Policy Specialist
OVERVIEW OF THE ROLE
This is an exceptional opportunity for an experienced and driven policy professional to lead Asylum Aid's external policy and advocacy work at a pivotal moment for refugee protection in the UK.
The UK asylum and immigration systems are under sustained pressure. Successive waves of hostile legislation and increasingly difficult political environment have cause serious harm to people seeking international protection and made already complex systems even harder to navigate. At this time there is an urgent need for effective, well-evidenced voices in Parliament, Whitehall and the courts that keeps human experiences at its centre.
Our proactive and prioritised policy advocacy is evidence-led, based on the experiences of survivors, collective expertise and/or the HBF group’s research findings. Asylum Aid, as part of the Helen Bamber Foundation group, uses its legal expertise and evidence to secure ongoing policy and systems change by:
· Providing evidence and recommendations to central government through reports, briefings, consultation responses, oral and written evidence to parliamentary select committees and parliamentary lobbying.
· Ongoing direct engagement on improvements to policy and practice with civil servants in the Home Office, Ministry of Justice and other relevant departments.
· Working collaboratively with others in the asylum, trafficking and children’s sectors to highlight issues in the asylum and trafficking systems, and push for recognition and respect for international asylum, trafficking and human rights obligations.
· Undertaking strategic litigation to secure change that cannot be achieved through policy advocacy.
As Policy Specialist, you will be Asylum Aid's policy and advocacy lead - responsible for shaping our policy positions; driving our advocacy strategy; building and managing coalitions across the sector; and ensuring that the voices and experiences of our clients directly inform our external work. You will be managed by the HBF Group Director of Policy, Evidence and Communications, and work closely with AA’s Executive Director and legal team. As well as coordinating and undertaking joint policy work with HBF, you will ensure close working relationships with partner organisations and coalitions and be a visible and credible presence in the wider refugee and human rights sector.
HOW TO APPLY
The first stage is to complete on our online application form on our website by 9am on 26th August 2026.
The website form will ask you to:
- Upload a short covering letter. Please tell us why the position appeals to you, and how your relevant skills and experience, including any voluntary experience and lived experience, matches the listed responsibilities and person specification. Please also state in your covering letter when you would be available to start the role. This information can be shared in one of four different ways:
- Written A4 (No more than 2 sides of A4)
- PowerPoint (No more than 3 slides)
- Audio recording (No more than 5 mins) *
- Video Recording (No more than 5 mins) *
* if you send in your cover letter in one these formats, please do not upload this to our website but email it to jobs@helenbamber.org.
- Upload your current CV
- Complete an online Equal Opportunities monitoring form – completion of this form will help us ensure that our recruitment procedures operate in such a way as to provide genuine equality of opportunity. The questions are entirely optional and this information will not be available to members of the selection panel.
TIMELINE
- Closing date: 26th August 2026
- Preliminary interviews (online): 2nd September 2026
- Final panel interviews (in person): 10th September 2026
At Asylum Aid we want to be transparent about what kind of qualities we are looking for and build trust from the very beginning of your journey with us. The first step is your interview, and we mean ‘your’ interview so we will provide you with your interview questions ahead of the interview. This will allow you time to prepare, and ensure you have your best examples in mind. We will also ask you some questions which you will not have prepared.
SELECTION PROCESS
We will invite candidates to an initial 30-minute online screening meeting week on 2nd September 2026 followed by shortlisted candidates attending in-person interview on 10th September 2026. We will also ask you to complete a short exercise on the day.
We offer a guaranteed interview for refugees, stateless people and others with lived experience of forced migration, provided that they meet at least 50% of the essential criteria, where practical.
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 for an independent and confidential support for your job application from the Experts by Experience Employment Network and access other information and resources at https://www.ebeemployment.org.uk/ebe. You can also request 121 interview mentoring ahead of your interview here: https://www.ebeemployment.org.uk/apply4support-121
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.