Independent Domestic Violence Advisor

Victim Support are looking for a Hospital Independent Domestic Violence Advisor (IDVA ) to cover hospitals within the Greenwich & Lewisham Trust. This role is for 37.5 hours per week and will involve hybrid working both from home, across hospitals within the Trust as required and from our London office.

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:

• 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:

As a Hospital Independent Domestic Violence Advisor you will be supporting victims of domestic abuse. This is a key role at the hospitals working alongside the safeguarding team to ensure that victims of domestic abuse have access to appropriate support. As an IDVA you will be:

• Providing a high quality support & advocacy service to victims of domestic abuse
• Managing a caseload; identifying and assessing risks and needs, providing a tailored crisis intervention service through individual safety planning, advocacy, emotional & practical support
• Advocating on behalf of service users to help them access services to keep them safe
• Working within a multi-agency framework to offer a coordinated response to domestic abuse
• Delivering training to hospital staff & local partner agencies

You will need:

• Knowledge of help-seeking barriers and support needs of victims of domestic abuse
• An understanding of domestic 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 and advocacy skills, both written and verbal when interacting with a range of agencies and individuals
• Strong crisis management skills and the ability to deal with stressful and difficult situations.

Please note that the successful applicant will be required to sign an honorary contract with the hospital trust, in addition to the contract of employment.

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.