Expert by Experience Board Advisor
ABOUT THE ROLE
OVERVIEW
We are looking for two Experts by Experience Board Advisors to join Asylum
Aid’s Board of Trustees, who have lived experience of being an asylum seeker,
refugee or of statelessness.
The Board of Trustees is made up of individuals who have overall control and legal
responsibility for the charity’s management and administration. All the Trustees share
responsibility for the charity and must work according to the Articles of Association – a
governing document which sets out the charity’s rules and responsibilities. This means that
you will contribute, advise and make recommendations to the Board on the work and
strategy of Asylum Aid, but as you will not be a trustee you are not responsible for the final
decisions.
The Asylum Aid Board of Trustees is led by the Chair, Elizabeth Mottershaw. During your
time as a Board Advisor, you will be supported by the Chair and other members of the
Board (including one Trustee with lived experience) to ensure that you are confident and
comfortable in your contributions.
HOW TO APPLY
We know it can be daunting to join a Board, particularly if you haven’t done it before, so we
want to make it as easy as possible for you to join us and participate fully in our discussions
as a paid Expert by Experience Board Advisor. Both the Chair and the CEO are committed to
enable this.
If you would like to apply for the role of Expert by Experience Board Advisor for Asylum Aid,
please could you write a short letter, presentation, video or audio message addressing the
following two questions:
1. What is the main thing that interests you about applying for this role?
2. How do you meet the criteria outlined in the ‘Who are we
looking for’ section?
The questions can be responded to in one of four different
ways:
1. Written A4 (No more than 2 sides of A4)
2. PowerPoint (No more than 3 slides)
3. Audio recording (No more than 5 mins)
4. Video Recording (No more than 5 mins)
If you would like to send a CV as well, please do so but it is not
necessary for the application.
Please email us your letter and any other information you would
like to include to Hannah Padfield, Director of People at
seniorrecruitment@helenbamber.org by 10am on Monday 6
th July.
We would also be happy to provide feedback if you are not
shortlisted for an interview. Please contact
seniorrecruitment@helenbamber.org if you would like this
feedback once you have been notified of the outcome of your
application.
If you would like to get more information about the role - or
talk to the Chair of Trustees at Asylum Aid, Elizabeth Mottershaw
- before you express an interest in one of our Expert by
Experience Board Advisor positions please contact Hannah
Padfield, Director of People at
seniorrecruitment@helenbamber.org.
TIMELINE
Closing date: 10am on Monday 6th July
Preliminary interviews (online): week commencing 13th July
Final panel interviews (in person): week commencing 20th July
ELIGIBILITY CHECKS
Since our work involves the engagement and participation of individuals with lived experience, candidates will be required to undergo an enhanced DBS check if offered the role. We will also ask you for the details of two referees (if you do not have work-based references, we are happy to accept character references or references from any time spent volunteering).
ADJUSTMENTS
We are committed to providing reasonable adjustments throughout our recruitment process and we’ll always endeavour to be as accommodating as possible. If you would like to discuss any specific requirements, please get in touch with us at seniorrecruitment@helenbamber.org.
EXPERTS BY EXPERIENCE SUPPORT
We are also proud to be a member of the Experts by Experience Employment Network
(www.ebeemployment.org.uk), which aims to increase representation of people with lived experience in
the charitable sector.
If you are an expert by experience (a refugee or a migrant with direct, first-hand experience of issues and
challenges of the UK asylum or immigration system), you can ask them for an independent and confidential
support for your job application and access other information and resources.
They can help you in preparing your job application including providing one-on-one mentoring application
and interview preparation support.
Whilst we really encourage applications from people who in past have
received support from Asylum Aid, to avoid any conflict of interest we are not
able to accept applications from individuals who are still clients of Asylum Aid
or have received regular support from Asylum Aid within the last two years.
Those who have never been a client of Asylum Aid, but have similar lived
experience of being an asylum seeker, refugee or of statelessness are also
very much encouraged to apply.
Download full job description here.
Equal Opportunities
Our commitment to principles of equity, diversity and inclusion is an integral part of our approach to our clients, our volunteers and our staff, and we are an equal opportunities and Living Wage employer. We are committed to attracting and recruiting diverse candidates because we are keen to make sure that all our staff, trustees, volunteers and ambassadors reflect the communities we serve and the wider community we work in.
We genuinely welcome and encourage applications from a range of backgrounds, especially people of colour, people with disabilities, people from low socio-economic backgrounds, refugees, stateless people and others with lived experience of forced migration or trauma.
Statement on artificial intelligence (AI) and recruitment
At the Helen Bamber Foundation / Asylum Aid we don’t make decisions based on artificial intelligence (AI). We have a human approach to hiring and all applications are reviewed and assessed by our team. Similarly, what we are most interested in hearing about is your individual motivation, experience, skills and values. AI doesn’t know about you or what motivates you – we want to hear from you.
AI may be a helpful tool, but typically leads to generic answers repeated by multiple candidates, not stand out applications. Please make sure that your responses reflect your own thoughts and experiences.