Programme assistant jobs in City of london, england

Job title: Programme Assistant, Enquiries 

Line manager: Team Leader, Enquiries (Senior Officer, Enquiries in Team Leader’s absence) 

Salary: £30,000 

Type of contract: Permanent 

Start date: 16th February 2026 or shortly thereafter 

Benefits: 

• Challenging and rewarding work, always life-changing, sometimes lifesaving 

• Competitive salary 

• Team and individual training opportunities 

• Commitment to performance and personal development 

• Hybrid working, home and office (minimum 2 days each week in the office) 

• Eight hours each day Monday – Friday, with flexible working by arrangement around core hours of 10am – 4pm 

• 25 days plus Bank Holidays annual leave entitlement 

• 8% employer pension contribution 

• Convenient office location at Elephant and Castle, close to Tube (Bakerloo and Northern lines) and bus routes 

Role purpose statement: The Programme Assistant, Enquiries plays a vital role in the Fellowship Programme working directly with academics facing immediate risk in their home countries to carry out due diligence or signposting. This includes managing an individual caseload, dealing with prospective applications and general enquiries, providing administrative support to the Enquiries team as well as support across the Fellowship Programme when needed. 

Organisational Background 

The Council for At-Risk Academics is a UK-registered charity founded in 1933 under the leadership of William Beveridge, to rescue academics suffering persecution under the rise of Nazism and facilitate their continued work in safety. Sixteen Cara Fellows from the 1930s and 1940s became Nobel Laureates, and many more innovators in their fields, including, Nikolaus Pevsner, Lise Meitner and Karl Popper. A number of Cara’s founders and Council members also personally provided places and/or funds to help individual academics; and Cara, known in the 1930s as the AAC, later the SPSL, was closely involved in the successful effort in 1933 to bring to London the Warburg Institute art library, which had been prohibited by the Nazis, and six of its staff. The Fellowship Programme is the continuation of the rescue mission operation started in 1933. 

Cara has been a lifeline to academics at risk for over 90 years, as and when world events have placed them in the line of fire: Hungarian Uprising, Cold War, Apartheid South Africa, Iran, Latin American Juntas, Vietnam, Kosovo, DRC, Rwanda, Sudan, Zimbabwe etc. and, more recently Iraq, Turkey, Yemen, Palestine, Syria, Afghanistan and Ukraine. Cara support is typically framed as temporary sanctuary offered at times of heightened risk. 

Cara Objectives ‘To assist academics who have been, or are, or are at risk of being, subject to discrimination, persecution, suffering or violence on account of race, religion, nationality, membership of a particular social group, or political opinion, to relieve needs among them and their dependants and ensure that their specialist knowledge and abilities can continue to be used for the benefit of the public.’ 

‘To advance education by supporting academics and their educational institutions in countries where their continuing work is at risk or compromised, to ensure that such academics and institutions can continue to fulfil their critical role as educators for the public benefit.’ 

This is a critical time to join our dedicated and friendly Fellowship Programme team as we expand our capacity to support at-risk academics from the Middle East, Sudan, Myanmar, Afghanistan, Ukraine, Russia and many other countries. 

Role & Responsibilities  

Casework  

• Signposting prospective applicants to the application form. 

• Manage own caseload, preparing cases for eligibility review, including arranging calls to speak with applicants, booking English language tests, and gathering all relevant documentation.

• Escalating complex cases to the Team Leader as required. 

• Maintain accurate and GDPR-Compliant records of casework activity. 

• Researching international affairs to develop understanding about risks applicants face. 

• Researching potential hosts for academic placements and liaising with external stakeholders in relation to applicants. 

• Attend weekly case review meetings with the team. 

Administration   

• Provide general administrative and logistical support, including answering phone enquiries. 

• Manage the general enquiries inbox, alongside another colleague, answering emails about the enquiries’ process, the Fellowship Programme and Cara. 

• Signpost enquiries to relevant colleagues internally and to other organisations where applicable. 

• Contribute to report writing. 

• Present and collect data on general enquiries and applications to the Programme. 

• Ensure safekeeping of confidential information. 

• Maintain excellent detailed records of correspondence, documents, and activities. 

• Provide administrative support to colleagues on projects as required.

Managerial Support  

• Contributing to Fellowship Programme policy changes and decision-making. 

• Provide advice and guidance to colleagues. 

Ad Hoc Responsibilities  

• Show adaptability and willingness to take on additional work when necessary. 

• Support the Fellowship Programme and Cara as a whole with ad hoc responsibilities.

Responsibilities also include related activities that might arise in relation to the Fellowship Programme as required by the Chief Executive and Deputy Chief Executive & Fellowship Programme Manager, and other senior colleagues. 

Person Specification 

Essential:  

• Bachelor’s degree 

• Fluent English (spoken and written) 

• Proactive with a willingness to learn 

• Confident and empathetic with strong interpersonal and communication skills 

• Ability to work under pressure in a fast-paced environment 

• Keen team player who is ready to support and help colleagues 

• Excellent record keeping and attention to detail 

• Ability to work independently and in a team 

• Good time management with ability to prioritise and independently work to deadlines 

• Understanding of issues of confidentiality

• Interest in and commitment to the work of Cara 

• Confident use of Microsoft package 

• Awareness of current global issues

• Ability to handle difficult conversations with sensitivity and resilience 

Desirable 

• Master’s or equivalent experience 

• Casework experience 

• Arabic language skills are desirable. Other foreign languages (such as Farsi/Dari, Pashto, Ukrainian and Russian) will also be considered 

• Salesforce/CRM software experience 

• Experience in a supporting role with people with lived experience of forced migration or other forms of severe adversity