Client Voice Officer (Limited term 6 months)

BACKGROUND 
Over the past 90 years, the International Rescue Committee (IRC) has developed unparalleled expertise in responding to emergencies and helping uprooted communities to rebuild. Founded in 1933 at the request of Albert Einstein, the IRC offers lifesaving care and life-changing assistance to refugees forced to flee from war or disaster. The IRC is on the ground in more than 40 countries, providing emergency relief, relocating refugees and rebuilding lives in the wake of disaster. 

The IRC is committed to a culture of bold leadership, innovation in all aspects of our work, creative partnerships and, most crucially, accountability to those we serve. The IRC is a tireless advocate for the most vulnerable. 

IRC UK 
IRC UK is part of the IRC global network, which has its global headquarters in New York. Our team in the UK works to raise profile, deliver policy and practice change, and increase funding to help restore health, safety, education, economic wellbeing and power to people devastated by conflict and disaster. The IRC UK has been delivering Resettlement Asylum and Integration (RAI) programmes in the UK since 2021, working in partnership with local councils, providing integration support to resettled refugees across England.

In Europe, the IRC also has offices in Berlin, Bonn, Brussels, Geneva and Stockholm.  

The Purpose of the Role

The Client Voice Officer will support RAI UK’s client engagement and participation agenda, ensuring that refugees and people seeking asylum meaningfully influence programme design, delivery, advocacy, and strategy.

The role will implement client voice related projects and strengthen RAI UK’s client voice systems, including structured feedback mechanisms and the Client Advisory Board (CAB).

The role will support the development of client-led research and evidence generation initiatives to inform programmes and policy positions. The role will also build relationships with migrant-led and grassroots organisations to ensure lived experience meaningfully shapes services, advocacy priorities, and external engagement. This role centres direct lived experience of forced displacement as a form of expertise.

Key Working Relationships:

The postholder will report to the Integration Lead Advisor and work in close collaboration with the Head of Programmes, RAI Director, Programme Managers, Senior Programme Development Advisor,  Senior Monitoring, Evaluation and Learning Officer, Senior Programme and Awards Officer, Advocacy and Policy Managers, Communication team and other IRC UK teams.

Scope and Authority

National remit across all RAI UK programmes.

Functional leadership for client voice and engagement across teams.

Matrix working with Programme Managers, Advocacy Manager, M&E colleagues, and the Technical Unit.

Coordination of project delivery staff on the Pinterest project (without formal line management responsibility).

Key Accountabilities

Project Coordination

·         Work in collaboration with the Senior Community Engagement and Volunteer Officer to coordinate a new psychosocial education and photography programme for refugee young people (aged 16–19).

·         Support the delivery and facilitation of this programme as required.

·         Develop the participant outreach plan and support the day-to-day communication with the participants of the project in coordination with the session facilitators.

·         Work in collaboration with the Integration Lead Advisor, Technical Advisor for Women and Child Protection and other relevant programme colleagues to ensure that the project curriculum is adapted and delivered to be contextually appropriate, developmentally suitable, and aligned with RAI UK technical standards, with an emphasis on ensuring client voice is strengthened through a person-centred and strengths-based approach.

·         Work with the Safeguarding Advisor to ensure full compliance with safeguarding, consent, data protection, and ethical storytelling requirements throughout project delivery.

·         Work in collaboration with the Senior Community Engagement and Volunteer Officer and clients to co-create and coordinate two dissemination events showcasing youth photography and lived experience outputs.

·         Ensure robust monitoring of outcomes and timely, high-quality donor reporting in line with IRC and funder requirements.

Community Engagement

·         Strengthen and coordinate the Community Advisory Board (CAB).

·         Provide support and training to CAB members, including organising external trainings as needed.

·         Undertake associated administrative and coordination responsibilities related to client, community and CAB work, including meeting organisation, coordination and record-keeping of travel and expenses logistics, documentation including sensitive data management cross-departmentally including facilitation of DBS checks, client communication, and tracking actions to ensure accountability and follow-through.

·         Proactively engage migrant-led and grassroots organisations to share best practices.

·         Collaborate with the Monitoring, Evaluation and Learning team to track quantitative outputs and qualitative outcomes of engagement with community, clients and CAB.

·         Ensure engagement approaches are accessible and inclusive to reduce barriers to participation.

Client Voice to strengthen Programme Development and Internal Learning

·         Develop and implement a Client Voice framework for RAI UK to embed participatory approaches into every stage of programming from design to delivery.

·         Embed client voice into early stages of programming, including needs assessments, service design, and proposals.

·         Work alongside colleagues to embed client voice and continuously improve participatory engagement approaches across RAI UK programme delivery.

·         Contribute to internal and donor monitoring, evaluation and reporting requirements.

·         Collaborate with the MEL team to design tools to capture client voice in our programming and to measure client influence and participation.

·         Pilot innovative approaches and build RAI UK evidence base on client and community participatory engagement.

·         Contribute to IRC global client & community engagement communities of practice.

·         Support delivery of RAI UK capacity building work, delivering trainings as requested to ensure client and community voice is represented, such as Healing Spaces trainings or employer engagement sessions.

External Communications and Advocacy

·         Summarise client and CAB insights into briefings to be used in RAI and cross-departmentally, including by Senior Management Team and IRC UK Board of Trustees.

·         Collaborate with Advocacy Manager and Policy Manager to reflect and include client and CAB insights and experiences into policy and advocacy calls for action.

·         Support initiatives equipping refugees to share lived experiences in collaboration with Communications team, promoting trauma-informed ethical storytelling aligned with safeguarding principles.

PERSON SPECIFICATION

·         Solid experience working with refugees or migrant communities.

·         Experience working with young people, including on wellbeing or psychosocial topics.

·         Experience facilitating participatory engagement methods.

·         Strong safeguarding knowledge and trauma-informed practice.

·         Excellent communication and organisational skills.

·         Commitment to refugee rights and GEDI principles.

·         Experience supporting advocacy initiatives.

·         Experience with monitoring and evaluation systems.

·         Lived experience of forced displacement/ the UK asylum system is recognised as valuable expertise and will be considered alongside professional experience.