Job Description

ABOUT INQUEST

Founded in 1981, INQUEST is the only charity in England and Wales providing expertise on contentious deaths and their investigation to bereaved people, lawyers, other advice and support agencies, media, parliamentarians and the general public. Our range of cases includes custody and detention, multi-agency failings or where wider issues of state and corporate accountability are in question, such as with Hillsborough and Grenfell. You can find more information on our website, particularly in our Impact Report, and on our Campaigns, and Media Releases webpages.

ABOUT OUR GRENFELL PROJECT 

In the immediate aftermath of the fire, INQUEST mobilised its resources to support the communities on the ground, provide information and help shape processes around the investigation. Supported by the INQUEST Lawyers Group, we helped shape the Terms of Reference of the Public Inquiry and have been keeping a watching brief ever since. Through our support of bereaved families, the sharing of our expertise with community groups, and our well-established model of family engagement and influencing, we have helped to ensure that the voice of bereaved and survivors remains at a centre of all proceedings. In February 2019, we held a Family Consultation Day which led to our report, Family reflections on Grenfell: No voice left unheard, which fed into our parliamentary and advocacy work.

Building on our current project, we want to ensure that families bereaved as a result of the Grenfell Tower disaster remain supported and empowered throughout the further stages of the investigations and Public Inquiry. The overall objective is to ensure that the experiences and the voice of families remain at the centre of all the proceedings, including Module 8 of Phase 2 of the Inquiry (‘the inquest function’) expected in the summer of 2022 and the Inquiry recommendations:  the Phase 2 report is expected by early 2023; and any criminal proceedings, which may follow would take place throughout 2024. We want to use our unique expertise and model so the issues around accountability at individual and corporate levels and are adequately addressed and necessary reforms and recommendations are followed up.

ABOUT THE ROLE 

The purpose of the role is to support families most affected by the Grenfell disaster. Working closely with the Executive Director and the Senior Parliamentary Officer, and to engage those families in the policy, parliamentary and advocacy work that INQUEST is undertaking in relation this project. Finally, it is to keep a watching brief on the Public Inquiry and other legal processes, liaise with community groups, lawyers, and also the media, in order to ensure that the bereaved and survivors are at the heart of the Inquiry and investigation processes.

ABOUT THE CANDIDATE

The successful candidate will have experience of support, casework and/or advice provision, preferably in a human rights or social change environment. They will also have experience in engaging and mobilising groups and individuals in the pursuit of systemic change.

With outstanding communications skills and the ability to quickly instil trust, they will have a demonstrable awareness around, and understanding of, the issues INQUEST is seeking to address through the Grenfell Project.

They will enjoy working in a very fast paced environment, and will adhere to INQUEST values and commitment to social justice, equality and diversity as well as our commitment to tackling racism and discrimination.