Programme assistant jobs in Charing cross, greater london
Forest Peoples Programme is seeking two Programme Assistants to provide vital administrative, logistical, and project support, helping Indigenous Peoples and forest communities secure their rights and protect their forests.
About Forest Peoples Programme
Forest Peoples Programme (FPP) is an international NGO that has been working with Indigenous Peoples and forest peoples for 35 years since it was established in 1990. As of 2026, we work in 18 countries across South and Central America, Africa and Southeast Asia, with over 50 partners based in the tropical forest belt. We work directly and in solidarity with communities and peoples, supporting them to secure their rights to their traditional lands, territories, and resources, protect their forests and ways of life, and choose their own futures.
Working at local, national and global levels FPP supports Indigenous Peoples and forest peoples to effect change from the bottom up – grounded in struggles to advance the enjoyment of their rights and seek remedy for violations. At the same time, we work to ensure the voices and priorities of Indigenous Peoples and forest peoples shape national and international law and policy – e.g. relating to business and human rights, climate, and biodiversity – so that resulting regulatory and market reform better serves and respects their rights.
Role summary
The work of Forest Peoples Programme (FPP) is organised via three core programmes, each of which is led by a Programme Coordinator. The Programme Assistant position provides a broad support function for the Programme Coordinator, principally in relation to administrative and logistical support, as well as supporting programme and project monitoring and management (including some financial management). Programme Assistants need to be able to work at pace on multiple different tasks concurrently; to be proactive and take initiative under broad direction; to be able to work directly and respectfully with Indigenous Peoples and forest peoples and their organisations; and to be able to write well, taking notes and distilling information in English (and ideally also in a second relevant language).
Responsibilities
- Contribute to development and tracking of the Programme’s work, including key dates, deliverables and actions, and help maintain internal knowledge management systems and channels.
- Support Programme and sub-programme team meetings, including organising meetings, drafting agendas, taking minutes, and monitoring and following up on action points.
- Support the Programme Coordinator and other programme colleagues in communications with grant partners, donors and other parties, including liaising with partners and programme colleagues to prepare Partnership Agreements, Letters of Agreement, and consultancy contracts (from templates).
- Work with the Programme Coordinator and the finance team to track expenditure across relevant programme budgets, monitor progress (including spend) on key projects within the programmes, track key donor reporting deadlines and help compile and submit narrative and financial reports to donors.
- Support fundraising, including compiling and checking grant applications.
- Support finalisation of publications and communications.
- Assist in planning, preparation and organising of events, workshops or meetings, working closely with FPP’s admin/logistics and finance teams, and supporting the attendance and participation of partners and staff at other national and international events. Accompanying programme colleagues on international trips and meetings to lend a hand where needed.
- Provide (where able) or facilitate access to, remote (and potentially also in-country, as needed) capacity building support to local partners in relation to project management, finance, planning, reporting, computer/IT skills, communication and procedures, monitoring and evaluation etc.
- Act as a port of call for programme staff seeking programme or project information or information about wider organisational policies and processes.
- Support the tracking of impacts against an established Monitoring, Evaluation, Accountability and Learning (MEAL) framework, working with programme colleagues to assemble and systematise information.
- Participate in FPP meetings and staff sharings (online or in person) and attend FPP’s Annual General Meeting.
- Other tasks incidental to these or otherwise as agreed with the line-manager.
Person specification
Essential experience
- Experience of working in the not-for-profit sector, ideally with an international focus
- Experience with project administration and logistics work, supporting fundraising and donor reporting, and supporting meetings and events.
- Experience of supporting financial management of grants and projects, including drafting and monitoring large and complex budgets.
Desirable experience
- Experience of working in FPP’s niche (or related), including with Indigenous Peoples, forest peoples, and global south organisations and/or networks
- Experience of working in the geographical regions were FPP works
- Experience of remote working, particularly with people from different cultures
- University degree in a subject relevant to the work of FPP
Essential skills and qualities
- Highly proficient in written and spoken English
- Ability to work effectively, sensitively and proactively as part of a multi-cultural, dispersed team of FPP staff and partners to achieve shared objectives.
- Excellent communication skills and ability to build healthy working relationships both internally with colleagues and externally (including with partners from global south, remotely and in person)
- Proven organisational and time management skills with the ability to work under pressure and to multiple deadlines, and the flexibility and agility to respond to multiple and evolving priorities and timelines
- Alignment with the vision, mission and core principles of FPP’s work
- Excellent writing skills, including the ability to synthesise information from various sources and express it concisely
- Availability to travel overseas for 1-2 weeks at a time (likely no more than 2-3 times per year, if at all)
- Strong skills in Microsoft applications, including in particular Word and Excel
Desirable skills and qualities
- Fluent or highly proficient (professional working level) in one or more of the following languages: French, Spanish and/or Bahasa Indonesia
- Understanding of human rights and Indigenous Peoples
- Working knowledge of the themes relevant to FPP work, e.g. environment governance, responsible finance, and gender justice.
