Head of Community Sponsorship

Citizens UK is the UK's biggest, most diverse and most effective people-powered alliance. We bring communities and local organisations together to work on issues that matter; from campaigning for zebra crossings on dangerous roads, to reforming the immigration system, to the Living Wage campaign. We have a track record of winning change through hundreds of local and national campaigns. We know everyday people have the ability to shape the world around them.

We believe that through developing local leaders, we can drive nationwide change and create community-led solutions to big and small problems. Citizens UK has played a pioneering role in introducing and developing community sponsorship of refugees in the UK. In response to the Syrian refugee crisis in 2015, we campaigned successfully for the introduction of community sponsorship in the UK.

Citizens UK was then instrumental in proving the model can work in the UK and through training, advocacy, and coordination, we have helped hundreds of local groups welcome thousands of refugee families. In 2022, Citizens UK expanded its work by launching the Communities for Ukraine programme, matching Ukrainian refugees with UK hosts and most recently has run Communities for Afghans, resettling dozens of refugees.

Throughout, it has combined grassroots organising with national advocacy to build a sustainable, community-led model of refugee resettlement. In 2025, we campaigned successfully to persuade the Government to introduce 'named sponsorship', giving communities greater choice in who they would sponsor. This creates a huge opportunity to grow community sponsorship and to enable UK civil society to step up and honour our proud tradition of offering sanctuary.

Head of Community Sponsorship

Role

Summary:

This is a rare opportunity to lead Citizens UK's community sponsorship campaign and help build the movement that will be at the heart of a community-led welcome. This new role comes at an exciting and crucial time, as we seek to build and embed this new form of named community sponsorship in the UK. As Head of Community Sponsorship you will lead on our strategy to develop named sponsorship as a transformative part of the UK's approach to refugee resettlement and community power.

This will involve building a broad-base of civil society partners ready to sponsor refugees and to add their voice to the campaign. You will lead on the campaigning and advocacy strategy as we ensure quality in the Government policy and cross-Party political support. Citizens UK acts as the Lead Sponsor for local community sponsorship groups and you will oversee their ongoing support and further engagement.

The role fosters collaboration with Citizens UK Organisers and alliances, develops sustainable funding strategies, and ensures alignment with Citizens UK's broader migration and transformation goals. The role will work alongside Citizens UK's Migrant and Refugee Organising Team and will contribute to the efforts to build the power to create a more welcoming country. You will lead on relationships with senior stakeholders, policy makers, and funders, and support the creation of campaigns and resources to expand public awareness and support for community sponsorship.

With responsibilities spanning communications, and external representation, the role is key to shaping Citizens UK's refugee resettlement strategy and building its national impact as a driver of cohesion. Working as the Head of Community Sponsorship for Citizens UK, reporting to the Assistant Director for Migrant and Refugee Organising (MARO), your main responsibilities will include:
Career Pathway Headings Objectives Contribute to Citizens UK and Project Strategic Objectives

• Build a broad and deep engagement across civil society in named sponsorship, demonstrating the potential for scale and the big tent of support.
• Develop and implement campaign approaches that secure policy goals and build cross-Party political support.
• Develop strategy that develops the leadership of local Citizens members and refugees, strengthens civic institutions and builds trust across difference.
• Oversee multiple work strands, working in partnership.
• Develop and manage project workplans, KPIs and budgets, ensuring delivery to time, standard, and impact goals.
• Establish systems for performance tracking, evaluation, and continuous improvement across project streams.
• Act as a senior expert in sponsorship strategy; coach and mentor staff and partners, and facilitate learning across departments and projects.
• Influence and lead the integration of equity, wellbeing and refugee voice into strategic decisions and delivery frameworks.
• Lead high-level relationships with national and senior stakeholders, including government departments (e.g. Home Office), civil society institutions and funders.
• Build and manage partnerships that advance sponsorship reform and position Citizens UK as a sector leader.
• Ensure stakeholder experience is consistently excellent…