Operations Manager

Job Title: Operations Manager

Location: Office-based with drop-ins in local vanues in Lancaster and Morecambe

Working hours: Monday to Friday with occasional out-of-hours work where needed, with Time Off In Lieu (TOIL)

Salary: £34,275 per annum (full-time at 37 hours per week)

Annual leave: 28 days plus 8 days’ bank holiday

Pension: 5% employee contribution plus 3% employer contribution

Contract: 12 months’ fixed term, subject to extension dependent on performance and funding

Closing date for applications: Tuesday 11th August at 23:59 BST

ABOUT THE ROLE

This is a varied role leading a small but impactful charity. As our Operations Manager, you will lead a diverse team of volunteers, and work alongside a small staff team, to lead RAIS Lancaster’s work supporting asylum and refugees through drop-ins, office-based appointments, and projects.

You will work alongside our Senior Support Worker to deliver high quality and complex casework, and our Treasurer/IT Manager to assist with funding bids and monitoring and evaluation of our projects. You will be the front-facing staff member for our partnership work, and liaise with key stakeholders. The Operations Manager will also work closely with our Trustee Board on strategy and governance.

ABOUT THE CHARITY

RAIS Lancaster is a charity founded in 2017 to offer advocacy, information, and support to refugees and asylum seekers in our area. We are volunteer-led, with a small staff team of two currently. We currently offer five drop-ins a week for asylum seekers and refugees, in collaboration with partner organisations, in Lancaster and Morecambe. Each drop-in is staffed by paid and voluntary workers.

We also conduct support work for asylum seekers and refugees facing more complex issues in one-to-one appointments in our office at the Cornerstone in Lancaster, and accompany clients to appointments where appropriate to offer support and advocacy. As the needs of asylum seekers and refugees in our area change, we adapt and develop our work to support those we work with. We are expecting to soon be registered with the Immigration Advice Authority.

OUR VALUES

Inclusive - We aim to work with refugees and those seeking asylum. We are working hard to offer an equal voice and opportunities 

Solidarity - We work from a place of solidarity with those we support

Collaborative - We work with each other and those we come into contact with in harmony

Respect - We have respect for all those that we work with. We treat everyone - clients, volunteers, colleagues, partners and other organisations - with respect, recognising their contributions and strengths

APPLICATION PROCESS

Please read through our Recruitment Pack on the Charity Job website, which contains the Job Description and Person Specification. 

Please note: RAIS Lancaster is using anonymised recruitment for this application to remove bias in the selection process. Charity Job will anonymise applications automatically. Your personal details will be removed from submitted documents and your name anonymised in our application portal.

Please apply via the Charity Job Website with:

• Your CV 
• A cover letter (2 pages maximum)
• A completed Equal Opportunities Monitoring form

We ask that you do not use AI to write your cover letter so that we can see your written English skills.

Please read through the Person Specification carefully. Please provide evidence of as many suitable qualifications, experiences, and skills that you have in your covering letter. Address each item in the Person Specification and show evidence of when these skills, knowledge and/or experience were gained. This can be from paid work, volunteering, or life experience.

The deadline for applications is: Tuesday 11th August at 23:59.

Applications will then be shortlisted by our recruitment panel. If shortlisted, you will receive an invitation to interview.

Interviews will be held on Tuesday 18th August at the RAIS office at The Cornerstone, Sulyard Street, Lancaster, LA1 1PX.

If you are invited for interview and cannot attend on this date we may be able to arrange alternatives.

You will be asked to undertake a casework-related task as part of the recruitment process which will be provided on the day of the interview. Further details will be sent to those invited for interview with an opportunity to request reasonable adjustments. After the casework task, applicants will attend an interview with staff and Trustees.

If you have any questions regarding the application process, please email our current Operations Manager, Caitlin Luna. Her email address can be found on the final page of the Recruitment Pack. Please note that Caitlin does not work on Wednesdays.