Refugee education officer jobs

Kineara has a new vacancy for an experienced Housing support worker to join our small and dedicated team for our new School Housing Advice project.

About the project 

The School Housing Advice Support Project builds on the success of a pilot program and aims to provide tailored housing advice and support to families, particularly those living in temporary accommodation (TA). The project started in January 2025 and is currently being delivered at three primary schools in the borough of Southwark.

The initiative offers practical housing advice, casework, workshops, and legal support through a collaborative partnership between Kineara and Southwark Law Centre. It also addresses challenges such as poor housing conditions, legal proceedings, and impacts on families' health and wellbeing.

About the role 

We are looking for an experienced, motivated and compassionate support worker to deliver housing advice and practical support to parents from four Primary Schools in Southwark. This role involves conducting housing surgeries, providing follow-up casework, and running workshops to empower clients with the knowledge and skills to address their housing-related issues. The successful candidate will work closely with clients to identify their needs and offer tailored solutions to help them achieve sustainable housing outcomes. The role will be based mostly in Southwark, and you will be working in partnership with schools, community organisations and the council to coordinate tailored support for each client to avoid eviction and sustain tenancies, address suitability of the property, mediating with landlords where necessary and providing advice for onward housing when needed. The objectives of these programmes are to avoid evictions, sustain tenancies or move to a better suited property, improve wellbeing and awareness of tenancy rights and housing polices.

About you 

• You will have experience of working with families and individuals with complex needs, as well as some experience of providing housing support.
• You will be an enthusiastic person who has empathy, patience, and a non-judgmental approach to working with clients and who thrives when working independently with a passion to support change.
• You will have excellent interpersonal skills. 
• Have good knowledge of housing policies and tenants' rights, experience of delivering holistic support.
• You will be a solution-minded thinker, have a good understanding of strength-based approaches and be able work committing to promoting equality, diversity, and inclusion in all aspects of work.
• Be able to work as part of a team and independently, the roles require you to think creatively and use the resources around you effectively.

About Kineara 

Kineara is a unique community interest company and Charity that supports people in poverty across London who facing barriers to housing, employment and education. We break down barriers, provide holistic support for families, vulnerable adults, and school pupils, and deliver intensive one-to-one interventions to those in need of extra help through challenging times. We use holistic, trauma-informed methods, partnership working and a flexible, non-judgemental approach that puts the needs of those we work with first.

About Us

Unfold is an established local charity, supporting young people and families in Westminster and Kensington and Chelsea to get where they want to be, identifying and achieving their goals through mentoring and peer support.   

For over 35 years, we have been supporting people who face social injustice, from families seeking asylum and young people excluded from school to women rebuilding confidence after hardship. Our programmes are rooted in empowerment and inclusion, led by trained volunteers who mentor, listen, and champion change.

Last year, we supported over 450 women, young people, and families, and with our team now 19-strong, we’re growing our reach, our partnerships, and our impact.

About the Role

We’re looking for a Volunteer & Communications Coordinator who believes in the power of people and storytelling.
This is a role for someone who’s passionate about community and inclusion, and who can bring both heart and strategy to the way we recruit, train, and celebrate our volunteers.

You’ll lead the development of our volunteer and communications strategy, ensuring our work is inclusive, rooted in social justice, and reflective of the communities we serve. From recruiting and training new mentors to telling powerful stories that shift narratives, this is a role where people skills meet purpose.

You’ll:

• Build meaningful partnerships with community organisations, universities, and employers to grow a diverse volunteer base.
• Oversee each step of the volunteer journey, recruitment, training, and recognition, ensuring every volunteer feels supported and valued.
• Shape Unfold’s digital presence and social media, amplifying Global Majority voices and sharing stories that inspire others to get involved.
• Work collaboratively across programmes to strengthen processes, maintain accurate data, and embed rights-based practice.

About You

You’ll bring:

• Excellent written and verbal communication skills and a confident, engaging style.
• Strong organisational ability - able to manage multiple priorities.
• Good data management skills and attention to detail.
• Understanding of the volunteer sector and enthusiasm for supporting families and young people to thrive.
• Experience in marketing or external communications, including managing social media and creating materials in Canva or similar tools.
• Ability to create compelling case studies and campaigns, and working with tools such as Mailchimp/

If you’re a storyteller with a social purpose who can bring warmth, structure, and creativity to a growing organisation, we’d love to hear from you.

Why Join Us?

• Holidays: 25 working days (along with additional Christmas closedown days)
• Pension: We offer a generous pension provision. New staff are automatically enrolled for a pension after three months, and after six months, we will match your contribution up to a maximum of 8%.
• Team working: We are a small but brilliant team: we're supportive, diverse, and we help each other out. There are always opportunities to get involved in different aspects of the organisation, or lead on new initiatives.
• Training opportunities: We want to ensure that our team is continuously learning and building expertise in their field. For this reason, we offer each team member two days per year dedicated to professional development and training opportunities.
• Wellbeing - How we feel matters: Staff have access to a comprehensive Employee Assistance Programme, and our staff Wellbeing Champions are leading on the design and delivery of our wellbeing strategy, including the review of our quarterly wellbeing survey. Staff have regular supervision sessions to encourage reflection and discussion on our work and wellbeing. Additionally, we’re excited to introduce three days a year dedicated to team-building activities. These days are an opportunity to build skills, foster connections, and recharge as a team!
• Flexible working: We're happy to consider flexible working arrangements in line with the requirements of the role.
• Working Environment: We work in a beautiful, accessible, eco-friendly co-working space with a number of other charities, with plants, a leafy roof terrace and free hot and cold drinks. With comfortable spaces to read quietly or talk in a group, our workspace is somewhere you'll want to be.