Campaigns and Advocacy Manager

Do you have what it takes to inspire and enable thousands of students to stand up for the rights of refugees in the UK?

We are looking for an individual who is passionate about creating a culture of welcome in the UK for refugees and who understands the levers of change. You will have excellent knowledge of the issues affecting people seeking asylum and refugees in the UK, drawn from lived and/or professional experience.

You will believe in the power of young people as changemakers and be committed to ensuring that voices of people with lived experience of displacement are at the centre of your work. You will also have a strong background in developing and supporting activism & leadership skills. 

Working in partnership with national and local organisations and coalitions you will identify how our student network can make the biggest impact for systems and policy change, to challenge  the structural barriers that refugees and asylum seekers face when seeking protection and building new lives in the UK. You will connect our student groups and activists with local campaigners, train and support them to engage with local and national decision makers, and empower them to develop their own campaigns

You will also lead our Equal Access campaign and advocacy work on improving access to higher education for refugees and people seeking asylum. 

Student Action for Refugees is committed to equality and diversity. We particularly welcome and encourage applications from people with lived experience of displacement. 

Main responsibilities

1. Empowering the STAR student network and Equal Access activists to campaign by:

• Working closely with campaign partners to develop campaign strategies and creative campaign actions 

• Delivering high quality events, training, resources and 1:1 support to develop the activism skills of our members and volunteers

• Empowering STAR groups to deliver impactful campaigning events & activities 

• Supporting the STAR Equal Access activist group to campaign for improved access to university for people seeking asylum and refugees

• Leading on campaigning and access to HE related communications 

2. Leading the Equal Access to Higher Education campaign by:

• Working with Higher Education Institutions to:

  • support them to develop scholarships and access programmes 

  • monitor practice across the HE sector, identifying and promoting good practice 

• Empowering and supporting lived experience activists, students and staff to campaign for improved access to higher education at UK universities, for example scholarships and access programmes, and to raise awareness of the issue.

• Sharing information about scholarship places and access programmes to potential applicants through outreach, signposting and online resources 

• Working with NGOs and partners to deliver institutional and national policy change on access to HE for refugees and asylum seekers in the UK and to promote the UK work internationally

• Coordinating the meetings of the Access to Higher Education Working Group (a group of organisations that work on access to higher education for refugees, asylum seekers & migrants) 

• Line managing the Access to University Project Coordinator 

3. Supporting the running of Student Action for Refugees

• Working with the Chief Executive to develop projects, produce funding applications & report to funders

• Working with the team on general communications 

• Monitoring and evaluating work and keeping detailed records 

• Line managing staff & volunteers as agreed