Director

Asylos is looking for a Director to lead a small but fast-growing asylum NGO

We are looking for an ambitious and intrinsically motivated person to lead Asylos in its work conducting research for asylum claims worldwide, and to broaden its outreach and impact.

Asylos believes that decisions to grant or withhold asylum should be based on fair process including accurate and credible Country of Origin Information (COI). We are an international network that ensures that such information is accessible to people seeking asylum and their counsel. Our network of around 80 volunteers and staff team of six work together, primarily remotely, to uncover information that can be hard to find and often requires specific language skills or contextual regional knowledge.

Starting thirteen years ago with case-specific research, Asylos has developed diverse workstreams including emergency response in crisis situations, thematic and strategic reports, and training of lawyers and others working with asylum seekers. We now play a central role in the COI field working not only with NGOs but also engaging with governmental actors, e.g. by providing commentary to UK government and EU reporting.

Asylos is a UK-registered human rights NGO with charitable status. The trained volunteers come from more than 20 countries. The dedicated staff team are currently based in the Netherlands and the UK, and operate within a very supportive and flexible work environment and on a hybrid office/remote basis.

Job purpose

As Asylos’ chief executive officer, the director provides overall leadership to the organization and is responsible for setting strategy, work plans and budgets. The director oversees all staff and consultants and is in close contact with the volunteers. They are the chief spokesperson and have a primary role in fundraising and maintaining partnership and donor relations. They are well attuned to the fast-changing asylum and migration landscape and enable Asylos to respond dynamically in setting priorities and programming its work.

In all this, the director ensures that all those working for Asylos can do so in an open and inclusive atmosphere. A critical element in this is to maintain the organization’s unique structure of working with a network of qualified and motivated volunteers to research and review on COI in conjunction with a small team of highly competent staff. The “volunteer ethos” constitutes a core value of Asylos and is manifested in intensive training, regular interactions at different levels, shared responsibilities for quality control and for coordination of the regional teams, as well as in representation on the Board of Trustees.

The director, with the rest of the staff, ensures that the volunteer network is properly facilitated to deliver high quality outputs, and that the participatory character is also reflected by involving persons with lived experience.

Key responsibilities

The Asylos director has the following key responsibilities:

• Developing overall strategy, and on that basis preparing annual work plans and budgets, in conjunction with and for final approval by the Board of Trustees
• Overseeing the main work streams and steering development of projects together with the two programme managers
• Ensuring high quality standards and guiding internal COI research methodology
• Conducting effective fundraising and active donor relations, together with the senior fundraiser
• Leading on external communications and on relationships with relevant (inter-)governmental and non-governmental actors in the field of asylum and COI, in the UK and other countries where it is active
• Managing the staff team and ensuring a healthy work environment
• Maintaining effective lines of communication and coordination with the volunteer network together with the network coordinator
• Managing Asylos’ internal policy, financial, personnel, administrative and IT affairs

Qualifications and personal qualities

We are seeking a committed, creative, courageous and empathetic leader who can build on the foundations of a vibrant and financially healthy organization and who is excited by the challenge of taking Asylos through its next ambitious phase. The successful candidate will have:

• A commitment to human rights and to Asylos’ mission
• A willingness to grow with the organization and represent its values and outlook externally
• At least seven years of proven work experience, with progressively responsible roles of leadership/organizational management, in non-profit organizations, preferably in asylum/migration, human rights, humanitarian or social spheres
• A naturally inclusive temperament, comfortable working in an open small-team environment with a flexible, supportive and learning aptitude
• Experience in fundraising and donor engagement
• Strong communication skills
• Native-level English with excellent writing and speaking skills, and preferably good knowledge of other languages, notably French, German, Dutch
• Ability to operate at academic level
• Analytical, numerical and IT abilities, and preferably experience in monitoring and evaluation

What we offer

• The opportunity to further shape Asylos and to enhance its effectiveness and impact
• Access to a global network of enthusiastic and committed volunteers
• Flexible working possibilities (home/office)
• Engaged and supportive Board of Trustees
• Salary starting from € 61.000 gross per annum (38 hours/week)
• Good benefits and working conditions

People with lived experience of the asylum system or from communities disproportionally impacted by the immigration system and/or structural racism are particularly encouraged to apply.

Starting date: ideally 1 January 2024, or as soon as possible thereafter

The new director will preferably be based in the UK or in the Netherlands