Bakerloo and Northern lines) and bus routes 

Role purpose statement:  The Programme Assistant, Enquiries, plays a vital administrative role in the Fellowship Programme working directly with academics facing immediate risk in their home countries. The role exists to provide effective and efficient administration, completing due diligence tasks and onward signposting to prospective applicants. Duties include managing an individual caseload of applicants, assisting prospective applicants and administrative support for general enquiries, the Enquiries team as well as support across the Fellowship Programme when needed. 

Organisational Background 

The Council for At-Risk Academics is a UK-registered charity founded in 1933 under the leadership of William Beveridge, to assist 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. 

Cara has been a lifeline to academics at risk for over 90 years enabling them to continue their teaching and research in safety, 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.

Today, our Fellowship Programme convenes a network of 135 UK universities in the UK to secure research placements for at-risk academics and support for their families, continuing a longstanding commitment of protecting academics and preserving their knowledge and expertise.

Cara Objectives‘To assist academics who have been, 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.’ 

Role & Responsibilities 

Casework 

• Signposting prospective applicants to the application form. 

• Manage own caseload, preparing cases for eligibility review, including arranging calls to speak with applicants, booking English language tests, and gathering all relevant documentation. 

• Escalating complex cases to the Team Leader as required. 

• Maintain accurate and GDPR-Compliant records of casework activity. 

• Researching international affairs to develop understanding about risks applicants face. 

• Attending weekly case review meetings with the team. 

Administration 

• Provide general administrative and logistical support, including answering phone enquiries. 

• Manage the general enquiries inbox, alongside another colleague, answering emails about the enquiries’ process, the Fellowship Programme and Cara. 

• Signpost enquiries to relevant colleagues internally and to other organisations where applicable. 

• Assist with compilation of reports to funders. 

• Present and collect data on general enquiries and applications to the Programme. 

• Ensure safekeeping of confidential information. 

• Maintain excellent detailed records of correspondence, documents, and activities. 

• Provide administrative support to colleagues on projects across the organisation as required. 

Managerial Support 

• Take part and contribute to Cara wide working groups across a range of research and strategy topics, including contributing to efficiency improvements.

• Provide advice and guidance to colleagues where applicable. 

Ad Hoc Responsibilities 

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

• Support the Fellowship Programme and Cara as a whole with ad hoc responsibilities. 

Responsibilities also include related activities that might arise in relation to the Fellowship Programme and Cara's other programmes as required by the Chief Executive and Deputy Chief Executive & Fellowship Programme Manager, and other senior colleagues. 

Person Specification 

Essential: 

• Bachelor’s degree 

• Fluent English (spoken and written) 

• Proactive with a willingness to learn and contribute to a growing organisation 

• Confident and empathetic with strong interpersonal and communication skills 

• Ability to remain adaptable and work under pressure in a fast-paced environment 

• Keen team player who is ready to support and help colleagues 

• Excellent record keeping and attention to detail 

• Ability to work independently in a hybrid work setting 

• Good time management with ability to manage competing priorities and work to deadlines 

• Understanding of issues of confidentiality 

• Ability to handle difficult conversations with sensitivity and resilience 

• Interest in and commitment to the work of Cara 

• Confident using Microsoft package 

• Awareness of current global issues 

Desirable 

• Master’s or equivalent experience 

• Casework experience 

• Arabic language skills are desirable. Other foreign languages (such as Farsi/Dari, Pashto, Ukrainian and Russian) will also be considered 

• Salesforce/CRM software experience 

• Lived experience or experience in supporting people who’ve gone through forced migration or other forms of severe adversity 

Applicants must have the right to work in the UK and be willing to undergo a Disclosure and Barring Service (DBS) check if offered this position. 

Shortlisted candidates will be invited to an initial online interview on the week starting 21st September and if successful, will be required to attend an in-person interview at our office in London on the week starting 28th September. If you require any reasonable adjustments at any stage of the process, please mention this as part of your application. 

Our staff team is a small (approx. 20 staff), committed and dedicated team, who works with our organisational values of Community & Collaboration, Trust & Integrity and Resilience through Knowledge & learning, we welcome applications from those with diverse identities and you will find a warm and welcoming team, committed to the highest standards as we seek to support those at risk around the world.

Application Instructions 

Please send a CV along with a cover letter in response to the screening questions below. Applications that do not follow this guidance will not be considered. 

At Cara, we do not utilise AI tools at any stage during the recruitment process, and all applications we receive are reviewed by at least two members of our team. 

