KIU Night Support Worker (Waking Nights)

About The Refugee Council

The Refugee Council is the nation’s refugee charity. Together with community groups, partners and volunteers, we help people who have escaped war and persecution to rebuild their lives, integrate into communities, and play their part in Britain. Born in the aftermath of World War II, our frontline services support over 14,000 refugees each year to find safety, get to know their neighbours, and enter education, training or work. We share our evidence and expertise with policymakers to help build integrated communities where everyone can contribute.  

We have offices across the UK where our Services teams provide support to refugees at local level.

Inclusion and Accessibility

Ensuring that the Refugee Council is an inclusive and accessible place to work is important to us. We want to enable people from different backgrounds to apply and thrive with us. We believe our recruitment process enables that and are also happy to make adjustments on request.  

Our Values

Our values underpin everything we do: 

• Inclusive: We are inclusive. We work with - not for - refugees and people seeking asylum, so they have an equal voice, co-producing projects and ensuring their expertise and experiences are at the heart of what we do.
• Collaborative: We are collaborative. Working with others is a priority in order to have the collective impact that is vital to achieve policy and practice reform. 
• Courageous: We speak out when we see injustice, cruelty and unfairness. We always stand up for what we believe is the right thing to do to transform the experiences of those seeking protection in our country. 
• Respectful: We are respectful of all those we interact with. We treat everyone – our staff, volunteers, beneficiaries, partners and people we disagree with – with the same respect, professionalism and understanding.

About the role

The KIU Night Support Worker (Waking Nights) is responsible for providing overnight welfare, safety, and practical support to unaccompanied asylum-seeking children at the Kent Intake Unit. The role involves maintaining an active waking presence throughout the night, carrying out welfare checks, responding to immediate needs, issuing hygiene packs, and preparing refreshments in line with established procedures and safeguarding standards.

The postholder contributes to the Refugee Council’s mission by ensuring children receive safe, compassionate, and timely support during night-time hours. The role also requires flexibility to respond to fluctuating intake numbers and short-notice operational demands. The waking night shift pattern operates on a rolling rota and repeats every two weeks as showed above.

Contract and hours: Permanent, full-time, 35 hours per week.

Staff Benefits

To reward our staff for the value they bring, we offer a variety of enhanced terms and conditions and a wide range of benefits, including:

• Training & Development
• Employee Assistance Programme
• Pension Scheme
• Work Life Balance Policies
• Employer-Sponsored Volunteering
• And more.

Let’s work together to improve the lives of refugees in the UK - apply on our website today.

Closing date: 3 June 2026.

Ensuring that the Refugee Council is an inclusive and accessible place to work is important to us. We want to enable people from different backgrounds to apply and thrive with us. We believe our recruitment process enables that and are also happy to make adjustments on request.