Specialist Immigration Caseworker (maternity cover)

Islington, Greater London (Hybrid)
£42,225 per year
Part-time (3 days per week - 21 hours)
Contract (1 year contract)

Using Anonymous Recruitment

This organisation is using Anonymous Recruitment to reduce bias in the first stages of the hiring process. Submit your application as normal and our system will anonymise it for you. Your personal information will be hidden until the recruiter contacts you.

Actively Interviewing

This organisation is scheduling interviews as applications come in. They're ready to hire as soon as they find the right person. Don't miss your opportunity, apply now!

Job description

About the role

We are seeking an experienced and qualified immigration advisor to lead on key elements of our Change of Conditions casework service as maternity cover for the coming year including our ‘self-submissions’ support programme and second-tier CoC advice.

The Unity Project (TUP) supports people who are facing poverty and homelessness because their immigration status allows them ‘no recourse to public funds’ (NRPF).  We believe NRPF should not exist and we are working to end it. Until then, we seek to minimise its impact by supporting people to make the ‘change of conditions’ (CoC) application to access public funds. As part of this work, we continually develop new casework approaches to make CoCs more accessible to more people. By taking a strategic approach to our casework, we have opened up new routes for people to move through the process, and achieved greater recognition of groups with particular needs. We have also supported numerous strategic legal challenges which have prompted significant changes to the immigration rules and guidance related to CoCs. 

In this cover position, you will play a key role in our strategic casework. You will be responsible for TUP’s ‘self-submissions’ casework provision for applicants who submit their own CoC applications independently. You will support with other strategically significant casework as required, including by liaising with public law firms, writing witness statements for JR challenges and communicating directly with Home Office policy teams. You will also share our CoC expertise with the sector through second-tier advice and training workshops.

The role will suit someone who has prior experience of supporting clients with NRPF, an interest in broader immigration policy and the desire to apply those skills to a specialist context. The role requires someone who can adapt quickly and apply a strategic mindset to the challenge of using legal routes to achieving systemic change.

 

About The Unity Project

Who we are

The Unity Project is a small charity that supports people with ‘Change of Conditions’ (CoC) applications required for access to public funds.

Why we exist

We want everyone living in the UK to have equal access to the welfare system. We exist to challenge the 'no recourse to public funds' (NRPF) policy in order to end it and, until then, minimise its impact.

Our values

We aim to be:

  • Representative of and accountable to people who are navigating or have navigated the systems we want to change.

  • Sustainable, so we can continue our work as long as it is needed.

  • Trauma informed, recognising the impact of prior traumatic experiences and promoting an organisational culture which is safe, transparent, collaborative and responds empathically to each individual’s needs.

  • Rooted in community, as we believe that strength comes from relationships of solidarity and mutual support.

  • Equitable to all who give their time to the project.

  • Tenacious, innovative, reflective and adaptable in our casework.

 

Benefits

  • Salary - £42,225 pro rata
  • Flexibility - We work together in person on Tuesdays and Thursdays. Beyond that we can be flexible about how you meet your hours.
  • Annual leave - 35 days pro rata, inclusive of bank holidays, plus a regular Christmas closure period (subject to board approval)
  • Pension - 5% employee contribution, 8% employer contribution
  • Clinical supervision - All staff have access to monthly clinical supervision
  • Wellbeing - All staff have a personal wellbeing budget to spend as they need 
  • Professional development - We organise regular all-staff training sessions to address needs identified by the team, and every staff member has an individual training budget for their own professional development. We aim to support all staff to grow and shape their roles in line with their career aspirations.
  • Immigration support - On a case by case basis, we may be able to offer legal assistance with the immigration applications necessary to sustain this employment in compliance with UK immigration law.
  • Working environment - We are a small and friendly team of staff and volunteers. We believe that effective opposition to the hostile environment is rooted in our relationships with each other and our community.
Application Instructions

Please submit your CV and cover letter (no more than two pages) by 8am 16 April 2026. Cover letters should respond to the person specification and be personal and distinct. Avoid reliance on AI and do not simply restate your CV.

We use an anonymised recruitment process. Names and basic demographic information will be redacted from applications before shortlisting. Please do not include this in the body of your cover letter.

Due to the nature of the role, we'll conduct interviews as suitable candidates apply and we're ready to hire if we find the right person before the job ad closes. We will discuss accessibility requirements before interviewing.

Questions or issues? Our contact email is in the person specification.

Organisation
The Unity Project View profile Organisation type Registered Charity Company size 1 - 5

We want everyone to have equal access to the welfare system. We challenge the ‘no recourse to public funds’ policy and work to minimise its impact.

groupphoto.jpgPhoto from hearing 2.jpg
Posted on: 16 March 2026
Closing date: 15 April 2026 at 08:00
Tags: Legal / Law, Housing, Ethnic Minority / BAME, Homelessness, Human Rights, Justice, Refugee / Immigration

The client requests no contact from agencies or media sales.