Job Description
Job Title: | IAA Caseworker level 1 or 2 |
Location | RMC operates four branches located in Birmingham, Wolverhampton, Walsall, and Dudley. The successful candidate will be based at the Birmingham site and will be required to travel to all branches as needed. This is an in-person, on-site role with no hybrid or remote work options available |
Reporting To: | Immigration Department Manager |
Salary and benefits: | IAA Level 1: £26,500–£28,000 (dependent on experience) IAA Level 2: £29,000–£31,000 (dependent on experience) Additional Benefits: · Company-matched pension scheme · Employee assistance program · Health and wellness support · Mental health resources · Comprehensive training and opportunities for career advancement |
Hours: | 35 hours per week, Monday to Friday, from 9:00am to 5:00pm. |
Contract: | 12-month fixed term with a strong possibility of extension |
Probation period: | 6 Months |
Annual Leave: | 21 days + 1 concessionary day and 8 Bank Holidays |
About the role
This is an exciting opportunity for the right person to join the Refugee Migrant Centre as a Caseworker, authorised by the Immigration Advice Authority (IAA), formerly known as OISC. RMC is a well-established, award-winning regional charity, widely recognised for its impactful work with refugees and migrants.
For over 23 years, RMC has assisted thousands of refugees and migrants from 162 countries, helping to break down barriers to integration and enabling clients to become equal citizens. We provide a holistic range of services, from specialist legal advice to education and employment programs.
The successful candidate will join RMC’s Immigration department and play a key role in delivering free immigration advice and representation. This is an exciting time to join the team as RMC is expanding its infrastructure following significant growth in staff, activities, and turnover—rising from £776k to £2.8 million in the past five years.
RMC is regulated by the Immigration Advice Authority (IAA) and is accredited to provide free immigration advice up to Level 3, covering cases from initial advice through to the First-tier Tribunal and Upper Tribunal.
Our immigration services focus on assisting migrants (including undocumented migrants), refugees, and asylum-seekers in navigating the UK’s complex immigration legal system. We help clients secure the right to remain in the UK for themselves and their families, with a particular emphasis on human rights claims, family and private life applications, family reunion, settlement, citizenship, and applications under the EU Settlement Scheme.
Purpose of the Role:
Main duties and responsibilities
All Caseworkers (Levels 1 and 2) will be required to carry out the tasks shown below:
Casework and client care:
· To provide one-to-one specialist advice in immigration and asylum area of law
· To provide thorough, professional, high quality and timely casework and advice
· To ensure accurate recording keeping and ensure all necessary and associated administrative tasks are completed
· To ensure case deadlines and key dates are recorded, monitored and actioned in a timely manner
· To conduct all casework and advice in compliance with all IAA regulatory requirements and the IAA code of standards
· To maintain confidentiality in all dealings with clients
Training and development:
· To keep up to date with changes in the law
· To attend training and share learning and good practice with other advisors
· To keep a record of your attendance on training courses
· To provide internal and/or external immigration training when required by management
Teamwork:
· To share casework knowledge and experience within the team
· To mentor, support and/or supervise colleagues on a lower level of IAA regulation
Projects and Engagement:
· To take responsibility for the day to day delivery of specific projects if requested by management
· To deliver presentations and represent RMC at meetings/events when required by management
· To maintain effective working relationships with partners and stakeholders
· To demonstrate a degree of flexibility and undertake tasks not specifically referred to above
Person Specification
Knowledge, Abilities and Skills- essential
· Accredited at IAA Level 1 or 2
· Experience in delivering advice and representation in the field of UK immigration and asylum
· Experience in working with clients with vulnerabilities and/or migrants, asylum-seekers, refugees
· Knowledge of most immigration areas, with a good understanding of at least one area such as the EUSS, asylum, human rights or family-based applications
· Commitment to working towards Level 2 accreditation (for IAA L1 advisors only)
· Ability to explain complex information to clients from different backgrounds
· A proven high standard of communication skills, including written, oral, presentational and inter-personal skills
· Ability to work independently
· Ability to manage and grow a caseload
· Ability to prioritise and to manage tight deadlines
· Teamwork and Flexibility
· Commitment to equality and diversity
Desirable
· Accredited to IAA Senior Caseworker
· Experience working in the Legal Aid sector
· Experience working in or with the not-for-profit sector
· Fluent in a community language
· Experience of working in a multicultural environment and sensitivity towards other cultures.
· Excellent listening skills and ability to empathise as well as establish boundaries to avoid emotional over involvement
· Educated to degree level or equivalent
Flexibility
In order to deliver the stated aims of this post, a degree of flexibility is needed and the post holder may be required to perform work not specifically referred to above. Such duties will fall within the scope of the job within the appropriate pay grade. The job description will therefore be subject to periodic review with the post holder to ensure it accurately reflects the duties that are being performed.
Equal Opportunities
We're an equal opportunity employer, which means we'll consider all suitably qualified applicants regardless of gender identity or expression, ethnic origin, nationality, religion or beliefs, age, sexual orientation, disability status or any other protected characteristic. We recruit and develop our people based on merit and their passion for creating better outcomes, and we're committed to creating an inclusive environment for all employees.
Closing Date: 07/10/2025
Please note that RMC is not a sponsoring organisation. If your visa requires an extension within the next 12 months with the support of employer sponsorship, the Refugee and Migration Centre is unable to provide assistance with this.
Role Summary
Join our team and help us improve public sector food across the UK with our School Plates and new Hospital Plates programmes. We're looking for a passionate and driven Chef Trainer to support schools and hospitals in delivering healthier and more sustainable menus.