We encourage candidates to apply who do not strictly meet all the criteria listed above and yet are confident in their transferable skills. We value individuals who demonstrate commitment to FPP’s vision, mission and core principles, motivation to learn, and the potential to thrive in the role. When reviewing the specified essential and desirable qualities, remember that relevant experience can be demonstrated through academic studies, work experience (paid or voluntary), lived experience, skills, and achievements from any area of your life that relates to this role.
FPP is unable to sponsor visa applications for this role.
To apply for this post, please submit a CV and covering letter via the CharityJob website. As an equal opportunities employer we ask that applicants do not include a photograph in their application.
Deadline for applications: 8th March 2026, at 17.00 GMT
Estimated interview dates: During the week commencing 16th March 2026
For the covering letter (max 2 pages), interested applicants are advised to carefully study the job description and reflect on how your work and experience reflects the experience and competences we are looking for and would enable you to successfully fulfil the specified role responsibilities.
FPP is unable to sponsor visa applications for this role.
The client requests no contact from agencies or media sales.
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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: 16th February 2026 or shortly thereafter
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 Programme Assistant, Enquiries plays a vital role in the Fellowship Programme working directly with academics facing immediate risk in their home countries to carry out due diligence or signposting. This includes managing an individual caseload, dealing with prospective applications and general enquiries, providing administrative support to 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 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, Russia and many other countries.
Role & Responsibilities
Casework
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Signposting prospective applicants to the application form.
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Manage own caseload, preparing cases for eligibility review, including arranging calls to speak with applicants, booking English language tests, and gathering all relevant documentation.
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Escalating complex cases to the Team Leader as required.
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Maintain accurate and GDPR-Compliant records of casework activity.
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Researching international affairs to develop understanding about risks applicants face.
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Researching potential hosts for academic placements and liaising with external stakeholders in relation to applicants.
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Attend weekly case review meetings with the team.
Administration
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Provide general administrative and logistical support, including answering phone enquiries.
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Manage the general enquiries inbox, alongside another colleague, answering emails about the enquiries’ process, the Fellowship Programme and Cara.
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Signpost enquiries to relevant colleagues internally and to other organisations where applicable.
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Contribute to report writing.
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Present and collect data on general enquiries and applications to the Programme.
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Ensure safekeeping of confidential information.
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Maintain excellent detailed records of correspondence, documents, and activities.
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Provide administrative support to colleagues on projects as required.
Managerial Support
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Contributing to Fellowship Programme policy changes and decision-making.
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Provide advice and guidance to colleagues.
Ad Hoc Responsibilities
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Show adaptability and willingness to take on additional work when necessary.
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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 as required by the Chief Executive and Deputy Chief Executive & Fellowship Programme Manager, and other senior colleagues.
Person Specification
Essential:
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Bachelor’s degree
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Fluent English (spoken and written)
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Proactive with a willingness to learn
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Confident and empathetic with strong interpersonal and communication skills
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Ability to work under pressure in a fast-paced environment
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Keen team player who is ready to support and help colleagues
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Excellent record keeping and attention to detail
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Ability to work independently and in a team
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Good time management with ability to prioritise and independently work to deadlines
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Understanding of issues of confidentiality
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Interest in and commitment to the work of Cara
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Confident use of Microsoft package
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Awareness of current global issues
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Ability to handle difficult conversations with sensitivity and resilience
Desirable
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Master’s or equivalent experience
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Casework experience
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Arabic language skills are desirable. Other foreign languages (such as Farsi/Dari, Pashto, Ukrainian and Russian) will also be considered
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Salesforce/CRM software experience
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Experience in a supporting role with people with lived experience of forced migration or other forms of severe adversity
Please send a CV and cover note in response to the four screening questions. Applications that do not follow this guidance will not be considered.
Please respond to the following questions in your cover letter.
1. What draws you to Cara and the work of supporting at-risk academics, and how does your experience and skills relate to this role? (max 500 words)
2. Tell us about a time where you had to balance multiple urgent tasks. (max 300 words)
3. Tell us about a time when you worked with sensitive personal data. (max 300 words)
4. Name 3 things you think it would be important to consider when working with people who've experienced war or displacement like those who apply for Cara support. (max 300 words)
Registered Charity
11 - 20
Cara provides help to academics in immediate danger, those forced into exile, and those who remain and work in their home countries despite the risks.
The client requests no contact from agencies or media sales.