We recognise that whilst artificial intelligence can be a useful tool in preparing a job application, all examples and statements provided must be truthful, factually accurate and taken directly from your own experience. Where plagiarism has been identified (presenting the ideas and experiences of others, or generated by artificial intelligence, as your own) applications may be withdrawn and internal candidates may be subject to disciplinary action. 

Applicants may find AI useful for: 

• Refining and clarifying ideas and thoughts in your application 

• Researching publicly available information about Cara 

• Checking spelling, grammar and clarity of your answers 

However, we ask you to refrain from using AI for: 

• Generating responses to application questions and copying these into your application 

• Inventing or exaggerating your skills and experiences 

• Using live AI during interviews to answer questions 

We tend to find that applications that rely too heavily on AI-generated responses are not as competitive, and at Cara we value answers informed by personal experiences. We may also reject applications where AI has been used inappropriately. 

Please respond to the following questions in your cover letter (max. 2 pages).

1. What interests you about Cara and the work of supporting at-risk academics, and how do your experience and skills relate to this role? (max 500 words)
2. Describe a specific situation in which you had to manage competing priorities? How did you approach the situation? (max 250 words)
3. Tell us about a time when you had to deal with a person who was in a vulnerable situation. How did you handle this and what did you learn from this experience? (max 250 words)

We reserve the right to close applications for this role early if we receive a high number of applications.

We are looking for an HR Officer to join us on a 14-month maternity cover contract as part of our People & Culture function. Key responsibilities are the smooth running of Share’s recruitment and payroll functions, as well as providing basic advice to line managers and staff.

Share is a registered charity and a centre for training and wellbeing. We provide a range of programmes empowering adults with a learning disability, autistic adults, and adults with other support needs to live happier, healthier, and more independent lives. Our vision is a world where disabled people are fully included in society, living the life they choose, and we need talented people to help us make that happen.

Your work will help ensure Share attracts, supports and develops talented staff who are committed to empowering disabled adults. You'll play an important role in delivering excellent HR support, enabling our teams to provide high-quality services for our students. 

Main responsibilities 

• You’ll provide HR support to formal employee relations processes including disciplinary, grievance, capability and sickness absence management processes 

• You’ll lead recruitment for new staff including; advertising roles, arranging interviews and conducting pre-employment checks 

• You'll onboard all new starters, ensuring comprehensive inductions and relevant training 

• You’ll deliver staff social events in line with agreed budgets and support the provision and promotion of Share’s staff benefits 

• You’ll ensure collation of monthly payroll submissions, including hours worked, contract changes and new starters 

• You’ll support the scheduling of flexible staff and the assignment of bank workers and source cover for unexpected absences 

Who we’re looking for 

• You'll have experience in HR, ideally with a CIPD level 3 qualification or equivalent

• You’ll have experience working in a mid-sized charity or education sector

• Most importantly, you share our strong commitment to the inclusion of disabled people in society, you believe in equality for all 

Why work for us? 

Share is committed to empowering disabled adults. You’ll make a difference every day, helping people to live as independently as possible. 

Our values drive us forward. They provide the framework for everything we do, including who we hire. We believe everyone has somethingto offer others, and we build on people'sindividual talents, interests and abilities. We think happy employees are successful employees. 

We hold a goldInvestors in Peopleaccreditation, which means we truly understand the value of people: we focus on what people can do, not what holds them back. And we have robust policies in place so that every single person working at Share takes ownership for making our programmes come to life. 

We’ve been praised for our supportive working environment where everyone has a voice and is valued. You’ll be surrounded by people who support you, challenge you, and inspire you. 

How to apply 

We positively welcome applications from all parts of the community and from people with diverse cultural backgrounds and lived experience. 

Please apply through our website or send us your CV and cover letter answering the following questions: 

1. Please can you tell us what attracted you to this post? What qualities do you believe youpossesswhich will make you successful in this role and why? 

2. What does successful recruitment mean to you, what factors influence the success of a recruitment process, and why? 

3. Share is a fast-paced environment which will often require you to reprioritise your workload. Tell us about your approach to managing your workload, and how you would adapt this to an environment like Share? 

If you would like to have a chat about the role or visit us prior to applying, please contact us.

We focus on ability and believe people work best when they feel valued, safe and happy. We do all that we can to make sure that Share is friendly and welcoming to everyone. All CVs and applications are sanitised to ensure unbiased recruitment. 

This job is subject to two satisfactory references, evidence of qualifications, an enhanced DBS check and providing evidence of the right to work in the UK. If you are disabled and would like to discuss other ways of submitting your application, please call us. 

Our privacy policy for job applicants can be found on our website.

We look forward to receiving your application.