The programmes continue to go from strength to strength. Through School Plates, we currently support over a third of all UK local authorities, catering for more than 12,000 schools and feeding over 1.25 million children daily. To date, we have been responsible for swapping over 50 million school meals from meat-based to meat-free or plant-based. We're now expanding our successful model into the health sector with our new Hospital Plates programme, bringing the same positive change to patient and staff menus.
Are you a skilled chef trainer with a passion for improving public food? Can you match our ambition? You'll be using your culinary expertise to train catering teams in both schools and hospitals, provide menu advice, and get involved with recipe development and culinary education. You will also run cooking workshops for pupils in secondary schools, inspiring the next generation to get excited about plant-based food. You will also build and manage relationships with our catering partners, helping them deliver delicious and sustainable meals. This is a UK-wide role and will require travel to different sites.
We’re looking for someone to join our team for 3 days a week but are open to applicants looking for flexible working hours, including, potentially, 4 days a week.
Job Details
Job Title: Chef Trainer - School Plates & Hospital Plates
Reporting to: Programme Manager, UK
Location: Remote (home-based with travel across UK)
Hours: 21-28 hours per week (0.6-0.8 FTE)
Salary: £32,000 per annum pro rata (based on 1.0 FTE)
Responsibilities
As our Chef Trainer & Programme Support, you'll be a key player in developing and delivering our School Plates and Hospital Plates programmes. You'll use your culinary expertise and passion for food system change to create resources, train professionals, and engage with our partners.
Key Responsibilities
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Recipe Development & Training: You'll co-lead the creation, testing, and development of new plant-based recipes for our school and hospital programmes, and lead on developing ‘grab-and-go’ and internationally inspired options for secondary schools. You'll also plan and deliver training sessions, including in-person and online workshops, and create e-learning courses for caterers.
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Programme Development & Support: Work closely with programme managers to develop and refine the strategy for our initiatives. This includes supporting pilot programmes, measuring their impact, and creating bespoke catering resources for our partners.
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Stakeholder Engagement & Communication: Represent our organisation at events and in meetings, providing expert catering advice and information on our programmes. Collaborate with our communications manager to create engaging content, including recipes and videos for our website, e-learning platform and social media.
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Education & Outreach: Partner with our education manager to plan and co-deliver secondary school cooking workshops. These sessions will teach pupils basic plant-based culinary skills that align with the National Curriculum as well as inspire the next generation to choose plant-forward options and learn about the impact of their food choices in a positive way.
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Inspire Catering Teams: Your role is to build and maintain relationships with catering partners, providing expert catering advice and practical recipe suggestions. You'll work with them directly on pilot programmes, offering bespoke support to inspire positive menu changes. You'll also provide essential administrative support for our programmes and help create and deliver presentations to promote our work to a wider audience.
Qualifications
Essential
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Experienced in planning and delivering cooking workshops to groups.
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Experience of working in a culinary setting and developing recipes with a strong interest in plant-based recipes.
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Excellent communication skills and be a confident and engaging educator.
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Flexible and agile approach, with a willingness to be a true team player and fill gaps as needed.
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Proactive with initiative and drive.
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Strong organisational skills.
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Attention to detail.
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Solution-focused and resilient.
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Confident in creating basic spreadsheets and slide decks.
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Ability to work well under pressure and manage time effectively in a fast-paced and small but fast-growing non-profit work environment.
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Ability to work well unsupervised with experience of working in remote teams with a reliable internet connection.
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Passionate about food systems change.
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Alignment with our vision and mission.
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Based in the UK and able to attend meetings, events, and training to represent the team and programme across the UK.
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Willing to travel across the UK for workshops and events.
Desirable
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Experience of working within school and/or hospital food.
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Experience of food photography and creating recipe content for social platforms or online courses.
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Experience of managing projects.
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Experience of liaising with local authorities, schools, or other public sector bodies.
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Experience in the field of nutrition, including an interest in plant-based nutrition.
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Experience of working in the food, health or environmental sector.
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Experience of using customer relationship management (CRM) systems (training will be provided).
Benefits of working with us
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Generous annual leave entitlement - 25 days per year, with an additional day granted at the start of each calendar up to a maximum of 30 days (plus bank holidays)
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A strong organisational focus on personal development, with a designated training budget.
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Provision of a work laptop.
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Flexible, trust-based working arrangements and home-office arrangements.
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Career development support
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Enhanced maternity, paternity, shared parental and adoption pay
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Compassionate animal companion leave
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Employee Assistance Programme including counselling
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Access to 24/7 virtual GP Service
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Mindfulness support via a free Headspace account for you and up to 5 friends or family members
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Access to the Wisdom app with exclusive perks and discounts
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Membership to the OpenUp platform
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We are a workplace that encourages everyone to bring their whole selves to work. We are an inclusive workplace for our diverse employees around the world.
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And, last but not least, become part of a great team and work with us towards a world where everyone chooses delicious and healthy food that is good for all humans, animals, and our planet!
When?
Application deadline: 5th October 2025
Start date: November 2025
Application process and timeline
Please submit your application using our online form including your CV and cover letter. By submitting your application you agree that your personal data will be processed by and shared with our UK entity (ProVeg C.I.C.) and German entity (ProVeg e.V.).
The recruitment process consists of two rounds: 1): an online trial task; 2): an interview with the Programme Manager and Director.
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Application deadline: 5th October 2025
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Online trial task: sent to longlisted candidates by 10th October 5pm, to be completed by 12 October at 5pm
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Interviews: take place on 21st and 22nd October 2025
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Start date: November 2025
The client requests no contact from agencies or media sales.