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Merton, along with other Councils, has a small team to administer the UK Government’s Homes for Ukraine Scheme. The scheme was set up in March 2022 to offer support to Ukrainian refugees fleeing the war in their country and is based on local residents offering a room in their homes to individuals and families they are matched with via the Department of Levelling Up, Housing and Communities.

The role of our team is to carry out visits to ensure that the residents have both suitable accommodation to offer and pass all necessary background checks. Once this is done and the refugees arrive a team member will visit again to check they are well and pass on a welcome payment. Following this, the sponsor is set up to receive a monthly payment, and the team maintain contact to ensure that both parties are supported.

The scheme continues to be busy with new guests arriving and sponsors putting themselves forward. We need a Team Leader who can supervise our Visiting Officers and Administrator to ensure they get the support they need to cover the wide range of issues which they are presented with. The role will require someone who is flexible, resourceful and who can cover both the visiting and welfare aspects as well as the administrative side of the team’s duties. We need someone who is comfortable with supervising staff who spend a lot of time working off-site and remotely, understands deadlines and the need for accuracy with record keeping. You will need to demonstrate empathy for people who have been placed in a stressful situation and are in a foreign country far from home, as well as being alert to the challenges which can be faced by the hosts.

The role will be nominally based at Civic Centre but we expect the successful candidate to be able to work in a flexible way, reflecting the need to carry out visits at weekends and evenings if required.