Location: UK-based. Flexible but ideally in or near London. We are currently working remotely but if the situation allows, the project will require face-to-face interaction with London-based project participants.
Period: 12 months, from March 2021-March 2022
Contract: Freelance
Time: Average of 4-5 days per week
The SHM Foundation is a small charitable organisation based in London that works globally to create positive social change in the areas of health, learning and citizenship, and arts. Our work focuses on providing support to different populations facing social isolation and stigma; giving voice to those who might feel silenced by traditional societal structures or face lack of opportunities; and inspiring others to bring about positive change.
Recently, we have been presented with a wonderful opportunity to set up a project supporting refugee women into employment. It is a 12-month project to be implemented by the SHM Foundation in partnership with the Max Barney Foundation. The aim of the project is to work with participants from a demographic group that is particularly disadvantaged when it comes to securing a decent livelihood: older refugee women of Middle Eastern heritage. Our aim is to support them into employment or self-employment through working with them to co-design solutions to the barriers they face in getting there.
Refugees in the UK face many barriers to securing decent, stable employment, from low English language skills and CV gaps, to poor mental health and prejudice from potential employers. For refugee women, these barriers are often even more acute. For those who do find jobs, it is often part-time and on a zero-hours contract. The barriers to employment for refugees are closely interlinked and the relationships between them are complex. For this reason, the overall goal of securing decent livelihoods for refugee women cannot be accomplished by addressing any of these challenges in isolation. They need to be addressed simultaneously through a holistic, integrated approach to make a meaningful difference. This is the goal of this project.
We are looking for a Project Manager who would work with us for 12 months to achieve two primary objectives of the project:
As Project Manager, we would like you to oversee the delivery of the project through the entire 12-month project cycle.
Key responsibilities will include: creating and executing a project plan; managing a project budget; planning and facilitating workshops (online and in-person); building and maintaining close relationships with a range of stakeholders; and producing engaging project materials and reports.
There is an opportunity here to bring your own ideas to the table in shaping this project, in collaboration with the participants, so we welcome applicants who have an appetite for creative, out-of-the-box thinking alongside excellent organisational, interpersonal and implementation skills.
We are looking for someone who has experience in project management and working with refugees and asylum seekers; and has background in one of the following: business, education, creative industries, mental health or non-for-profit sector. You need to have excellent knowledge of the barriers that refugees and asylum seekers face and the needs they have as they adapt to their new lives in the UK. You need to be familiar with the existing approaches to supporting refugees into employment and the organisations working in this field, and be very open to taking on new approaches to providing solutions in this area.
You need to have experience or genuine interest in working with older refugee women of Middle Eastern heritage and ideally speak one of the Middle Eastern languages at a conversation level. Above all, you need to be passionate about taking a personalised approach to each participant to understand their employment needs, so that together we can create tailored, in-depth, and sustained support for every individual.
Individuals with personal experience of the asylum or immigration system are particularly encouraged to apply.
We would be delighted to find someone who would enjoy working in our multidisciplinary, and geographically dispersed team and who would bring a lot of positive energy, curiosity and momentum to our day-to-day work.
If this role sounds appealing to you, please send a CV and a cover letter explaining why you think you are an excellent match for this role to iona@shmfoundation.org by Thursday 18th February.
