Southwest Immigration Alliance (SWIA) Coordinator 

Hours: 18 hours pw (to be worked over 2-3 regular days) 

Salary: £30k PA (pro rata, full time would be 35 hours pw)

Plus generous leave entitlement (equivalent to 6 weeks PA plus the time between Christmas and New Year), 7% employer pension, employee assistance programme and flexible, friendly working environment and policies  

Location: Office / home working possible, and some travel to offsite meetings 

Duration: Fixed term to June 2026 (due to project funding)

Purpose of the job 

To coordinate a major 3 year project for the Southwest of England to strengthen access to specialist immigration advice. This will be done by seeking to increase capacity in shorter, medium and long term by supporting collaboration among community-based advice providers across the Southwest. Bristol Law Centre is coordinating the project as lead partner, working with 7 others*.  

*Bristol Law Centre (BLC) is the lead partner amongst GARAS, Harbour project, Bristol Refugee Rights, Plymouth Hope, DCRS (Devon & Cornwall Refugee Support) and RSD (Refugee Support Devon), and the University of Plymouth Law Clinic as an associate partner on an advisory capacity.  

Background 

The Southwest struggles with a shortage of free legal advice, particularly immigration advice. Various reports and data evidence this including a report done in 2022 by Bristol Refugee Rights and Bristol Law Centre, funded by the Justice Together Initiative, demonstrated the lack of adequate legal specialist immigration advice in the region due to limited capacity faced by high demand (Read Report Here) – noting the situation has worsened since 2022 in terms of overall comparison of demand/need and providers – and with policy changes and other external factors. 

This project aims to establish a more coordinated, collaborative, and sustainable legal advice ecosystem that ensures that people who use the immigration system can access justice fairly and equally so that they can pursue their lives independently. Southwest Immigration Alliance – Bristol Law Centre