Join Our Team
The Pickwell Foundation is a North Devon-based charity delivering community-led refugee resettlement, working across asylum support, Community Sponsorship (UKRS and CFA schemes), Homes for Ukraine, and Afghan resettlement through local authority schemes (ARP). Our work is built around four pillars - Housing, English, Employment, and Wellbeing - with a single underlying principle: housing is the starting point, independence is the destination.
We combine direct local delivery with national policy influence, working alongside government, funders, and practitioners to build sponsorship infrastructure that gives both refugees and communities real agency, not just a route to safety.
Current Vacancies
Sponsorship Lead (Maternity Cover)
North Devon / Hybrid
Salary: £33,544 per annum
Hours: Full time, 37.5 hours per week
Contract: Fixed term, November 2026 to January 2028, with the hope of extending
Location: Hybrid: home, community and our Barnstaple hub. If you're not local, you'll spend Monday to Wednesday in Barnstaple every other week.
Closing date: 9am, Monday 5 October 2026
Interviews: Thursday 8 and Friday 9 October 2026
The role
You'll lead our two sponsorship programmes. The first is our part in the Afghan Welcome Project, a Government-funded consortium supporting Afghan families through the Communities for Afghans scheme. The second is UKRS Community Sponsorship. You'll work with sponsor groups, families, landlords, councils and partner organisations to solve problems and keep things moving.
You'll also represent Pickwell nationally. That means building relationships with Government departments and consortium partners, and helping shape new sponsorship models as they develop. National sponsorship is changing quickly, and this role will change with it.
Who we're looking for
You don't need to have done this job before. Some of our best people came from outside the sector. We care more about who you are:
You learn fast and adapt well when things change.
You're practical and good at getting things done.
People trust you, whether they're volunteers, families or senior officials.
You can hold your own in a Government meeting and stay calm in a difficult conversation.
You're organised and can manage competing priorities without being told.
You care about displaced people having control over their own lives.
Experience of refugee resettlement, partnerships, project management or line management would help, but it isn't essential.
You'll need a driving licence and access to a car, and the right to work in the UK. The post is subject to an enhanced DBS check and references.
Office Administrator
North Devon / Barnstaple
Salary: £26,200 per annum
Hours: Full time, 37.5 hours per week
Contract: Permanent (4-month probation)
Location: At least three days a week in our Barnstaple office, the rest from home, with occasional time at our Hub in Barnstaple.
Closing date: 9am, Monday 5 October 2026
Interviews: Monday 12 and Tuesday 13 October 2026
The role
You'll keep the office running. That means paying bills and invoices, doing the bookkeeping for our Resettlement schemes and the Hub, and keeping our systems organised. You'll also support our Operations Manager and Director with our legal compliance responsibilities. That includes keeping our compliance calendar (Charity Commission return, insurance renewals, DBS renewals for staff and volunteers, policy reviews), maintaining records, and chasing deadlines.
You'll take minutes, pull together agendas, order Hub supplies, build the weekly staff and volunteer rota, and handle the admin for events and Refugee Week. You'll do much of this alongside our Operations Manager.
You'll also be the first voice people hear when they call or email us, so warmth matters as much as efficiency.
This is mainly a back-office role. You won't be leading work with families or volunteers day to day. But we're a small team, and sometimes we'll ask you to muck in: helping at a community event, covering a Hub shift, or picking up something outside your usual remit. We work hard, laugh a lot and don't take ourselves too seriously.
Who we're looking for
You'll need solid admin experience, but we care just as much about who you are:
You're organised and methodical, and can manage a varied workload without being chased.
You genuinely enjoy spreadsheets, systems and getting things in order.
You've done office administration and are comfortable with Microsoft Office, Outlook and Excel.
You've handled basic bookkeeping: payments, invoices, expenses, petty cash.
You understand data protection and confidentiality, and handle sensitive information with care.
You write clearly, take accurate minutes, and are warm and professional on the phone and by email.
You're happy to get stuck in beyond your job description.
You understand, or genuinely want to understand, the issues refugees and our communities face.
Experience of rotas, compliance records, or working in a small charity would help, as would a driving licence and access to a car, but none of these are essential.
You'll need the right to work in the UK. The post is subject to an enhanced DBS check and references.
How to Apply
Send your CV and a cover letter of no more than two pages to Communications@thepickwellfoundation.org.uk
The letter should tell us why you want this role and what you'd bring to it. Please include your notice period.
We'll review applications as they arrive and may interview early, so please apply as soon as you can.
For an informal conversation, contact Steph Molligoda Steph@thepickwellfoundation.org.uk