Strategic Legal Projects Manager

Immigration Law Practitioners' Association

Hours
14 hours per week

Length of contract
2 years

About the Organisation

Immigration Law Practitioners’ Association (ILPA) is a professional association and registered charity, the majority of whose members are barristers, solicitors, advocates and IAA-regulated advisers practising in all aspects of immigration, asylum and nationality law. ILPA currently has approximately 4500 individual member contacts.

Founded in 1984 by leading practitioners in the field, and 42 years on, stronger than ever, ILPA exists to promote and improve advice and representation in immigration, asylum and nationality law, through an extensive programme of training and disseminating information and by providing research and opinion that draw on the experiences of members.

Our vision is a fair and effective immigration system that respects human rights and the rule of law. We realise this by empowering members to provide the best possible advice and support for migrants and collaboratively working to improve law, policy and practice. ILPA is represented on numerous Government, official and non-Governmental advisory groups and regularly provides high-level evidence to Parliamentary and official enquiries.

ILPA is at the forefront of engagement with the Home Office, NGOs and other Government departments. To our members, ILPA is a community where they come to share knowledge, keep up to date with changes and receive high-quality training to enable them to practise effectively. Members also rely on ILPA to be their voice in seeking change for the better in immigration, asylum and nationality law and practice. This we do through the work of our expert legal team, engaging with policymakers and stakeholders, and drawing on the experiences and expertise of our members.

You will be leading a small, committed and expert team of 12 professionals in the legal, grant-funding, training, membership and communications spheres. You will report to the Chair of Trustees who leads a Committee of Trustees comprising 12 immigration and nationality lawyers and one accountant who are all dedicated to achieving ILPA’s vision.

About the role

This is a new role which will be pivotal to the work of the Strategic Legal Projects Team. The post-holder will work with the Director of Strategic Litigation and Advice to coordinate the delivery of the Strategic Legal Fund (SLF). This is an innovative programme of grant funding, supporting strategic legal work that benefits people who are disadvantaged or discriminated against because of their immigration status.

We define strategic litigation as work where the impact goes beyond an individual case and results in changes to law, policy and practice that will benefit a wider group of people. The fund supports pre-litigation research, and third-party interventions in cases before the courts, as well as advocacy related to the legal activities undertaken. Grants can be awarded to non-governmental organisations and law firms.

The post provides an opportunity to contribute strategically to supporting the legal sector working on migrants’ rights in the UK. You will gain experience of all aspects of the grant-making process in the intersection of legal and policy work on issues facing people seeking asylum, migrants and refugees in the UK today. 

The ideal candidate may be someone wishing to develop a career in philanthropic work in this area or build relationships with esteemed human rights lawyers and social justice organisations. Whatever their interest, they will bring to the work a flair for organising, project management to include building relationships and supporting joint working, and the vision to see the separate grants as part of a coherent whole.

Responsibilities

Main Tasks:

• Liaise with applicants including legal practitioners and organisations working with migrants across the UK
• Co-ordinate the meetings of an expert panel and decision-making panel
• Carry out financial due diligence checks in relation to potential grants
• Manage monitoring and evaluation, collecting reports from grantees and available data evidencing outcomes, and contributing to reports and updates for ILPA and for the funders
• Communicate updates and successes by grantees on the SLF website and on social media
• Build capacity of groups and individuals working in support of migrants’ rights, including working with the Legal Project Officer to ensure the work of the Strategic Legal Advice Committee (SLAC) and the SLF align and complement each other.

Skills, Competencies, Experience & Attributes

Essential:

• A proven record of project management or grant management;
• Good working knowledge of the refugee and migrant sector in the UK
• Experience of coordinating networks of organisations or individuals, including running meetings
• Experience of working and communicating with a range of external stakeholders
• Excellent written and oral communication skills
• Excellent attention to detail
• Excellent planning, coordination, organisational, time management, strategic problem-solving and independent working skills, including:
  • An ability to take a proactive approach to independent working,
  • Managing workstreams effectively,
  • Confidently taking responsibility for tasks and decisions,
  • Meeting tight deadlines, and taking a calm and diligent approach to problem solving
• Good IT skills and competency in the use of office IT programmes and equipment and managing and updating a website.
• Commitment to the principles of a non-racist, non-sexist, just and equitable system of immigration, asylum and nationality law 
• Commitment to the principles of diversity, equity and inclusion, and taking a proactive approach to espousing these principles
• Commitment to be a champion of ILPA by positively encouraging and collaborating with your team, identifying and encouraging opportunities for growth and celebrating success

Desirable:

• Experience of grant-making
• An understanding of strategic litigation and good legal analysis skills
• Experience of using accounting packages and CRMs and experience of QuickBooks and Salesforce

Required Qualifications

• A project management qualification such as PRINCE2 or equivalent

Compensation & Benefits

• 25 days per annum, plus bank holidays, pro rata, and the week between Christmas and New Year off.
• Pension is 5% of salary

Conditions of employment

• Candidates must be eligible to work in the UK.

Working locations

• Hybrid model, working in the London office and remotely
• Evening working is required to attend 5 scheduled evening meetings per year, which ordinarily finish no later than 6.30 pm.

How to apply

• Please submit a completed application form highlighting why you are applying for this position and how you meet the personal specification, providing examples where applicable. Please return this to [email protected] by 9:00 am, Tuesday 25th August 2026, along with a completed equalities monitoring form.
• Applications should be submitted as a Word document or in another editable format. If an application is not submitted in this format, it will not be considered.
• Applications from individuals only-no agencies. Please do not use artificial intelligence in completing your application.

Interviews

• Interviews are scheduled for 10th and 11th September 2026, online. Shortlisted candidates will be notified on Thursday 3rd September 2026.

Policies

ILPA is committed to promoting equality and diversity. To help us raise awareness and support a culture that is diverse and recognises and develops the potential of all, we need to appreciate the profile of candidates who apply for positions. Please complete this equality monitoring survey and return it with your application. This information will be treated confidentially and anonymously. The information provided does not form part of the decision-making process and will not affect your application.

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