Independent Domestic & Sexual Violence Advocate

We have an exciting opportunity for an Independent Domestic and Sexual Violence Advocate (IDSVA) to join the team in London, working 37.5 hours a week. The role will be co-located three days a week with Sexual Health London at Chelsea and Westminster Hospital and join our established IDVA team at the hospital trust.

Do you want to make a difference every day? Do you want to contribute to change & improvement for those who need it?

Do you have resilience & adaptability? Can you work effectively with a focus on customer service and care?

If yes, then we'd love to hear from you…

What we offer:

At Victim Support we believe in attracting & retaining the best people and offer a competitive rewards & benefits package including:

• £500 bonus paid on successful completion of probationary period (pro-rata for part time roles)
• Flexible working options including hybrid working
• 28 days annual leave plus Bank Holidays, rising to 33 days plus Bank Holidays
• An extra day off for your birthday
• Pension with 5% employer contribution
• Enhanced sick pay allowances, maternity & paternity payments
• High Street, retail, holiday, entertainment & leisure discounts
• Access to our financial wellbeing hub & salary deducted finance
• Employee assistance programme & wellbeing support
• Ongoing training & support with opportunities for career development & progression

About the Role:

This role involves both face to face and virtual support in a hybrid model of working. There is an expectation that you will do a mixture of working from home, our office in Old Street and in co-location at Chelsea and Westminster Hospital.

As a Hospital Independent Domestic and Sexual Violence Advocate you will:

• Implement effective ways of working with victims to increase safety & reduce harm
• Provide a high-quality, front-line service to victims of domestic and sexual abuse
• Work within a multi-agency framework consisting of the MARAC & local partnership responses to domestic and sexual abuse
• Run group training sessions & share your specialist knowledge with acute staff across the hospital

Please note that the successful applicant will be required to sign an honorary contract with the Hospital Trust in addition to their contract of employment. You will need:

• knowledge of help-seeking barriers and support needs of victims of domestic & sexual abuse
• an understanding of domestic & sexual abuse & it's impact
• knowledge of risk assessment, safety planning & risk management
• Understand safeguarding issues, and the legal responsibilities surrounding these issues
• Experience of direct service delivery to vulnerable people
• Good communication, negotiation & advocacy skills, both written & verbal, able to interact with a range of agencies & individuals
• Strong crisis management skills & the ability to deal with stressful & difficult situations

Please see attached Job Description and Person Specification for further details.

About Us:

Victim Support (VS) is an independent charity providing a range of specialist services to people who have been affected by crime across England and Wales. We work towards a world where there are fewer victims but who have stronger rights, better support and a real influence in the Criminal Justice System. Everyone at VS is driven by our Vision Ambitions and Values to play their part in making a difference for those who experience crime and traumatic events. Working for VS gives you the opportunity to play a key role in a national charity providing high quality services to victims and witnesses and being a vital force for change.

Victim Support are committed to recruiting with care and to safeguarding and promoting the welfare of children, young people and vulnerable adults and expects all staff and volunteers to share this commitment. Background checks and Disclosed Barring Service checks may be required.

Victim Support strives to represent the diverse communities we serve and are passionate about creating an environment where all staff and volunteers feel respected and heard. Being a diverse organisation with an inclusive culture is integral to us being able to meet our aim of ensuring that anyone who is a victim of crime gets the support they need.

As part of our commitment to the Race at Work Charter we particularly welcome applicants from Black, Asian and minority ethnic communities. VS is also a Disability Confident Employer and we provide a Guaranteed Interview Scheme for candidates that are disabled and meet all essential criteria for a role.

If you have a disability, a learning difficulty such as dyslexia or a medical condition which you believe may affect your performance during any aspect of our selection process, we'll be happy to make reasonable adjustments to enable you to perform at your best.

How to apply:

To apply for this role please follow the link below to the Jobs page on our website and complete the application form demonstrating how you meet the essential shortlisting criteria.

We look forward to hearing from you.

We reserve the right to close this vacancy early, if we receive enough suitable applications to take forward to interview prior to the published closing date.