Refugee Integration Worker Job at Upbeat Communities
About us.
Upbeat Communities was founded in response to the needs of refugees arriving in the UK and the stories they shared of their lives and their journeys. Through building relationships with those from refugee communities we were able to identify their needs and the best ways to respond.
One of the best resources a refugee can have to help them settle in their new home is a good social network. Relationships and connectedness can help overcome the many challenges faced by those seeking refuge. With this aim, we want to help connect refugees into community.
Our name reflects our vision to see thriving, positive communities where refugees can contribute and make the most of opportunities.
We greet new arrivals with our Welcome Boxes befriending project. We offer free English classes and community activities to help refugees (adults and children) integrate. We empower refugees to rebuild their lives through Host Derby (temporary accommodation), mentoring (careers guidance) and Refugee Resettlement Schemes, which local authorities contract us to deliver. We also empower the local community through awareness raising. Our organisational values, lived out by our staff and volunteers, are:
We work to WELCOME
We create COMMUNITY
We are inspired to act with
INTEGRITY
We exist to
EMPOWER
We are committed to CREATIVITY
We run on RELATIONSHIPS
We are proud to be PROFESSIONAL
We are committed to CREATIVITY
We run on RELATIONSHIPS
We are proud to be PROFESSIONAL
We have
COMPASSION
at our core
Upbeat Communities’ Christian ethos is the motivation for all our work. It is the reason why we do what we do. It is to work together to demonstrate God’s love to refugees who have been displaced by war, conflict or persecution. We are inspired by the message, life and example of Jesus through which God’s unconditional love for all people is expressed. It compels us to love our neighbours as ourselves. It is through relationships, with each other and those whom we seek to work with, that we practice and demonstrate our ethos. We seek to live out Jesus’ command to “welcome the stranger” by building mutually enriching relationships with those who are seeking sanctuary in our country.
Context of the role.
Upbeat Communities delivers several services to welcome refugees and support them to rebuild their lives. We are looking to recruit an Integration Worker who will offer support across a number of our projects.
We offer hybrid working for our staff team and this role will include some home working, alongside travel across Derbyshire or Lincolnshire to deliver support to families. Our organisation-wide team meetings and training usually takes place monthly in Derby.
Much of your time will be spent working on the refugee resettlement scheme, but you will also be expected to support across other projects as required.
Refugee resettlement takes place across Derbyshire and Lincolnshire. Over the past 6 years, Upbeat Communities has welcome and played a key part in the resettlement of Syrian refugees in partnership with local authorities in both counties. This role has included supporting families to apply for universal credit and set up bank accounts, registering with GPs and local schools in addition to integrating into their local community. More recently we have taken on responsibility for the resettlement of Afghan families in both regions.
Our Welcome Boxes project matches volunteers with newly arrived individuals and families seeking sanctuary. Volunteers make home visits and deliver a welcome box and initiate an opportunity to provide befriending, information and signposting to those that require it. Volunteers also connect new arrivals into activities provided by Upbeat Communities such as English classes, social activities, and Upbeat Women.
Host Derby offers temporary accommodation for destitute asylum seekers and refugees with volunteer hosts in their own homes, offering a lifeline for vulnerable individuals. Hosts are supported to welcome an individual in their home and guests are supported to access the right help and re-engage with the asylum system and move on with their lives.
Our Integration Hub provides a range of activities to support the integration of asylum seekers and refugees in Derby, including English classes, social activities, community meals, training, and skills development.
Upbeat Women is a peer support group for refugee women living in Derby, providing a safe space to come together for training, creative sessions, skills sharing, advice and guidance.
Upbeat Kids provides holiday activities for primary aged children from refugee backgrounds.
About You.
The successful candidate will have a positive attitude and play an important part in delivering the best possible support to those we work with. You will be committed to, and actively demonstrate, our values, ethos and practice in order to achieve our vision – to see thriving positive communities where every refugee can contribute and make the most of opportunities.
Are you a passionate advocate, ensuring those you work with are able to access the right support and entitlements?
Do you
understand the rights of those recently arrived in the UK through both asylum and resettlement routes in regard to benefits, healthcare, schooling and housing?
Are you
committed to empowerment, recognising the importance it plays in the lives of refugees as they rebuild their lives?
Are you
comfortable travelling across the region to support families integrate in their local community?
Are you an
excellent planner, able to work to tight deadlines, whilst being comfortable with change and flexibility?
Are you happy to work in a
fast-paced environment, and comfortable with a changing workload depending on the needs those we support?
Are you committed to
standing alongside refugees, providing welcome and support as they rebuild their lives as well as
listening and
learning from those who remain resilient in the face of great difficulty?
Due to the nature of the work, you would need to hold a full UK driving licence and be willing to travel across Derbyshire and/or Lincolnshire to provide support to refugee and evacuee families.
The post holder will be required to undertake an enhanced DBS check.
We are looking to appoint to this role as soon as possible, and will be reviewing applications as they come in. Therefore please apply for this role as soon as possible as we may close the recruitment process early if we have suitable candidates.
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