Programme Assistant

Job title: Programme Assistant, Enquiries Line manager: Team Leader, Enquiries (Senior Officer, Enquiries, in Team Leader’s absence) Salary: £30,000 Type of contract: Permanent Start date: Late October 2026 or shortly thereafter Benefits: Challenging and rewarding work, always life-changing, sometimes lifesaving Competitive salary Team and individual training opportunities, including dedicated training budget and team lunch and learn activities monthly Commitment to personal development, including opportunities to develop skills and experience to support wider Cara strategy participating in working groups, contribute to office improvement initiatives Hybrid working, home and office (minimum 2 days each week in the London office) Eight hours each day Monday – Friday, with flexible working by arrangement around core hours of 10am – 4pm 25 days annual leave entitlement plus Bank Holidays and two weeks Christmas and New Year office closure 8% employer pension contribution Wellbeing support, access to counselling when required, Mental Health First aid and supportive small team environment Convenient office location at Elephant and Castle, close to Tube (Bakerloo and Northern lines) and bus routes Role purpose statement: The Programme Assistant, Enquiries, plays a vital administrative role in the Fellowship Programme working directly with academics facing immediate risk in their home countries. The role exists to provide effective and efficient administration, completing due diligence tasks and onward signposting to prospective applicants. Duties include managing an individual caseload of applicants, assisting prospective applicants and administrative support for general enquiries, the Enquiries team as well as support across the Fellowship Programme when needed. Organisational Background The Council for At-Risk Academics is a UK-registered charity founded in 1933 under the leadership of William Beveridge, to assist academics suffering persecution under the rise of Nazism and facilitate their continued work in safety. Sixteen Cara Fellows from the 1930s and 1940s became Nobel Laureates, and many more innovators in their fields, including, Nikolaus Pevsner, Lise Meitner and Karl Popper. Cara has been a lifeline to academics at risk for over 90 years enabling them to continue their teaching and research in safety, as and when world events have placed them in the line of fire: Hungarian Uprising, Cold War, Apartheid South Africa, Iran, Latin American Juntas, Vietnam, Kosovo, DRC, Rwanda, Sudan, Zimbabwe etc. and, more recently Iraq, Turkey, Yemen, Palestine, Syria, Afghanistan and Ukraine. Today, our Fellowship Programme convenes a network of 135 UK universities in the UK to secure research placements for at-risk academics and support for their families, continuing a longstanding commitment of protecting academics and preserving their knowledge and expertise. Cara Objectives ‘To assist academics who have been, or are at risk of being, subject to discrimination, persecution, suffering or violence on account of race, religion, nationality, membership of a particular social group, or political opinion, to relieve needs among them and their dependants and ensure that their specialist knowledge and abilities can continue to be used for the benefit of the public.’ ‘To advance education by supporting academics and their educational institutions in countries where their continuing work is at risk or compromised, to ensure that such academics and institutions can continue to fulfil their critical role as educators for the public benefit.’ Role & Responsibilities Casework Signposting prospective applicants to the application form. Manage own caseload, preparing cases for eligibility review, including arranging calls to speak with applicants, booking English language tests, and gathering all relevant documentation. Escalating complex cases to the Team Leader as required. Maintain accurate and GDPR-Compliant records of casework activity. Researching international affairs to develop understanding about risks applicants face. Attending weekly case review meetings with the team. Administration Provide general administrative and logistical support, including answering phone enquiries. Manage the general enquiries inbox, alongside another colleague, answering emails about the enquiries’ process, the Fellowship Programme and Cara. Signpost enquiries to relevant colleagues internally and to other organisations where applicable. Assist with compilation of reports to funders. Present and collect data on general enquiries and applications to the Programme. Ensure safekeeping of confidential information. Maintain excellent detailed records of correspondence, documents, and activities. Provide administrative support to colleagues on projects across the organisation as required. Managerial Support Take part and contribute to Cara wide working groups across a range of research and strategy topics, including contributing to efficiency improve