LRMN (London) – Senior Legal Aid Advisor

Job title: Senior Legal Aid Advisor
Location: LMRN office in Lewisham and outreach locations
Salary: £42’230 + 6% pension
Contract: 12 month contract
Hours: 35 hours/week

Thank you for your interest in working at Lewisham Refugee & Migrant Network and supporting the life-changing work that we do. It is thanks to our wonderful staff members, volunteers, trustees, and our clients that LRMN is a dynamic and joyful work environment, where we enact real and tangible change for the communities we work with. We’d love to have you join us and support us to grow.

Our staff and volunteers are our greatest asset, so we take recruitment seriously. To this end, please find in this job pack information about LRMN, the communities we support, and this role. We’re looking for someone to join us as our Senior Legal Aid Advisor.

We will always stand by people standing up to an unjust immigration system. We provide a safe haven for people to rebuild their lives and our Senior Legal Aid Advisor role is a key part of that. Sitting in the immigration team, you will work on our Legal Aid contract alongside a team of Immigration Advisors working on a mix of grant funded projects for migrants unable to afford private representation. You will work within a supportive environment, reporting to our Immigration Manager, and be able to develop your areas of expertise. We’re a small and collaborative team so you will have the opportunity to work closely with other members of the organisation.

Main Roles

Manage a full caseload of complex immigration matters funded by legal aid, including asylum, human rights, and deportation cases.
Ensure compliance with regulatory and contractual obligations (IAAS, SRA, LAA).
Complete funding applications, manage provider submissions, track time, prepare and submit legal aid bills and ensure compliance with LAA obligations.
Provide ad hoc supervision, mentoring or training to members of the immigration team working on related immigration matters.

Benefits

Annual Leave: 26 days (pro-rate) plus bank holidays and additional days off between Christmas and New Year
Compressed hours
Hybrid working
Wellbeing support
An annual £500 training budget
Core hours model: Staff can work their hours flexibly around the core hours of 10am-12pm and 2pm-4pm

Person Specification

The person specification is a picture of skills, knowledge and experience needed to carry out the job. It has been used to draw up the advert and will also be used in the short-listing and interview processes for this post. Candidates are encouraged to answer the essential list below to the best of their ability.

Essential

Accredited and registered at IAA Level 3 (or equivalent) with IAAS Level 2 (Senior Caseworker) accreditation (or equivalent).
Educated to a degree level or equivalent.
Significant experience managing a complex caseload of immigration, asylum, nationality and human rights matters.
Experience of working under a Legal Aid Agency (LAA) contract, including funding applications, billing, and compliance.
Strong understanding of Legal Aid Agency (LAA) requirements, billing processes, and audit standards.
Experience of supervising, mentoring or training junior staff or volunteers in immigration casework.
Experience of working to strict deadlines and managing a heavy caseload.
Experience of assisting clients with Human Rights claims especially Article 8.
Experience of assisting clients who have been trafficked, survived domestic abuse and other related matters.
Knowledge and understanding of the voluntary sector.
Understanding of some of the key recent and upcoming changes on immigration and other relevant legislations and the effects of these on our clients.
Excellent communication skills, both oral and written.
Professional written advocacy skills within a legal environment.
Excellent record keeping both paper based and electronically.
Proven interpersonal skills.
Ability to work effectively with a range of stakeholders to improve service provision.
Ability to manage workload, work on own initiative and undertake peer reviews.
An understanding and sensitivity to other cultures and issues raised by immigration/asylum matters.
Ability and willingness to travel to conduct outreach.
Ability to use IT effectively.
Experience of using Advice Pro or other case management system.

Desirable

Higher Rights of Audience or equivalent tribunal advocacy experience
Lived experience of the asylum system and/or resettlement in the UK
Judicial Review Case Management Authorisation
Supervising senior caseworker

How to apply

To apply for this role, please apply through Charity Jobs.

LRMN is an equal opportunity employer and committed to safeguarding and fulfilling its duty of care to people working and volunteering in the organisation and to those we come into contact with.

The successful candidate will be required to complete an Enhanced DBS.

Deadline: Sunday 30th November

Interviews: TBC

If you have any questions about the role, need this information in a different format, please reach out to Jorja at HoO@lrmn.org.uk.